Written for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments) Term 14
Additional challenges listed below
Warning:
Word Count – 1287
Astoria was the morning. She was the sunshine, the warmth and the promise of a new beginning. She was the sound of birds chirping and neighbors wishing each other good morning. Astoria was life, smiles, easy laughs and hugs. She was present, comforting and physical. Astoria was also a team player. She had the curiosity, the creativity and the wisdom of the Ravenclaw. She was the light. She had welcoming brown eyes and soft, flowy dark hair. She was a mother, a sister and a wife. Draco's wife. Draco's soulmate.
Draco was the night. He was the moonlight, the cold and the end of a cycle. He was the silence of the deep sleep and lonely contemplations. Draco was survival, stares, suspicion and hesitant touches. He was aloof, sceptic and practical. Draco was also a solo player. He had the ambition, the cunning and resourcefulness of the Slytherin. He was the dark. He had cold blue eyes and a perfectly cut hair that he used as an armour. He was a son, a fighter and a husband. Astoria's husband. Astoria's soulmate.
Draco's hand was shaking as he held the picture close to his face. He wanted to etch every detail into his memory. The sun was shining over her, enhancing that angelical glow that she already had. She looked perfect in her favourite purple dress, blowing bubbles and laughing as one popped on Draco's forehead. Draco's lips were arched slightly upward in amusement, which was the closest he got to smiling those days. And he was wearing black. He was always wearing black.
Most of their old pictures were like that. Astoria had a big smile on her face as she said or did something to make him relax, and most of the time he just stood there, intimidating. It's not that he wasn't happy around her, or that she couldn't make him smile. Quite the opposite, really. She was the only one that could, and he was going to protect that at all costs. Protect her at all costs. Even if he had to look like a damn bodyguard when they went anywhere together.
He knew that whoever it was that had gotten the damned tattoo that tied them to him would be in for a ride. He prayed that it would be someone as cold and thick skinned as he was. When the Greek goddess appeared on his forearm the second he saw her at the Greengrass estate, he feared for both her sake and his. Astoria was nowhere near what he wanted, and he went home that night begging whatever higher power there was to make the tattoo of the dragon disappear from her body.
Draco had been right. Astoria was not what he wanted, but she was what he needed. As he picked up one of the last pictures they ever took together, he could see how obvious it was. She was his missing piece.
"Looking back on my life, you're the only good I've ever done," he said, touching the photograph.
"Ouch," said a voice from behind him.
"I didn't know you were there, Scorpius. I'm sorry."
"No, you're not." Scorpius smiled faintly. "It's alright. I know how much you miss her."
"I wished she knew that."
"I'm sure she does, Dad."
Draco smiled. A real one, that he had learned from her. Even with all the bad he'd done, Astoria and Scorpius never left his side. Together, the three Malfoys rebuilt the family name from the ground up, and helped Draco become a better person.
"I could have done so much more for her," he said, staring at all the pictures spread across his bed.
"You've done all you could." Scorpius' wisdom came from Astoria, Draco was sure. He had all the right words in the right moments.
"I should've done more." His stubbornness didn't care about the right words, though.
"Sure, Dad." Scorpius gave in. Draco knew he didn't believe it, but he appreciated not having his son fighting back.
Draco shivered when the cold wind hit his arms. He had refused to wear long sleeved shirts ever since she had died. If he wasn't looking at the tattoo on his forearm, he was touching it. Scorpius knew that, and, instead of a jacket, brought a blanket to wrap around his father.
"Can I have Raveryn?" Draco asked, extending his hand.
Draco had hated that name when Astoria suggested. He had thought it was tacky and unoriginal, but hadn't said anything. She said that it was the perfect name for something that was theirs. A mix between Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Draco and Astoria.
Scorpius handed him the miniature dragon that had been Astoria's wedding gift for him. She had tied it to Draco's life force. How she did that, he had no idea. Raveryn curled up into a ball as soon as Scorpius put him in Draco's hands. The little dragon had gotten more and more tired a few days ago, and Draco knew what it meant. Scorpius did too, he was not stupid.
"You never told me why mum went blonde," Scorpius said, probably desperately trying to think about something other than losing the only living parent he still had.
"I honestly don't know. It was a gradual thing. I stopped cutting my hair and she started doing highlights. Next thing we knew, I had long hair and she was blonde." Draco shrugged.
There really was nothing more to it. They had slowly adapted to each other, even physically. Astoria had started buying black clothes, and Draco had incorporated some colour into his wardrobe. Astoria had been raising her eyebrows more, and Draco was smiling more easily. It had been natural.
"Dad," Scorpius' voice was shaky. "Raveryn stopped breathing."
Draco looked down at the little dragon curled up in his hands. His little body didn't rise or fall anymore as he breathed. Draco smiled sadly. "It's time."
"I can hold your hand if you're scared," Scorpius said, sitting by his father's side.
Draco nodded. Not because he was scared, but because Scorpius was.
The feeling of his son's hand on his was the last thing he felt, before the warmth washed over him.
"Took you long enough," his favourite voice said.
Draco didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he settled for both. Astoria's arms were around him in a second, and he sobbed into her neck.
"Remember what I told you at our wedding?" she asked.
"Even death won't part us now," he recited back to her.
"And it didn't."
Astoria had that easy smile on her lips. The one he loved. Draco had one on his face too. The one she loved. She looked as perfect as she had when they were in their twenties. They had been together for over ten years, but to Draco it felt like ten days.
"You're still blonde," he said, stupidly.
Astoria laughed. "I found that I quite like it."
He held her tight against him. They had eternity together, and Draco was sure that it wouldn't be enough. It never was with her.
Astoria and Draco are the afternoon. They are the warm weather with the fresh wind, and the beauty of the moments being lived. They are the sound of promises whispered and pebbles hitting the water. Draco and Astoria are love, redemption, tears and hand holding. They are protective, resilient and human. Draco and Astoria are a family. They have the good and the bad of kids who went through war. They are the sunset. They have all the beautiful colours in their eyes, and the blonde in their hair. They are parents, children and spouses. Each other's spouse. Each other's soulmate.
Writing Club April
Record Collection - 6. Ain't That Just the Way, Lutricia McNeal: Write about wishing you'd done more when you had the chance.
Showtime - 7. One Hand, One Heart - (dialogue) "Even death won't part us now."
Lizzy's Loft - 13. (item) Old Photograph
Elizabeth's Empire - 27. Two Pieces - Demi Lovato / (au) soulmates
Lyric Alley - 2. I'ma say all the words inside my head
Entitled - 14. Down the Rabbit Hole - (theme) death
Would you rather
Gryffindor/Hufflepuff pairing OR a Slytherin/Ravenclaw - Slytherin/Ravenclaw
Leaving on a Jetplane
7. Tokyo: (Weather) Sunshine
Spring Seasonal Challenges
Days of the Year: June 12th - Loving Day: Write about being in love
Aquarium Month: 6. Heater: Write about someone cold being warmed up.
World Theater Day: 14. Mary Poppins - Mary Poppins!AU - alt: 'When the day is gray and ordinary, [Name] makes the sun shine bright'
Children's Book Day: 3. The Cheshire Cat - (action) Smiling
World Autism Day: 11. Write about someone who doesn't like change
Zoo's Lover's Day: 7. Penguin: Write about two people who are together for many years
Space Day: Mars - Trope: Opposites Attract
Spring Flowers: 6. Hyacinth - "I can hold your hand if you're scared."
Crystal and Gemstones: 6. Sunstone (weather) Sunshine
Hufflepuff Challenge: 9. Another Rainy Day In New York City – Chicago – Prompt: (action) looking through old photographs
Spring Funfair
Cocktail Bar: Soda: (Word) Bubbles
Milkshake Bar: 7. Cadbury's Creme Egg - (trope) soulmate
Spring Fling: Happy Together - Turtles
Cherry Blossoms: 16. Shogetsu - (theme) Polar opposites
Urban Safari Checklist: 5. Hippo - (trait) intimidating
Wingardium Levi-Kart Racing: Amortentia Cup - 3. A character with the same hair color
Paint a Rainbow: Brown - 7. Hurt/Comfort
Tree Planting: Cherry - 3. (creature) dragon
Teddy Bears Picnic: 15. Victoria Sponge Cake - (weather) sunshine
Birdhouse Building: Step 5 - (theme) redemption
Spring Petting Zoo: Goat - (word) aloof
Bunny Races: (character) Astoria
Spring Parade: Scooby-Doo - Daphne - (Colour) Purple