Chapter 18

Astoria had never actually realised how much her job at St. Mungo's was draining her until she took a break. Now, she woke up in the morning not with residual exhaustion but an abundance of energy that she was free to spend on whatever she liked. Of course, she loved her job and she was going to return to it at some point, but after working for years without taking a break, she had desperately needed one.

Still, Astoria needed a project to focus on and last night, Draco Malfoy had provided her with the perfect opportunity. A smile spread across her face when she thought about the moments she had spent with him lately and she couldn't even quite explain why. He had never paid her any attention at Hogwarts, he had been more than rude and ungrateful during their first interactions, but lately, she had been able to see the man he had desperately tried to hide for years. Underneath the rough exterior, underneath the pain and the memories of the war, Draco was funny, sensitive and nice, maybe even kind. The glimpses Astoria had seen were enough to tell her that she liked him. In fact, she had known from that moment in her fourth year that there was something about Draco Malfoy that was worth getting to know. It was only a matter of coaxing him to show it.

With a big yawn, Astoria rose from her bed and reached for her wand. Her pyjama vanished with a simple flick of her wand and it was replaced by a dress from her wardrobe, her hair untangled and a fresh, mint-like flavour filled her mouth. Now, she was ready to start the day with a nice cup of tea and-

"Astoria!" her father's voice called her from downstairs. There was a strange hint of concern in it. "Look out of the window!"

Without having even the faintest clue as to what sight could await her there, Astoria rushed towards the window and her heart skipped a little beat when she saw him. There he was, kneeling on her front lawn and Astoria didn't even wait to assess the situation further before she rushed downstairs to help him. Whatever had happened, whatever he had come here for, there was little doubt in her head that Draco needed help.

"Draco!" Astoria called out as soon as she had left the house. Rushing down the steps, she felt a brief whiff of dizziness, but she ignored it until she had reached him.

He looked up, but Draco's eyes were so unfocused that she doubted he could see her, his breath came out ragged and heavy and he was clutching his chest. Carefully, she knelt down beside him placed her hands on his arms.

"Astoria," he panted desperately. "I think I'm having a heart attack."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Astoria couldn't help but smile a little. Even that was something that she liked about him. Showing up on her front lawn before breakfast in the middle of a panic attack was just the kind of dramatic act that suited Draco.

"No, you're not," she replied in a calm voice. Her hands squeezed his shoulders gently as if she could pull him back by touching him. "You're having a panic attack. You'll be fine. It'll be over in a bit. Just breathe with me."

Draco reached out and placed his hands on her arms in return. Astoria inhaled deeply and he copied her. It took a few moments, but eventually, his breathing slowed and synched with her own. For a while, she just stayed with him in the cold, wet grass and watched the colour slowly return to his face.

That was when the guilt hit her. Maybe, she wasn't as infallible as a healer as she had always thought, maybe, she had made the wrong call, allowed him to leave the hospital to soon. If he had stayed at St. Mungo's, they would have helped him cope with situations just like this one. Leaving his parents' manor to start a new life had been the right call, but it still didn't make everything okay.

"Thank you," Draco said eventually. "I'm sorry, I was-"

"Panicking?" Astoria finished his sentence. "It's okay. I'm the one who should apologise. I'm a healer, I should have known this might happen and…"

She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. There was still time for apologies and blame and self-doubt, but right now, it wasn't what Draco needed.

"Let's go inside. It's cold out here."

Draco didn't hesitate to follow her invitation. In fact, he was on his feet before she was, extending his hand to help her up before letting her lead the way into the cottage. Yet, as they crossed the lawn, Draco's eyes kept looking around with a sense of confusion that surprised her.

"What is it?" Astoria wanted to know.

"Nothing," he mumbled and then turned to look at her. "I was just wondering how in Merlin's name I got here."

Now, it was up to her to look confused. "What do you mean? Didn't you come here to see me?"

Draco stopped and looked around once more before his eyes settled on her. He seemed more baffled than she felt. "I was at Flourish and Blotts, trying to find information about Father's book when Ron Weasley showed up. I… I wasn't going to fight him, but he tried to arrest me and I pulled out my wand. I wanted to Stun him, but I couldn't. I couldn't do magic. I also couldn't breathe and I thought I was going to faint, so I closed my eyes and… I woke up here."

Astoria had a feeling that parts of the story were missing, but she could fill in the blanks by herself. In fact, the story was enough to make her feel flattered. "A panic attack like that messes with your magic, it's nothing to be ashamed of," she explained quietly. "It triggers your fight or flight response, the most basic instincts a person has. No one would be able to do magic like that, your instincts do it for you. And your instincts chose to flee instead of fight."

Your instincts brought you to me, she thought, but Astoria didn't say it out loud, yet, for some strange reason, the thought tugged at her heart and she didn't know how she felt about it. It was the weirdest sensation because Astoria always knew what she felt, she was always in control and aware of what was happening in her head. But then again, before becoming his friend, Astoria had been his healer. His flight response had brought him to the one person who could help. That was all there was to it.

"Let's go inside," Astoria suggested once again. "My family was just about to have breakfast."

Draco seemed on the verge of agreeing, but suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. "I can't have breakfast with your family," he argued instantly.

Ignoring his protests, Astoria reached for his wrist and gently pulled him along. "Yes, you can. They don't bite."

Just as she had suspected, her father and mother were already sitting in the dining room, but the breakfast still remained untouched as if they had been waiting for Astoria to join. Yet when she was about to enter the room, Draco pulled her aside once again.

"I can't have breakfast with your family," he repeated, his voice no more than a whisper. "This is a respectable family and I'm-"

"You're no longer a Death Eater, Draco," she reminded him. "My family doesn't care about your past."

Admittedly, it was a stretch. Astoria was fairly certain that her family wouldn't be entirely thrilled to have Draco Malfoy join them for breakfast, but she didn't care about that. And once they realised that he had changed, that his acquittal had been just, her family wouldn't care about Draco's past either.

He didn't look entirely convinced and still seemed uncomfortable with the idea of joining them, but Astoria didn't leave him a choice. With a gentle push, she shoved him towards the dining room and before he could bolt again, Astoria decided to take care of the introductions.

"Mother, Father," she said and pointed at their guest. "This is Draco Malfoy, a friend, and he'll be joining us for breakfast if that's alright. Draco, this is my father, Aldrich Greengrass, and my mother, Eudora Greengrass."

Draco, although still visibly uncomfortable, nodded in her parents' direction. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Astoria always speaks very highly of you."

A blatant lie, but Astoria had to admit that it wasn't the worst he could have done. Her parents still appeared a little taken aback, but the tension in the dining room lifted somewhat as her father pointed towards a chair and invited Draco to sit. She breathed a sigh of relief. It could only get less awkward from here.

"Please, sit down. It's so rare for Astoria to invite her friends to our home."

Draco offered her father a smile. "It was a rather spontaneous invitation. Otherwise, I would have worn a more appropriate suit for the occasion. I must apologise for the inconvenience."

Astoria couldn't contain it. She and her father burst into laughter at the same time. As sorry as she felt for Draco, to see him so polite in front of her parents, to show off his manners in such a way was the most ridiculous things he could have done. Draco looked around uncertainly, obviously unsure of what he had done wrong.

"I have no idea what you two are laughing about," her mother said sternly. "At least this young man was taught proper manners. Something that certainly can't be said about you two. Say what you will about his family, but at least he knows how to be polite."

"I'm sorry, Draco," Astoria apologised quickly. "But we're a lot less formal here."

Her father was still laughing and barely managed to take a sip from his coffee while her mother poured a cup for Draco as well. Still, he looked utterly uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, Mr Greengrass-" he attempted to say, but her father cut him off.

"Please, call me Aldrich," her father prompted him, still chuckling to himself. "Ah, your father was always a pompous arse."

"Father!" Astoria scolded him. Maybe, it had been a bad idea to invite him to stay for breakfast.

However, to her surprise, Draco nodded. "I can't deny that."

Astoria watched helplessly as her father leaned across the table to have a proper look at Draco, who shied away from his gaze. "I can see the pomp rubbed off on you somewhat, but I can't see my daughter being friends with an arse. You're not an arse, Draco, are you?"

"Dad, please," she interrupted immediately, her voice now stern. "I invited Draco as my guest."

Still, Draco decided to answer. "I try not to be," he admitted.

"Speaking of daughters," Astoria threw in. "Where's Daphne?"

This time, it was her mother who replied. "Sleeping in. I heard her come home rather late last night. If she's not careful, she's going to turn into an actual owl one of these days."

The conversation died down a little as everyone was starting to eat. Astoria threw a careful glance at Draco, who looked at her in return over the rim of his cup. His eyes were pleading with her to help him, but no matter how awkward it was, Astoria was determined to sit this one out. If her parents behaved, it might show Draco that not everyone was prejudiced against him. If…

"How is your mother doing?" Eudora Greengrass asked him a short while later. "She and I used to be friends at Hogwarts, but I'm afraid we lost touch after she married your father. I haven't seen her in years."

Draco cleared his throat. "My parents, uh, they don't go out much these days. But both are in good health."

"Well, be sure to give her my best when you see her," Astoria's mother said.

"What about you, Draco?" Aldrich Greengrass wanted to know, shoving a spoonful of porridge into his mouth. "What do young people get up to these days? I mean, Astoria has been working at St. Mungo's practically non-stop ever since she left Hogwarts and who knows what Daphne is up to most of the time. How do you pass the time? Interesting career? Hobbies?"

"I hope you don't feel the need to give in to my husband's interrogation," her mother threw in before Astoria could. "His lack of manners is the reason we never get invited to dinner parties."

"You really don't need to answer. My father is just being nosy," Astoria growled, throwing a dark look in her father's direction - who ignored her completely.

Draco, however, surprised her by smiling earnestly for the first time.

"It's fine, I, uh, I actually just moved out of my parents' house," Draco admitted. "My parents weren't pleased, but I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. I haven't really done anything since the war, but your daughter kindly told me to get off my butt."

Aldrich Greengrass burst into laughter. "Ah, that sounds like her."

"You mean that sounds like your parenting," her mother added, shaking her head slightly. "I certainly tried to raise my daughters to be polite."

Astoria glanced around the table and even though it was now her turn to be embarrassed, Draco seemed a lot less so.

"Draco, are you interested in Quidditch at all?" her father wanted to know after a few moments had passed.

He nodded. "Well, of course!" he replied immediately.

"What do you think about the Falmouth Falcons?"

Astoria watched the conversation with curiosity while having no idea where it could possibly lead. Her knowledge of Quidditch was marginal at best.

Draco shrugged. "I think they've done pretty well for themselves lately. They lost their touch a few years back when they lost against the Cannons, but since they've replaced most of their players, I think they could go back to the top."

Her father eyed Draco for a long moment, his face unreadable. Then, his mouth turned into a smile. "I've got tickets to their game against the Tornados in two weeks and since my women couldn't tell a Bludger from a Quaffle, how would you like to join me?"

Draco looked as baffled as Astoria felt and she watched his mouth fall open at the surprise invitation.

"I, uh, I don't know," he uttered, still completely flabbergasted.

Her father grinned. "I'll take that as a yes."

Astoria walked Draco to the patch of grass behind the cottage's protection barriers from where he could Disapparate, both of them quiet after the strange breakfast. She wondered whether she had pushed Draco a little too far and whether inviting him to stay for the meal had been a mistake. After all, just this morning, he had suffered a panic attack and meeting her parents couldn't have been the nicest of experiences. Yet before she had come up with a decent way of opening the conversation, Draco began to laugh.

"What the hell happened in there?" he asked, the amusement and bewilderment audible in his voice.

Seeing him laugh lifted her spirits somewhat and Astoria allowed herself to laugh with him, shaking her head at the same time. "I have no idea, but I apologise for my parents."

"You have absolutely nothing to apologise for," he said sincerely. "I thought they were charming. Your dad especially."

"Really?" Astoria stopped dead in her tracks and looked at him.

Draco came to a halt next to her and looked right into her face. He did seem more relaxed now than he had earlier. "Really," he confirmed. "He's something else, but at least now I know where you get it from."

Astoria smiled at him in return, relieved that he wasn't mad for the impromptu breakfast, relieved that he had had a decent time.

"Thank you," he said after a while. His face had taken on a more serious expression now. "It's been a while since I've… well, talked to people. Normal people. Is he really going to take me to that Quidditch game, though?"

She chuckled. "I think so, yes," Astoria confirmed.

"Well, tell him I'm looking forward to that," Draco said.

Then, all of a sudden, he leaned forward and Astoria didn't even have the opportunity to realise what was happening when he planted a brief, soft kiss on her left cheek. The surprise of it caused her heart to jump inside her chest, but not in an entirely unpleasant way. In fact, Astoria had kind of enjoyed the brief sensation. It was as if his gratefulness had been palpable on her skin.

"Thank you, Greengrass," Draco said once again, smiling. "I'll see you around."

Astoria grinned at him. "See you, Malfoy."