Towards the first Quidditch match of the season, things with the DA, which had been going supremely well, were put on hold. Harry had to attend near daily practices, but promised to make it up to them. Aster was fine with that, as she had begun spending more time with Draco.
It started with her sitting by him during lunch. He insisted she sit by him, and refused to take no for an answer. He made sure she ate, at least a decent amount, each meal, and after the first week of doing so, she didn't need him to prompt her. In the commons room, she would sit by him when he was visiting with Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise, and Pansy. Pansy had become cold towards her, but Aster found she didn't mind much.
The gaping hole in her chest had begun to heal, and it was slowly becoming closed again. She still missed Cedric dearly, and she knew she always would, but Draco's presence helped her to not feel so alone. The flames had died down, instead being replaced by butterflies that flapped their wings frantically every time Draco gave her that side eye smirk.
October extinguished itself in a rush of howling winds and driving rain and November arrived, cold as frozen iron, with hard frosts every morning and icy drafts that bit at exposed hands and faces. The skies and the ceiling of the Great Hall turned a pale, pearly grey, the mountains around Hogwarts became snow capped, and the temperature in the castle dropped so far that many students wore their thick protective dragon skin gloves in the corridors between lessons.
The morning of the Quidditch match dawned bright and cold. Aster found herself excited, for the first time in a long time, to attend the Quidditch match. There was a lingering sadness, that this time she would be cheering for Slytherin rather than Hufflepuff, and that she could be cheering for Draco rather than Cedric, but she pushed past it. She dressed warmly, jeans and a thick emerald sweater, her Slytherin scarf and gloves tucked into the inside pocket of her cloak. She laced up her black boots, and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.
The Great Hall was filling up fast, and Aster quickly noticed among the sea of green and silver hats and scarves, there were silver badges in the shape of crowns adorned on the Slytherin's cloaks. Her exuberant mood soured, and she frowned at Draco as she neared him.
Draco gave her a cocky grin, motioning for her to sit in the spare seat next to him. His grin faltered at the look on her face.
"I told you not to make those badges!" fumed Aster, crossing her arms. Draco rolled his eyes, as the others around him laughed.
"Come on, now, just a bit of harmless fun," Draco insisted, raising an eyebrow. "Just trying to support dear Weaselbee in his first Quidditch match!"
"You are absolutely ridiculous!" spat out Aster, and she fumed as she spun away from him. Her appetite was gone, and as she left, she could hear Draco scoffing and muttering something to Crabbe and Goyle.
She managed to catch Harry and Ron as they were hurrying across the entrance hall.
"Harry, Ron!" called Aster, quickly jogging over to the two.
They both greeted her rather frostily, looking as though they both would have rather ignored her.
"What?" she questioned, crossing her arms.
"Shouldn't you be with Malfoy, stroking his ego?" Harry asked crossly, frowning at her.
"Are you serious?" exclaimed Aster. "Am I not allowed to be friends with the both of you?"
"Friends?" Ron scoffed. "You're practically dating the bloke! How could you, knowing how awful he is to everyone?"
"I'm not dating him!" Aster shouted, exasperated. "Y'know, I was merely going to say good luck and that I would be cheering you lot on, but now? I think I'd rather forget about stupid Quidditch!"
Aster stormed away from them then, heading out to the stands. Since she was one of the first to get there, she sat in the first row. It wasn't the best in terms of viewing the match, but she didn't care much. It just meant she could be the first one to leave when it was all over.
In what seemed to be a big rush, the other students came out to fill the stands. Pansy and Blaise walked right past Aster, snickering to each other and laughing as they glanced at her. She considered flipping them off, but she didn't want to get house points taken off. Instead, she settled for casting a tripping spell towards the two of them, a small grin appearing on her face as she heard the clunk of the two slipping on the stairs.
Soon, the stadium was filled and Aster was sitting next to a Ravenclaw student who had a nice smile. Lee Jordan's commentary rang throughout the stadium, and Aster saw that Draco looked angry. He was flying aggressively as he searched for the snitch, and the silver crown pinned to his robes glinted in the light. Aster rolled her eyes.
"The crowd are loving this, just listen to them, what's that they're singing?" Lee Jordan paused his commentary, as the sounds of the Slytherin students singing rang throughout.
Weasley cannot save a thing,
He cannot block a single ring,
That's why Slytherins all sing:
Weasley is our king.
Weasley was born in a bin.
He always lets the Quaffle in,
Weasley will make sure we win,
Weasley is our king.
Lee Jordan began his commentary again, louder this time, undoubtedly trying to drown out the sound of the singing. Aster felt awful for Ron, knowing how the song must affect him, and although her ears were freezing and her cheeks were cold, she refused to put on her house scarf and hat. Right now, she wished she weren't a Slytherin.
As the Slytherin students sang louder, Ron became more and more flustered. He missed the Quaffle, and Slytherin scored. It was throwing off all the Gryffindor team, as the song grew in volume. The Slytherin team couldn't have been more smug, and the grins on their faces showed it.
As the score neared forty-ten, Slytherin was winning, and Aster could see Ron's confidence diminishing. She had seen Draco singing loudly while he searched for the Snitch, and her chest ached. She couldn't help but think of how Cedric would never act that way, but she quickly squashed that thought. She had already made peace with the fact, back when things between her and Draco began changing, that Draco and Cedric were much different people and it would be very unwise to ever compare the two.
Suddenly, Harry and Draco each dived towards the ground at the Slytherin end of the pitch, neck and neck with each other. Aster watched as Harry reached out his arm, Draco immediately doing the same, and then suddenly, Harry pulled upwards, holding the struggling ball in his hands as the Gryffindor spectators screamed their approval.
Then, before anyone could stop it, Crabbe whammed a Bludger over in Harry's direction, hitting him squarely in the small of his back, and he flew off the broom; thankfully he was only five or six feet off the ground from his dive for the snitch.
Madam Hooch blew her shrill whistle, and many students in the crowd leapt to their feet, screaming their disapproval. Aster was one of them, standing to her feet and craning her neck frantically to make sure her brother was alright.
Angelina pulled Harry to his feet, and Harry seemed to be fine. Aster relaxed, but again her anxiety grew as she saw Draco land near Harry, white faced with fury, sneering at Harry.
Aster watched as Draco began saying something, and then, Fred and George stiffened, looking at Draco, and suddenly, Harry and a few of the other Quidditch members were holding the twins back as Draco laughed openly at the sight.
Aster watched, horrified, as suddenly Harry sank a punch into Draco's stomach, George and Draco each punched at each other, Draco receiving a bloody nose and George receiving a swollen lip. Madam Hooch stepped in, stunning the pair, leaving Draco curled up on the ground, whimpering and moaning.
Her heart was in her throat, and she quickly ran to Draco. She knew, of course, that he wasn't innocent, but he was in fact the one laying on the ground with blood dripping from his face.
"Draco," breathed Aster, quickly kneeling to the ground. "You alright?"
"Does it look like it?" Draco moaned, clutching his stomach.
"Miss Snape, please assist Mr. Malfoy to the hospital wing." Madam Hooch said dismissively, waving the pair on.
Aster stood, holding her hand out to Draco. His large one engulfed her small one, and she helped him off the ground. Once he was up, he quickly let go of her hand. Aster frowned.
They headed into the castle, and as they headed into the entrance hall, Draco finally spoke.
"I don't need to go to the hospital wing." Draco stated crossly, stopping in the middle of the hallway.
"Well, Madam Hooch told me to take you there, so that's where you're headed." Aster replied just as crossly, crossing her arms.
Draco wiped at his face, wincing, giving a look of disgust at the mess of blood on his face.
"Here," Aster shook her head, taking out her wand. "Scourgify."
The blood disappeared, leaving Draco's nose crooked and bruises beginning to blossom. Aster felt bad, and she couldn't stop herself from placing a hand gently to his jaw, where a deep colored bruise had spread. He winced, and Aster quickly apologized.
"Madam Pomfrey can fix you right up." said Aster quietly, holding out her hand. After a moment's hesitation, Draco took it, and let her lead him to the hospital wing.
Madam Pomfrey immediately began applying salves to the bruises on Draco's face and jaw, casting a spell that fixed his broken nose. She gave him a light blue colored potion, and instructed him to drink.
She fixed him up rather quickly, and soon sent the two of them on their way, Draco's bruises already beginning to fade. They headed silently to the Slytherin Common room, and as they entered, girls swarmed Draco, asking if he were alright.
A funny feeling entered Aster, and she scowled as she walked to the girls staircase. Yet, a warm hand grabbed hers, tugging her to a stop.
"Can we please talk?"
Aster turned to see Draco giving her a pleading look, and after a moment's hesitation, she nodded. He led her out of the commons room, and instead to the Prefects bathroom. He locked the door behind them, and Aster watched him with wary eyes.
"Look, I don't want you to be upset with me," Draco began, running a hand through his hair. "The Weasley badge was just a bit of fun, you can't fault me for poking at the git-"
"Well, I actually can," interrupted Aster, crossing her arms harshly. "You've no need to bully everyone all the time!"
"It's just who I am!" exclaimed Draco hotly. "You can't expect me to change! I'm not Cedric!"
The air grew tense, and the hollow feeling returned to Aster's chest. She struggled to find words, and only found sadness.
"I feel like you're constantly comparing me to him," Draco continued, pacing the large bathtub in the Prefects bathroom. "Ever since I told you I can just be me around you, I've felt like you've just been expecting me to be like him! I'm not him, I'm not a nice person, alright?"
"It isn't as if Potter and Weasley are angels y'know," Draco sneered, glaring at her. "I don't want you to end up on their side, and get killed! I care much too much about you for that to happen!"
It was silent for a moment as his words hung in the air around them.
"Draco," Aster said quietly. "If you think I'm going to be on Voldemort's side of the war, you're wrong. He killed Cedric, he stands for everything I'm against. If you side with Voldemort, then we no longer need to be having this conversation."
Another silent moment. Draco stared at her, a pained expression on his face. "You keep expecting good from me. What if there's nothing good in me?"
"I don't believe that at all," Aster shook her head harshly. "You are good Draco. I've seen it, even if you haven't. I believe in you. Just, let me believe in you. All you must do is give yourself a chance."
Draco looked conflicted, and a little misty eyed. Slowly, he nodded, and Aster couldn't stop herself from giving him a hug. Draco was stiff in the hug, at first, but slowly he put his arms around her and hugged tight, resting his head on top of her hair.
Aster had forgotten how good it was to hug someone like this. She had her head tucked into Draco's neck, his cologne invading her senses. His arms were tight around her, and he slowly pulled away. Just Aster was starting to miss his embrace, his fingers lifted her chin up towards his face.
His grey eyes stared at her green ones, darting down to look at her lips before coming back to stare at her. "May I kiss you?"
Aster nodded, her cheeks growing hot.
He moved his hand to cup her cheek, his other arm still wrapped around her waist, and he pressed his soft lips against hers.
The butterflies erupted in Aster's stomach, and she reached both hands to grasp the back of Draco's hair, his soft strands like silk in her grasp. His lips parted hers, and his tongue tangled itself with hers. He moved her then, pressing her back up against the wall. His hands snaked their way down to her neck, his fingers interlocking and his cold rings pressing against her throat as he squeezed.
Aster moaned into Draco's mouth, surprised at how much she liked his hands around her throat. It was new to her, and she found she quite liked it. He pressed his body against hers, and she gave a start as she felt his hardness pressing against her.
Draco noticed, and he pulled away then, his eyes hazy as he looked at her swollen lips. He gave her a small smirk, and then pressed quick kisses to her neck, lingering on the last kiss, nibbling and sucking as he left his mark there. Aster could see in the mirror behind them, the reddish purple mark that marred her pale otherwise unblemished skin.
"I've wanted to do that for quite awhile now." Draco told her quietly, his arms still wrapped around her.
Before Aster could reply, there was a knocking at the door. They could hear Pansy Parkinson complaining about the door being locked, and Draco stepped over to unlock it, surprising her.
"Draco, I-" Pansy cut off as she noticed Aster standing off to the side, lips swollen and Draco's mark on her neck. She glanced back at Draco, who also had swollen lips, his hair tousled. "Really? Her?"
Draco's eyes glinted, and he suddenly pushed Aster away. "Come on now, Pansy, you know I can't pass down a bet from Blaise."
A grin grew on Pansy's face, and she slapped a hand to her mouth to suppress her giggles. Aster, and the other hand, felt her chest crack and her cheeks grow hot.
"A bet?" she asked quietly, facing Draco head on.
Draco sneered, raising an eyebrow. "You didn't think I actually cared about you, did you?"
Aster felt something inside her snap then, and without much thought, she raised her wand and casted the infamous Bat Boogey hex. First at Draco, and then at a screaming Pansy.
"Piss off, the both of you." Aster brushed past them, ignoring their cries and shouts, and went straight to her room.
How could she have been so stupid to actually trust Draco fucking Malfoy?
hello! thank you for the lovely reviews i received last chapter. im not sure if i like this chapter much, but let me know if you did! im trying to keep draco as cannon as possible, and hes proving to be a bit difficult to write. hope you all are doing well!
-TheFlyingGraysons