Chapter 26- Fire In My Heart Part 1: One Last Chance
Disclaimer:- I don't own anything… I hope you know what's after that. :P
"Because what's worse than knowing you want something, besides knowing you can never have it?"
― James Patterson, The Angel Experiment
UPDATED: 30 AUGUST, 2016
People say that when a person is in a state of shock or is depressed, he or she starts acting in a weird, unnatural, unsophisticated way. They start keeping themselves locked up in the room and think about different ways to let their anger out. Letting the beast inside come out…
Draco stood in one of the long and dark corridors of the Malfoy Manor, gazing at one of the antique mirror's his mother had bought just the other day to redecorate the manor before Lucius Malfoy, his father, returns home. He had stood transfixed at the same spot for the past hour, looking at his reflection… Maybe not exactly looking but glaring. He wasn't wearing a shirt and his toned chest had a number of scratches and cuts along-with the largest gash which he got when Harry Potter had almost killed him in the bathroom.
He clenched his fists and brought his arms towards his chest, crossing it like a boxer does while shuffling his feet, and then hit the mirror with full force. With a loud, shrill noise, it cracked and shattered all over the place. He retracted his fist from the mirror and examined the newly opened wounds on his fingers due to the impact. He grinned evilly and let out a loud howl which echoed all over the house.
At that very moment Narcissa came in the corridor and shrieked seeing Draco and the shattered mirror. "Draco! What have you done?!"
Draco simply rolled his eyes and said, "Relax mother, a simple 'Reparo' can fix this." He pulled his wand out of his pocket and pointed it at the pieces of glass which immediately rearranged themselves and made the mirror good as new.
"And what about yourself?! You look like an animal. Go and wear some decent robes, its the thirty first of December."
"Yeah… I know what day is today. I actually have been invited to dinner at someone's house," Draco stated.
"Then you should go there, you need to get out of the house again. You have been acting so unlike yourself since that awful girl broke your heart…"
"No!" he suddenly turned to look at his mother with intense, angry eyes and said, "Don't call her awful. She is a thousand times better person than you and I will ever be."
"If she is better than us, why hasn't she apologized to you yet?!" Narcissa spat angrily. "You don't need to bare with such attitude filled gold diggers!"
"She is not a GOLD DIGGER! Don't you dare ever call her that!" Draco shrieked at the top of his lungs.
"How dare you talk to your mother like that?! Where is the respect?!"
"I respect you mother but I won't tolerate you saying another bad word against Astoria. Yes, she slapped me and I am heartbroken but she had her reasons… I am going to make everything right tonight and that is why I am taking all my anger out before I see her. I don't want to explode at her in any way; I want to be as gentle as I possibly could. I can't mess anything up," he admitted, looking at Narcissa with confidence.
"I am not allowing you to go to their house. I feel that they are not at all nice people and they would just use your name and money Draco. Why don't you understand this?!" Narcissa exclaimed, shaking Draco's arm.
He looked at her angrily and replied, "Neither do I want to know what you feel about all that nor do I want your permission. And anyway, I have met her parents and they are extremely nice. They are a loving family… not at all like ours!" Draco immediately turned away and walked towards his room to get read, leaving a fuming Narcissa in the hall.
Once he reached his bedroom. He hit its wall three times just to calm himself down. He then took his finest robes out, cast a heating charm on it and proceeded to change all the while trying to push out the snappy comments his mother had made and making up his mind to make everything right.
As said before, human beings can act wildly and sometimes or most likely many times irrationally. Some humans can't understand their feelings, some are confused and some just say that it's complicated. But the truth is that everyone runs away from love because it is a scary feeling. It can leave a person feeling extremely content or extremely miserable. And so humans believe in shutting down that type of feelings but when that starts to overpower the mind, awkward fetish's or fantasies arise, making things… complicated.
Astoria sat on her bed, looking at the snow falling outside through her window. She was in pain… emotional pain. She felt like she could burst into tears any moment. She lay down on her bed, pulling the covers over her body. She closed her eyes, trying to shut down her over bearing thoughts and expectations from a certain blonde haired boy… and as she glided into the fluffy cloud of dreams, her mind started to play with her desires... in one of the worst or best possible ways, depending on person to person.
I lay in bed, wearing muggle clothes… it seemed very similar to real life but it wasn't because I was not tensed or stressed. I suddenly felt two hands touching my body, I courageously opened my eyes and looked at the eyes of the two men who had been playing with my heart for quite a while now, like it was a dice from the game of Snake's and Ladders.
They pulled up the upper half on my body from the mattress and kissed me on the cheek on the side they were standing on. I looked from Derek to Draco and back from Draco to Derek, both holding my hand firmly and smiling at me. I felt contented. They pulled me up from the bed completely, making me stand between them, as their hands slipped around my waist. Each trying to show the other that I was his… but I knew I wasn't anyone's. I was not an object though I would have to admit that I hold feelings for either of these men… the only question is who is much more valuable to me?
Draco pulled me towards himself, pressing firmly his lips on mine, making my knees weak and my heart race. Then the kiss broke as Derek tugged me towards himself to kiss me with his lips instead. At that moment I didn't care about the fact that I value one of them more than the other and just let myself feel.
Draco worked on my jeans, pulling it down my legs and leaving me only in my underwear while Derek took off my shirt. I stood there half naked with the eyes of two men on me… They made me lay on the pillows, slowly, before leaning down and kissing and biting my neck…leaving a trail of love bites… I was ecstatic.
I felt conscious… Two men… TWO MEN had their hands all over me like it was a daily routine. But their touch was so soft and left me wanting more. Soon I realized that it wasn't just that, there seemed a competition going on. I immediately sat up throwing them off me. They stared back at me with shock and at that moment I knew I held the key to control them. I took my wand from my nightstand and walked towards them, binding their hands by chains attached to the ceiling.
I sat on the bed once again, looking at the men struggling to free themselves. I felt a thrill run all over my body… Their eyes were on me and my on them, they were pleading me… they wanted me to grant them freedom but I knew that that would not be happening any time soon. With one flick of my wand I stripped them of all their clothes… Now they were vulnerable… not me. I wouldn't let two men coddle or show their dominance over me. I was the boss, not them.
As I took one last look over their naked bodies, I laid down on my bed, laughing loudly. I felt like my inner animal was alive. The fire in my heart burned with an increased intensity. I arched my back, touching my chest and stomach. I knew they were watching me, I wasn't scared now. It was time for them to be afraid because they playing with the wrong girl…
"Astoria," Margaret said, waking Astoria from her nap.
She sat up swiftly and looked around the room while rubbing her head. "What happened?" she asked.
"Its almost seven sweetheart, come down… our special guest will be arriving soon and also a very happy new year, in advance," Margaret said kissing Astoria's cheek.
"Mum," she said, pulling her mother in a hug. "It's still quite early for that and by the way, who is this special guest?! I hope you have not invited Uncle Toltin… no offense but is kind of a nightmare."
Margaret laughed. "Oh no, sweety. It's someone you know… you'll see soon. Now, get up and wear something nice and then come down, everyone is waiting for you."
Astoria nodded and got up from her bed as Margaret exited her room. Her mind wandered to her dream, she didn't remember much but what she did remember was that she was half-naked in front of Draco and Derek and then they were naked… Whatever it was, she was grinning widely and reminiscing the memories of her dream. She hadn't felt so good in quite a long time.
There was a faint blush on her cheeks as she looked at herself in the mirror while wearing the sweater she had brought just a few days ago… although she was still a little confused and she knew she had to talk to Emily about this but the smile on her face said that she was quite happy with the way things were going. Realization dawned over her and she understood her mother's scheme. She knew exactly who was coming to dinner…
She ran downstairs; making as much noise as she possibly could so she doesn't have to see her parents snogging. Unfortunately, they still hadn't heard her and were shamelessly kissing each other. Even more bad news was that she had to see her brother and sister-in-law doing the same thing as well. She rolled her eyes but this time, instead of interrupting them she let them do whatever they wanted to do.
She heard a knock on the door, which made the couples pull apart in surprise. She grinned at everyone before running to open it. As she had expected the usual blonde haired guy stood, holding a large bouquet of flowers, in front of her, grinning from ear to ear.
She placed one hand on her waist and smiled nastily at him. "Draco Malfoy."
Draco grinned and winked at her. "Astoria Greengrass," he said, not looking anywhere other than at her.
She looked directly into his eyes while standing there holding the door with one hand and the other on her waist. Draco didn't try to show his interest in his surroundings, he just kept looking at her with a haughty smirk playing on his face.
"You won't let me in, would you?" He asked in a whisper, moving closer to her.
Her smile grew wide. She shook her head and said, "Not ever… if it was up to me."
"Astoria!" Margaret exclaimed, coming next to her daughter. "I am so sorry about my daughter Draco. She can be a little crazy sometimes… Oh are those flowers for Astoria?"
Draco now turned his head towards Margaret and said, "Good evening Mrs Greengrass. You look absolutely wonderful as always, I wish you could teach your daughter some… etiquettes and your style."
Astoria raised his eyebrows at him and spat, "Better watch out of what is coming out of your mouth otherwise I will risk the existence of your future generations."
"Astoria!" Margaret scolded.
Draco smirked at her and then looked at Margaret. "I got you flowers," he said, bowing down and offering the bouquet to her. Margaret beamed at him and took the flowers before kissing him on the cheek and inviting him inside the house.
Astoria rolled her eyes and showed him her tongue as he winked at her. She closed the door and quickly darted back inside to the sitting area where Draco was shaking hands with her father, brother and sister-in-law. She walked sheepishly to her mother who was now in the kitchen preparing drinks for everyone.
"Astoria, come help me a little. Almost everything is prepared but I still haven't done the salad. Can you just cut these carrots and cucumber as I go out and serve everyone drinks?" Margaret asked as Astoria came to stand next to her.
"Yes, of course! Anything to stay away from that arsehole!"
"Astoria! He is a renowned healer and a guest in our home, at least have some respect for him," Margaret exclaimed, taking the drinks out.
As Astoria started cutting the vegetable slowly and carefully, Jade came inside to check on the chicken in the oven. "Astoria, do you want some help?" She asked smiling.
"No!" Astoria said, grinning.
"You know Margaret has told me a lot about Draco… and you're past… umm… at least the parts which you have told her personally," Jade said, choosing her words wisely.
Astoria sighed. "There is no past… it's just disappointing encounters which lead to fighting… lots of fighting. I just want to forget him… I am trying so hard but well…. I don't think my life is agreeing with me on that."
Jade pulled Astoria in a hug and said while stroking her hair, "It can be difficult at times but remember we all are here for you, always. I don't know what you feel about the boy but whatever it is, we are your family and will support you in whatever decision you take in the future."
Astoria grinned. "You and my brother… I never thought… But you both shouldn't have eloped. That was my plan! So now I would have to let mum plan my wedding."
"Don't worry about that…. And about your brother and I… I don't know what came upon us… we just saw so many muggles going in a church to get married and we couldn't stop ourselves. Coincidently I was wearing a white dress and he his black robes… it just happened."
"But why did you both take six months to tell us… I just can't believe that I wasn't able to notice the ring you were wearing… you both had been married before Harry and Ginny's wedding, right?"
Jade nodded. "Well your parents and my parents are not angry anymore so that's a great sign and I think, if there is still any kind of anger left in them what I am going to tell mum and dad tonight will surely make all that go away."
Astoria gave Jade a confused look and said, "I don't understand. How will mum and dad…?"
Jade grinned from ear to ear and took out a photograph from her jeans pocket and gave it to Astoria. It was a black and white photograph and made Astoria a little more confused but as she looked at it nicely, she gasped. Her eyes filled with tears… no words came out of her mouth. There was the photograph of a baby, not literally in its full shape but it showed the four weeks progress of a baby growing inside a womb.
Jade grinned, her eyes filled with tears as well as she placed Astoria's hand on her stomach. Both the woman shed silent tears, taking in the beautiful moment and smiling all the while. Astoria kept looking from the photo to the stomach and back to the photo. She kissed the photo and pulled it right on the chest, hugging it.
"When?" Astoria asked in a whisper.
"We just found out a few days ago… Don't worry, its completely planned. I know some people may say that it's too early to have a baby but Orion and I really wanted one. And you can keep this picture, look at it whenever you are feeling sad or happy, it'll give you hope…. You are going to be an aunty Tori!" Jade said, grinning widely.
"Does mum and dad..?"
"No, not yet. We will tell them tonight and I know they will be super excited… Now keep the photo inside your pocket, I have several others in my room and… don't tell mum right now," Jade said in one single breath just before Margaret walked inside the kitchen with Draco.
Jade and Astoria composed themselves, not letting either of them suspect that something fishy was happening between them. Astoria glared at Draco as he came and stood next to her, scrutinizing her work.
"What?!" She exclaimed, pointing the knife at him.
"Keep that knife away from me Greengrass!" Draco exclaimed, backing away from her.
"If you come anywhere near me again, Malfoy," she threatened, "I wouldn't mind cutting your penis with this knife and selling it in the black market."
"Astoria, enough! I am giving you a time out! Go out and sit with your father and brother," Margaret bellowed.
"But…" Astoria didn't say another word as she saw her mother glaring at her. She rolled her eyes and hunched her shoulders down, as she walked back inside the living room. Orion and Cepheus were standing next to the dining table, talking in hushed whispers.
"What are you talking about?" Astoria whispered standing between her brother and father.
"We think," Cepheus said, looking at Orion, who nodded, and then back at her, "that Healer Malfoy is flirting with our wives."
She arched her eyebrows, trying very hard not to laugh and said, "Seriously?!"
"YES!" Cepheus and Orion exclaimed.
Astoria smiled and shook her head. "He' not… trying to flirt. He is being polite and kind. That's kind of new to him because he has always been the arrogant and 'I am better than everyone' type... maybe that is why it looks like flirting but he has no intentions of stealing your respective wives."
"Did you actually say something nice about the so called Prince of Slytherin, Tori? That is so Slytherin of you," Orion spat, smirking.
Astoria gasped, sarcastically, and said, "I am going to kill you Orion." They actually started pulling each other's hair and even after Cepheus shouted at the, though laughing as well, he wasn't able to break up the little fight. It actually brought all three of them back to the time when Astoria and Orion used to return home from Hogwarts and fight whenever Orion pulled out the 'You are in Slytherin card'.
"Break it up! Break it up!" Margaret yelled, coming out of the kitchen holding a tray of freshly made dumplings and pig-in-a-blanket. Behind her was Jade and Draco who were holding three glasses of Butterbeer each.
"He started it!" Astoria exclaimed, rubbing her head where Orion had been pulling her hair.
"No mum, she started it!" Orion spat, glaring at her but grinning all the while.
"I don't care who started it, I am ending it and Cepheus, I thought you could break their fight like before," Margaret said, keeping the food trays on the drawing room table and taking two glasses of Butterbeer from Jade, one for herself and the other for Cepheus.
Cepheus wrapped his left arm around Margaret's waist and talking one glass from her hand and said, "I know but their fighting brought back old memories and I just couldn't help but smile."
Margaret grinned and kissed Cepheus on the cheek. "I know… I know."
Jade took one glass from Draco and walked up to Orion while Astoria walked slowly and a little reluctantly towards Draco to take her glass.
"You okay?" He asked in a whisper so no one could hear him, giving her glass to her.
She just looked up at him, her eyes showed a few seconds of vulnerability as he gazed intensely at her, and took a small sip of the warm Butterbeer. "I am actually. I just want to throw you out of my house other than that I am perfectly fine."
He looked at her intently for a few seconds and replied, "You can be downright scary sometimes… all the while keeping that evil and sexy smile of yours on your face."
"These kinds of smiles are the best ones. I love seeing people walk past me with little smiles on their face because something small happened that made them happy. Maybe they got a cute note or maybe they got laid or maybe they killed a man… You will never know. You understand?" Astoria said, looking at him while taking small sips of her drink.
Draco's eyes went wide. "As far as I know you I am pretty sure you have killed someone or are going to kill someone…. IS IT ME?!"
She grinned at him and then turned towards her mother who was calling them to sit comfortably in the drawing room and then winked at him. "You never know."
Draco went pale. "You are scaring the hell out of me… Greengrass don't walk away from me… don't kill me…" He kept saying in small whispers while walking behind her.
No one, except Astoria, realized how almost three hours passed by so quickly. They were all sitting on the dining table, laughing on something Draco had said but that didn't make her happy, she was just getting annoyed by the minute.
"Draco, take some more chicken," Margaret said, passing him the plate.
"Oh no Mrs Greengrass, I am full but," he looked at Astoria had her mouth full of chicken, "I think Astoria wouldn't mind another serving, isn't that right?... Your daughter, I have to say, is quite interesting..."
Though there was one thing that Draco didn't know about Astoria and that was she didn't like people commenting about her eating habits or about how much she eats. But that night she didn't even bother snapping at him and continued eating as much as she could because it was one of the best things in the whole wide world for her.
She swallowed all the food and took a sip of water before saying, "Say whatever the hell you want to Draco bloody Malfoy, you cannot make me angry when my plate is filled. Anyways, I have better things to do than to engage myself in a fight with the bloody Healer Malfoy who, as we all know, is an extremely egoistical and arrogant man."
"Astoria," said Margaret, picking her and Cepheus' dirty and empty plates. "You need to be much more kind to him, he is such a nice man. Definitely a keeper," she called from the kitchen.
"What?! He is not a keeper mum, he is a seeker," Astoria spat, taking the very last piece of chicken and eating it with utmost joy and happiness.
"Actually…" Draco leaned forward as he was sitting right opposite to her on the table as she glared at him. "I seek to be your keeper… if you know what I mean," said he, winking at her. She simply glared daggers at him, after hearing his comment, and continued to eat.
Once everyone had a nice big slice of the red-velvet cake, Jade had baked, they again made themselves settle on the comfy sofa's with Margaret and Cepheus, Jade and Orion occupying the love seats, Draco sitting on an armchair, next to Jade's and Orion's love seat and Astoria standing behind her parents chair, keeping a keen eye on Draco.
"I think I should get going now, it's almost ten…" he quickly glanced at Astoria who was not at all looking at him and sighed. His plan of winning Astoria heart or at least coming in good terms with her had failed, he knew that. And now he had no chance, not even one last thing that he could say to her before he left the Greengrass's house. His brain was not working and he had given up.
"Non-sense! You can wait till twelve boy," Cepheus said, grinning.
"Thank you sir but I really should let you all be a family and enjoy. I am intruding way too much and your daughter doesn't want me here, I can tell that even when she is not looking at me," Draco said, getting up from the chair.
Astoria looked up at him, angrily and spat, "That is it! What you just said…! You said you were intruding... if you felt that why didn't you leave the moment you came here. Yes, I said it. Is it because you actually saw, for the very first time in your life, what a family looks like because your family is too bloody fucked up?!"
"Astoria!" Margaret scolded.
"It's okay, she is just angry," Draco said quickly, not wanting to instigate her further.
"Why are you defending me in front of my mum?!" Astoria exclaimed. "Why are you even here?! I knew my mum was up to something and I kind of figured that she might have invited you but do you even know what that means?! You are a guest so stop trying to work with my mum and laughing with my dad. I just don't understand how could you do this?! And mum, dad, how could you fraternize with the guy who always hurt me?!"
"Astoria, its enough. You wouldn't want to start this New Year with such a hot temper," Cepheus said, trying to calm his daughter down.
"No!" Tears threatened to fall from her eyes. "No! No! I don't want him in my house or anywhere near me because…" Finally the tears fell, running down her cheeks, smudging her mascara. "I… I hate you Malfoy… I was never such a selfish girl but since you came back my mind is filled with thoughts about you. I have become so narrow minded… I hate myself and that is all because of you."
"Astoria Greengrass, GO TO YOUR ROOM!" Cepheus yelled finally, his eyes red with anger.
She looked up at her father as new tears fell from her eyes and said, "NO! LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR!"
Draco immediately stormed towards Astoria, not wanting her to say anything irrational to her parents, and grabbed her left hand. "You have a problem with me… then talk to me, don't be rude to them."
"Problem?!" She snapped. "You make me so… I… I can't do this anymore… I can't handle this."
"What do you…?" He couldn't complete his sentence because her hand, once again, hit hard against his cheek, making him fall down on the floor. He looked up at her tear covered face and felt his heart shatter, not because she had slapped him but because he was the one causing her so much pain. He never wanted things to be like that.
She immediately stormed out of the house and into the snow, wearing nothing but a thin sweater, jeans and boots, and disapparated. He knew that he should go after her; give her his jacket… at least preventing her from getting sick again. But he knew that first he needed to explain to her family what actually is going on.
He stood up and looked sadly at her family. He knew she was right, he felt for the very first time in his family how a family acts and he was feeling amazing. Though if she wanted him to get away from her, he would.
"What is going on?" Cepheus asked, in a serious tone. "What is between my daughter and you? She never acts like this. She is not like this."
"If you want to know the answer to that," said Draco, "You need to hear some things which she probably she has never told you. I don't know whether you would be able to look at me with respect after that…"
"Spill it. NOW!" Cepheus growled. No one else except for Draco dared to utter another word.
"If you remember I…" He went on telling them everything from their very first encounter where she had shoved his against a wall for calling Margaret a mudblood to the very recent where he had supported her whilst she was healing at St Mungo's. He didn't even hide the fact that he had altered her memory, he confessed everything and even the fact that he was irretrievably in love with her.
"So you see… I am not a good person but I love her so much… Even if she doesn't think that I am capable of loving her, I do. And I can't think about anything other than her. I want to make her happy but I am just making her sad and miserable… I am lost… I don't know what to do…"
"Oh my," Jade and Margaret said, dabbing their eyes with handkerchiefs.
"Did she tell you all this ever?" Cepheus asked Margaret and Orion softly.
"Draco," Orion said, finally speaking. "I don't know what you are seeing… I know I am no one to say this but I feel this is the truth… my sister… she… I believe loves you too."
Draco turned to face him, shocked. "Yes," Orion said. "You know she is crazy. She is mental. Well, you know that, obviously. I said this because even if it was to say how much she loathes you; there hasn't been a day when she hasn't mentioned you. You understand? What I meant by that was why would she even bother with you if she didn't care for you. She doesn't talk about Derek as much but you… she has stories to tell. She even repeats events… you have no idea how many times she said that you were an arse in this pass month… She loves you… Astoria was always bad in analyzing herself when it came to love. She doesn't know that yet and as a man it is your duty to make her know that."
"If you truly love her," Jade began, entwining her fingers with Orion's, "Then show her. Be her friend. She is broken because of you… I have known Astoria for not very long but she is a very brave girl. She doesn't need you to fix her, she needs you to love her while she fixes herself… You need to man up. You can't be angry and push her into kissing you; she should be the one talking that step and when that happens… you will know that she has finally figured out everything."
"Yes, go! Just think if you take this one step right," Margaret said, almost jumping up and down with excitement. "You could turn your smiles into laughs, laughs into kisses and before you know it you will forget what it was like to be without each other… which also mean lots of grandkids for me."Jade and Orion passed each other a look before looking back at Draco.
"I don't know how to begin… where to begin?" Draco stated truthfully.
Cepheus stood up from the sofa and went to stand by the fireplace. He sighed and then turned towards Draco. "If I see tears in my daughter's eyes again, because of you, I will kill you. Remember that."
"Oh Cepheus!" Margaret exclaimed walking up to her husband and kissing him on the cheek. She turned to look at Draco and said, "Go before it's too late. You got the ultimate approval."
Draco smiled. "But I don't know where she went?!"
Orion got up and handed Draco a coat from the coat-rack. "I know."
Draco looked at Astoria, who was looking back at him sadly, and said, "I was bad guy. I know I have made loads of mistakes in my life but I wanted to make everything right. I am really sorry Astoria… I wish I could tell you… You have always been there for me… I am so sorry for everything."
"Draco," said an unknown voice. His vision was getting blurred, he opened and closed his eyes a few times and then shook his head to focus. He didn't know what had happened for a few seconds there but it looked as if the others hadn't noticed him getting a little fuzzy. Was that the alcohol or…?
(A/N: I hope you guys are enjoying the story till now. I know its going a bit slow right now but Astoria and Draco need that development. No one falls in love or gets out their anger in one day.)
Please leave a review. :)