Summary: Draco loved Astoria, but she was betrothed to another who tarnished her beauty. When he catches her betrothed in the act, Draco reacts accordingly to defend her honor even if it almost kills him.

Rated: T

Genre: Hurt/Comfort; Tragedy

Warning Tag: Language, Implied/Referenced Abuse; Near-Death Experience; Descriptions of Drowning

Spell Guide

Aquis Ab Intra - Water from within (Drowning Curse)

Torpere - Numb (Numbing Hex)

Unnamed purple and green hexes - becomes acidic on contact. Capable of "melting" shield charm.

A Scrap of Dignity, A Fight for Grace

The Minister's Ball was well underway. It hadn't even been a year since the war ended and his parents—his mother especially—strived to suck up to Minister Shacklebolt to make up for it by hostin. The Minister's end-of-the-year Ball was a success in her books, but that just meant everything had to be absolutely perfect. All of it made Draco feel ill.

He spotted one of his friends, Theo, over at the bar and decided to at least interact with someone he wanted to speak to for a change.

"Just the git I was looking for," Draco teased.

"Bugger off," Theo replied, holding up his empty tumbler for the bartender to replenish.

"What yeh drinking?" the bartender asked, looking at Draco.

"Whatever he is having."

Accepting the tumbler, the blond shot back a larger gulp than anticipated and nearly spat the amber liquid out. The unexpected cinnamon taste burned the back of his throat and caught him off guard. Rather than appear a complete priss about it, Draco finished swallowing with a cough.

"Damn, quite bold to throw it back like that so eagerly without knowing what it was," Theo observed, grey eyes glaring at him. "Bad day?"

"Don't get me started," Draco grumbled, taking a cautious second sip of the liquor. "Has a kick to it. What the hell am I drinking?"

Theo chuckled, taking a sip himself. "Better than firewhisky, right? Personal favourite of mine, especially around the holidays; cinnamon whisky."

"How suiting. Burns like hell."

The two clinked glasses, better prepared for the burn, Draco finished the drink. "How is Hogwarts treating you? They still holding contempt for Slytherin?"

Theo shook his head. "Not that I can tell. Everyone leaves us alone really. Teachers are the same. To be honest it's quite boring; I only re-attended to assure myself not to fail my NEWTs. You got lucky, mate."

"Normally I'd love to disagree with this prat, but he's right," Blaise chimed in, appearing beside Draco. "Fortunately you were the only smart one to not return, Malfoy."

Theo nodded in agreement with Blaise. Casually sipping at his whisky while eyeing the crowd around them.

"Seems like it," Draco replied.

Blaise noticed his colleagues' wandering gaze. "Picking out the pretties from afar again, Theo?"

"Nah, but I am curious to see if that one enhanced beauty is back." He nudged Draco's arm to get the blond's attention. "You know that one that your father fanned at you last time? She around?"

"Miss Dahlquist and family declined the invitation. Thank Merlin," Draco explained, glancing at the crowd to reassure himself.

"Damn shame you scared her off," Theo huffed.

"Or she was barmy," Blaise cut in, "I watched Draco slink away as soon as he was able. No one would abandon an enchantress like that unless she was round the bend," he continued, defending his blond friend. "Besides, Theo here has been enjoying a piece of your girl in school already. Quite inappropriate to prowl for another one."

Theo hit Blaise in the arm, sending him a glare that said he'd hex him as soon as he was able. Draco felt a twinge of anger in his chest, but needed to rationalize who exactly they were speaking of. No one knew about his relations with Astoria aside from her house elf, keeping the letters stowed away from prying eyes, and assumed she would be doing the same except far better than himself. A dorm full of gossiping girls would be a nightmare to face.

"Excuse me?" he snapped back despite himself, giving Theo his full attention.

"Relax mate. I thought you two were over with. Or at least that's her claim," Theo quickly explained, prepared to ward off any attack from Draco. "Pans sounded quite sure you two broke up."

Blaise had an unchecked grin the entire time Theo stumbled over his words. He enjoyed stirring the cauldron when things got dull. Watching Draco's irritation dissipate was disappointing, but it brought up other questions for Blaise to throw around.

"Pansy?" Draco repeated, the heat on his skin cooled at the name.

Theo slowly lowered his hands when he was not going to get jumped, yet he still shot Blaise another dark look, to which was returned with an innocent shrug.

"Aye."

"Have at it. We ended things over summer. She wasn't keen on the idea of I not being back in school again," Draco lied, playing it off as casual as he could.

In reality he hadn't spoken or owled the witch since his coming of age party. It was apparent she was really upset about their conversation, and the two never officially broke up with one another. However, it couldn't have happened in any better setting, Draco decided.

Relieved, Theo finished off his glass and had the three wizards topped off. "Good to know. Spare a bloke next time on the getting miffed bit. I nearly had a heart attack."

"I'd hope you realize by now Blaise has a knack to get a rise out of people for pure amusement," Draco pointed out. The liquor made quick work in loosening the blond up, and he welcomed the relaxation.

A snicker came from their mischievous friend. "I'm hardly that transparent.

"You have me curious though, Draco." The two wizards looked to Blaise, piquing their interest. "Who did you think I was talking about to get you heated over it if you were already over Parkinson?"

Draco smirked, hoping that minute reaction was going to go unnoticed, yet Blaise was too observant at times for his liking. As if on cue, grey eyes zeroed in on Astoria who was dancing with friends. A smile plastered on her face, dark sandy hair in a complicated updo, a baby blue and white dress adorned with gemstones glimmered in the light. The smirk broadened at the sight of the witch, and before the two wizards could eliminate the choice girls their friend was watching, he placed an empty tumbler down and excused himself.

He approached Astoria as the upbeat song came to an end and her friends dispersed for refreshments. Catching her hand before she could do the same, she turned to face him as he lightly kissed his hand.

"Evening, Miss Greengrass," Draco greeted, eyes reflecting his smile.

"Hey Draco!" Astoria replied, retrieving her hand from his to pull a tendril behind an ear.

A slower song started to echo across the room. Her face was pinkened from dancing, lighting up her hazel eyes with life. Draco took the opportunity that was presented to him. Offering her a hand, he made a half bow.

"May I have this dance?"

Her face turned another shade of pink, but smiled and gladly took it. Looking back to her friends who took to the sidelines, they eyed her questioningly as she was guided to the dance floor. The pair took the appropriate positions, and waited a beat before falling into step with the other couples who danced around them.

Draco pulled her a little closer than he should have, keeping a hand firmly on her lower back, she did not object or push away. They did not take their eyes off each other.

"You look beautiful," he whispered, not wanting to disturb the atmosphere that hung in the room now. The music was lovely, though the words fell on deaf ears. "Like some enchantress."

Astoria held in a snort, finding the complement more silly than flattering. "Did you pick that up from one of your dashing mates at the bar?"

It was Draco's turn to not burst into laughter, the liquor made it so easy to lose composure. "Unfortunately.

"You really are gorgeous," he reaffirmed, smiling. "If I didn't know any better I swear the moon herself dressed you."

The witch smiled, a blush appearing. "Thank you. You're so charming when you're drunk."

"Hardly drunk," he retorted.

"Relaxed, then."

A nod in agreement quieted the pair. Focusing back to their dance, the two silently took in one another. The past months they wrote almost daily; mostly about trivial things, and occasionally the two wandered into forbidden conversation. It was always a thrilling and terrifying topic to dabble in, especially when she would send him muggle books she recommended to read, and was stubborn enough to tell him that he'd just have to read it for himself to understand when he asked for her to summarize them instead.

Draco's lips tingled in reminder of their shared kiss so many months ago, and if there were not so many onlookers around them, he would have returned it now. Needing to remember that they were only friends in public, but the countless letters they exchanged in private made it so hard to remember this important information. Right now he was going to savor the time he had with her and this dance, hoping it didn't ever have to end.

She was betrothed to another, after all.

"Ahem." The daunting voice of Elijah tore Draco from his fantasies, halting the two on the spot. "Pardon my rudeness, if I may cut in?"

Grey eyes glowered at the dark-haired wizard. If Draco appeared protective, he did not realize it as he did not comply immediately to the request.

Astoria had to speak in order to allow him to give her hand to him. "Of course."

Being as polite as he could, Draco stepped quietly away from the two, the reassuring look Astoria gave him did not bring comfort. A new song emitted, and Draco had no choice but to let her go. This did not mean he couldn't keep his eyes glued to them however, which is what he did when he returned to the bar. Blaise had busied himself with someone nearby, but Theo jumped on him immediately upon his return.

"Rotten luck, mate. I'd have hexed the freak into oblivion if I were you," Theo sympathised, offering the blond a lime green drink this time. Draco accepted it despite himself. "So, when did you two hit it off? Didn't think you were interested in the Greengrass'. Cheeky witches, those sisters. Surprised they're your type. You are aware she is betrothed to that git she is now with, right?"

He rambled on, Draco barely listened as he watched Elijah and Astoria's every move. He barely tasted the sour drink he guzzled down; instead the burn only seemed to fuel his anger. Another drink was finished before Theo grabbed his arm when he asked for another.

"Slow it down there, mate. It's not meant to be shot back like that," he cautioned. "That Rowle fellow really gets to you that bad still?"

Draco shrugged his friend off, knowing that he was only wanting to help, nothing was going to until he knew that Astoria was away from Elijah. All his colleague's knew how much he detested the youngest Rowle, yet they never fully knew why. A bitter rivalry was all they wrote it off as, and it could have been as such early on. Distracted by Theo, he lost sight of the two in the crowd. This had him extremely on edge. Especially since Astoria confided in him that Elijah was the one who caused the bruising on her cheek at his coming-of-age party months ago.

"Where did they go?" he demanded.

"Who?" Theo asked, put off by how his friend was behaving.

"Shite."

Draco stormed off into the crowd, combing through it as quickly as possible. When he did not see them, he scanned the immediate gardens, concluding it was too cold to be outside. He was starting to get worried, the longer they were out of his sight; who knows what that insane wizard would do to Astoria.

Abandoning the ballroom, the blond scanned every crevice of each room on the ground floor. Nothing. In a panic, he wondered if they left. Though not out of the question, he knew both of their parents were still present. He climbed the stairs, hoping that he'd find them up there.

"You need to calm down, Elijah. It was just one dance with a friend," Astoria's voice echoed down the hall. Her normally gentle voice was raised and irritated. This prompted Draco to quickly investigate.

"Well you seemed to be quite comfortable and—dare I say?—intimate to be dancing with someone who is only a friend," Elijah spat back, causing Draco to grit his teeth in agitation at the tone used.

"You're misinterpreting—"

"Don't lie!"

Draco turned the corner just as Elijah's palm made contact with Astoria's face. The loud slap it made echoed down the corridor, and before he knew it, his blood boiled beneath his skin. He approached them without hesitation, wand drawn. Elijah Rowle was not going to get away with the abuse this time.

"Hey!" Draco spat, startling Elijah enough that Astoria was able to break loose of his hold on her.

She immediately moved away from the younger wizard and got behind Draco. "You need to remember your manners!"

Sending a nonverbal hex Elijah's way as he spoke, the dark-haired boy stepped away from the wall and flourished his own wand quickly in front of him, effectively blocking. He had a wicked smile on his face and it glowed in his light green eyes.

"I strike a nerve eh, Malfoy?" he hissed, taking a couple steps back as Draco approached, slowing his enraged pace. Casting another spell the kids way, Elijah simply sidestepped it.

Spreading his arms causally away from him, loosely gripping his wand. "Missed me. Care to try again?"

Astoria stayed behind Draco, cupping her swelling cheek, tears stinging her eyes.

"Don't provoke him, Draco..." she muttered, but it had fallen on deaf ears as the blond stared down Elijah.

"You of all people should know to never strike a lady," Draco growled, gripping his wand even tighter as he contemplated his next line of attack. The younger boy just chuckled at this, gesturing to Astoria with his free hand.

"If you are referring to her as a lady, then you're gravely mistaken. All I see is a common whore standing behind you." Elijah flashed a devilish smirk toward Draco, taunting him to make a move.

Everything happened all too quickly. Elijah blocked both spells and dodged a third Draco sent his way before he managed to send one of his own jinx's' back at the blond. For only being sixteen, Elijah was well trained in dueling and nonverbal magic. Death Eater children were trained on the side, after all; Draco was just as good at that age.

Astoria scrambled toward the wall to avoid being hit by any rogue spells; frantically searching her person for her own wand to stop them to no avail.

"Elijah, stop it!" she yelled, hearing him shout a spell that could be deadly had it connected.

To her dismay, the two wizards were engaged in a violent duel in the deserted corridor of the manor, and she couldn't find her wand to help stop them. Oddly there were no photographs of Draco's ancestors in this hall; just landscapes, so she was unable to demand them to get help. Deciding that was the best course of action, the witch made her way down the corridor and away from them. The dark-haired wizard's eyes shifted to Astoria, and his next spell was aimed at her, throwing her hard into the wall.

"Where do you think you're going, witch?!" he hissed, distracted from her attempt to run.

"Torpere!" Draco shouted.

The yellow spell struck Elijah's left hand, numbing it on contact. The young wizard looked at Draco viciously, clearly not happy the spell connected. Moving the wand to his right hand, he promptly pointed it at the blond.

"Your fight is with me," Draco hissed.

"Is that all you got, Malfoy? Petty hexes and jinxes? No heart in it at all." A mocking scoff emitted as Elijah shook his head. "I thought you cared about the slut?"

"Shut. Up!" Draco spat, throwing a nonverbal silencing charm at him, followed by a vibrant purple and lime green curse. Elijah blocked them, laughing as they violently ate away the barrier like acid.

"Oh, am I upsetting you?" Elijah asked mockingly. "Pretty pathetic defender, if you ask me," he added, dodging another spell while countering. "Stupefy! Locomotor mortis!"

He threw back to back at Draco, who blocked them but was sidetracked just enough he had not seen the yellow spell come at him until it struck, numbing the leg from the knee down. Draco collapsed, the sudden lack of feeling surprised him. He did not take his focus off Elijah, casting spells as fast as he could conjure them in his mind.

"Diffindo," Elijah sent back.

A fast, thin jet of bright red light came from his wand, shooting just past Draco's face. He felt a warm liquid flow down his cheek shortly after, followed by a burning sensation. Touching his cheek, the blond felt a small yet deep cut where the spell just missed—or he thought. Looking at the blood on his fingers, Draco shot Elijah a dark look, clenching his teeth as he attempted to stand on a still numb leg.

"See, Astoria?" Elijah scoffed, taking a few steps forward while gesturing to Draco. "He's all talk and no bite. Pathetic and weak. I really don't know what you see in him."

Elijah turned his attention to her who was glaring at him on the sidelines. A vicious smirk formed. "I suppose he probably could have casted a confundus charm on you so you'd give him the light of day if," the dark-haired wizard stopped about a meter from Draco, "I didn't already know you were a shameless harlot that enticed him to begin with."

Draco's head snapped up, eyes burning with outrage. Elijah caught the look as the blond thrust his wand arm forward. A split second hesitation stalled the incantation.

"Cruc—"

"Aquis Ab Intra!" Elijah rattled out in a panic.

A pale blue light shot forward and hit Draco square in the chest right before he was able to cast the unforgivable. Draco froze on the spot, mouth partially open, eyes wide in shock. Astoria watched helplessly, wondering what spell was inflicted upon him. It was not a familiar incantation.

"Elijah, you bastard! What did you do?!" she shrieked, running over to Draco's side as he collapsed to the floor.

It felt like his lungs were on fire, clamping his mouth shut several times in an attempt to swallow a breath to no avail. Draco's lungs ignited with pain as they slowly filled with water instead of air. Clawing at his throat, he fought to try and breathe only to cause more agony. He was drowning from water filling his lungs from within.

Elijah stood there in near shock watching the scene unfold in front of him, he almost experienced an unforgivable. He wasn't even going to resort to using them, but one little quarreling duel over a girl and Draco resulted in trying a cruciatus on him. He shook his head in disgust.

Snapping out of it, Elijah regained composure. Sauntering over to the pair, he knelt in front of the slowly fading Draco with a wild look in his eyes. Astoria's angry glare quickly changed to distraught pleading, tears filling her eyes as she looked to Elijah. The blond's ears started to ring from lack of oxygen, and his vision was blurring as they desperately tried to focus on her.

"Please stop it! You're killing him! Please reverse whatever curse you used," she cried, fighting the tears.

Draco rolled to his side as his body started to convulse, his gasps only occasionally letting in a hopeless breath, he could barely make out the two speaking while he fought to remain conscious. Seeing Elijah place a hand on Astoria's cheek he struck earlier, Draco really wanted to rip his arm clean off for touching her so gently.

"Do...n't to...ou...ch..." he rasped, water trickling from his mouth. His vision started to fade; he wasn't going to last much longer.

He was going to die by that wretched kid's hands.

Elijah laughed, ignoring Draco's ragged whispers. "My dear, Astoria," he said in a sickeningly sweet tone, "I merely defended myself. He attempted an unforgivable on me; I countered with a drowning curse. It is only fair."

Grabbing Draco's wand, Astoria dug it into her betrothed's throat, eyes filled with fire. "Reverse the spell or so help me!"

Elijah only chuckled. "You dare point a wand at me? Try me, I dare you."

She only dug it further into his throat, not backing down. He placed a hand under her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"I think he did confund you," he tisked. "You are way too smart to try and get with some Death Eater scum that fancies the unforgivables," he drawled on, completely ignoring the dying Draco beside him. He wiped a tear from her cheek as they started to run freely. She fixed her gaze back to Draco.

"Please… stop this," she whispered.

Elijah rolled his eyes and waved his wand over Draco, muttering the counter curse with a growl. The blond immediately regurgitated a large amount of water from his mouth, an audible gasp and uncontrolled cough was made as he sucked in precious air. This only caused him to cough out more water. Rolling back to his side, the remains of the fluid expelling his lungs came up in the meantime. Draco nearly passed out then, shaken and exhausted from the terrifying experience. He forced himself to remain awake, taking careful breaths while his vision cleared.

Elijah leaned in close to the side of Astoria's face, taking his hand that was now regaining feeling to push sandy locks away from her ear

"You know what, Astoria?" he whispered sickeningly sweet, "I still own you."

He shoved her away from him before standing; she fell back onto her arms from the force. Dropping a wand at his feet, Astoria noticed it was hers and scrambled over to snatch it up, holding it to her chest while glaring at Elijah.

"Better think twice before jinxing me from behind," he warned before turning away from them. "I won't hesitate to recast that curse on both of you."

With that threat hanging in the air, Elijah walked away, disappearing around the corner. Astoria went back to Draco's side, helping him sit upright. He was very out of it and exhausted, feebly reaching for the hawthorn wand laying nearby. A groan escaped, and the blond wrapped an arm around his torso instead. Breathing hurt, yet the rage that lingered burned even more. The fool nearly took his life and was so nonchalant about the entire thing. This alone was what made Elijah so dangerous; and here he thought he'd witnessed the most vicious wizards and witches out there already; this kid was outright insane. A pupil Bellatrix would've been proud to get her hands on. A shiver ran down his spine at the thought.

"We need to get you to your room. You need to rest," Astoria suggested, being gentle in helping the blond to his feet. "I'll call a healer and—"

"No," Draco rasped out, throat scorching with each word, "I can't let him get away with this."

"He almost killed you!" the witch all but shouted, annoyed at the response. "We need to tell someone, attempted murder is not something that can be overlooked."

He shook his head, dismissing the request. "What good would it do? That scum will be dismissed as harmless and I'd be made the liar."

Face twisted in pain, clutching at his chest, Draco took in a few heavy, pain stricken breaths. An uncontrolled shiver broke out across his body, he felt so cold. Clothes saturated with his expelled bile and water only made him shiver more.

Astoria showed concern, but was not happy that the entire situation was going to be swept under the rug. "You need to rest. Over exerting yourself will do you no good."

As if to reinforce the witch's words, Draco's body buckled under him. She was barely able to assist in supporting him as he fell against the wall. The overwhelming weakness and exhaustion washed over his body. Being without air for such a dangerous amount of time was taking its toll.

The blond swore the next time he saw Rowle, he would be the one writhing in pain on the ground. If only he did not hesitate to cast that curse…

If only…

"Dizzy!" he heard Astoria yell, vision blacking out before he could stop it from consuming him.

Originally Written For:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments)

Monthly Challenges for All

Word Count: 4,102

Originally Written: May 2019