A/N: Enjoy!
Hogwarts: Write about a character who struggles to remain honest.
Special rule: A Half-blood
Mandatory prompts: [Genre] Crime
Optional prompts: [Dialogue] "I need you to understand that I am not emotionally involved in this situation.", [Word] Invisible
WC: 2,783
Year: 4
~~ is it wrong to lie for love ~~
Astoria Greengrass had always been invisible.
"Miss Greengrass?"
All her life, she would fade into the background as if she were a demi-guise. After all, she was simply Daphne Greengrass' little sister. Daphne's less pretty sister. Daphne's less charming sister. Daphne's less Slytherin sister. Daphne's less Pureblood sister.
"Would you please step in?"
Well, they didn't know that. She'd always kept it a secret. It wasn't uncommon for unfaithfulness in Pureblood weddings, and Astoria was just the unhappy product of a liaison between her father and a Muggleborn witch. A Half-blood. But nobody knew that, she was very good at lying about her birth.
"Take a seat."
Funnily enough, for Astoria at least, being a Pureblood made her even more invisible. Maybe if people thought 'oh, hey. It's the bastard Greengrass girl', then she would get more attention. But that was not the way the Purebloods did it.
"Please remember that anything you say will be brought up in court if necessary, so please try to be honest."
But then, one day, someone had noticed her, despite her apparent blandness. They kept it quiet, so that it was just the two of them. He liked the fact that she was invisible, and she enjoyed the way she felt safe in her arms. So much that she shared her secret.
"So, I will ask you a few questions. Please answer to the best of your ability."
Astoria looked up, finally, at the Auror sat in front of her and laid out her hands smoothly on her lap, the way she had been taught. "I'll do my best," she promised and smiled, knowing she was probably going to lie through her teeth.
Because, see, sometimes secrets got out, and made their way onto the front page of the newspaper. But Astoria's face wasn't blatantly thrown on the front page because of her blood, no. That was still a secret.
It was because of something much, much worse.
Astoria Greengrass suddenly wasn't quite as invisible anymore.
The doorbell of the shop tinkled, and Astoria quickly put her book down. It was early morning, and there were rarely any customers at this time, so she was quite surprised.
"Good morning!" she called out cheerfully, "Can I help you?"
The man who had just walked in turned to look at her, and Astoria was more than surprised to find that it was no other that Draco Malfoy. Astoria didn't know him very well; he had been Daphne's friend at school, and they'd met at several Pureblood balls, though she doubted he remembered her. People rarely did. But she couldn't help but think that he looked very tired, with bags under his eyes, and sallow skin. He always looked tired, nowadays, whenever his face appeared in the newspapers.
"I—" he started. "Just some sweets, for my mother."
Astoria smiled. That was nice of him, getting sweets for his mother. Astoria worked at Honeydukes, and liked to believe that the world was a nicer place with just a pinch of sugar in it. Sweets you gifted were the best, according to her.
"We've got some nice toffees," she told him, "and also some ice mice, if you like classics. Our Mother's Day selection isn't quite here yet but we've got a few things that could work."
She brought out a few different packages and showed them to him, but he wasn't paying a lot of attention to them. Instead, he was looking at her, like he was trying to remember who she was.
"I'm sorry," he suddenly said, just as she was putting a packet of ice mice back on their shelf, "but do I know you."
She smiled. "You know my sister. I'm Astoria Greengrass."
He nodded. "Right, your Daphne's sister."
There was a moment of silence during which they just looked at each other. Astoria couldn't help but think the newspapers never showed him under the right angle. They showed him frowning, or angry, playing on the shadows too much. He wasn't like that at all, in real life. On the contrary, he was only light, with pale skin, and blond hair. He seemed a lot softer than what the cameras captured.
"And you work? At Honeydukes?" he asked. It was a relatively neutral question, but she could still here the slight emphasis on 'work', as if it were shocking that a Pureblood girl could work.
Well. She wasn't exactly Pureblood, was she? That wasn't the reason she was working, but it was part of it. She'd convinced her father that they were living in a changing world, and that she wanted independence. She knew she had a soft spot in her heart, despite her blood, and he'd let her go out into the big, wide world, convinced she'd come back soon. It had been over a year and she was doing just fine.
Besides, she didn't really want to go back to a 'mother' who secretly hated her, and a sister who constantly mourned a past with Pureblood supremacy that just wasn't going to come back.
"I love sweets," she simply told him with a smile. "Don't you?"
He blinked at her twice and his lips started to curl up in a small smile. "I suppose so."
The smile softened his features even more, and brought light into his eyes. She could see why some people could describe them as 'cold', but it was just because they hadn't truly seen him smile.
He bought some sweets, letting her pick them out. But, just as he was about to step out of the door, he turned back to her. "Um, if this isn't too forward, maybe you could come and join me at the Leaky Cauldron, later on. I'll be there all morning."
Astoria grinned. "I'd like that."
"Draco?" she called.
"Yes, love?" he replied, not looking up from the newspaper he was reading. He was sitting on her sofa, which was his 'favourite place', mainly because he was the one to have bought it for her. Astoria was a tiny bit offended, because he always hinted at how the furniture in her house wasn't top-notch, but her parents weren't exactly giving her a lot of money to spend recklessly on expensive dining tables, but mostly amused, because he had such luxurious tastes in furniture.
He was always sitting on that sofa, mainly because he was always at her place. She'd never been to Malfoy Manor, and wasn't sure what to think about that.
"Don't you think, maybe, I could meet you parents, one day?" she asked.
This time, he truly put the newspaper down. "Astoria… I—I don't know."
"But why not? You ashamed of me?" she teased.
It had been six months since they had started dating. He'd met her parents—the look on Daphne's face when she had realised her baby boring sister was dating Draco Malfoy was priceless. She'd told him her secret, and he still loved her. Whatever the newspapers painted the Malfoys out, they'd gotten Draco completely wrong. He'd changed, he was changing every moment.
But still. She liked to tease him about her birth. He didn't.
"Astoria, you know I'm not," he said, his face completely serious.
"I know." She smiled. "But I'd still like to meet them."
He fiddled with the edge of the newspaper. "They—They still haven't let go of the ideas of the past."
"You've told me that already. They have no way of knowing I'm not a Pureblood," she reassured him.
He shook his head. "Even Greengrasses are beneath them, Astoria. And it's not just that. My father-"
Astoria laughed. "Come on. It'll just be once. And I'd love to see where you live. You're always hogging my sofa. I want to see yours!"
Draco sighed, and Astoria knew how reluctant he was. He had tense relations with his family. He loved his mother dearly, and she just as much, but she still stood behind her husband. As for his father… Things were bad with him, she knew. But still. She wanted to meet them, if only once. She liked to think she was a good judge of character, and quite likeable once people got to know her.
Besides, she was still very invisible in the public eye, and the Malfoys definitely needed to avoid scandals, so maybe they would still like her.
"Okay, but I'll have to talk to them about it," he finally agreed.
Astoria grinned and crossed the living room to kiss him.
Astoria did her best not to burst into tears the moment Draco closed the door behind them. Instead, she stood there, right by the door, shaking, as he brought his arms around her. Despite her best efforts, the tears silently leaked out of the corners of her eyes.
"Astoria…" he murmured.
"I know," she mumbled, "You warned me. But I didn't think..."
They stayed a moment there, in silence, once she had trailed off, and Astoria went through what had just happened.
Draco had taken the time to give her a little tour of the place. It was grand, it was magnificent. It reminded her of her childhood home, just on a larger scale. He'd shown her his favourite places growing up, and quietly omitted visiting the places where no one dared to go anymore. The House-elves had outdone themselves, and lunch would probably have been delicious if everything didn't taste like cardboard to her.
But apart from that, she had just spent the most horrible lunch ever. The worst was that they hadn't even tried, to be nice. Narcissa had been cool, but Astoria had also been raised a Pureblood, and she could clearly read how little she liked her, in her eyes. Lucius, on the other hand, hadn't even pretended. They'd more or less explicitly insulted everything from her family's stance in the war, to her looks, to her own beliefs.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered into her hair and she slowly nodded. "They're really horrible."
She didn't say anything.
"I'll get them to like you," he promised."
"Draco." She shook her head. "I don't think that's going to happen."
He sighed and let go of her, but still held her hands. "I hate how they're trying to make me choose. I love them, but I also love you."
Astoria wiped her tears with the corner of her hand. Her hand came back slightly black, and she knew her mascara was probably making her look like a baby panda. The thought made her smile just a little, and she felt a bit better.
"It's not very fair of them, but I would never make you choose," she promised.
"I know you wouldn't, and so do they." There was a flicker of anger in his eyes. "That's why they're so horrible to you."
Astoria smiled at him, and stroked his hand a little. His parents were cruel towards her, but only because they wanted the best for their son. And while she loved being loved by him, she also loved him for the fact he still cared for his parents, despite the ways they had messed him up.
However, there was still something at the back of her mind about the visit she had to talk about.
"Draco," she started, "what were those boxes near the back door for?"
There had been several boxes, ranging from small to large, neatly wrapped up. Astoria had noticed them when he'd shown her around the house. They had felt strange to her, almost dark, for some reason, which was just absurd.
Draco looked down at her, a worried look in his eye. "I'm not sure… I'll have to ask Father, but I don't think it's anything good."
Astoria nodded. She didn't think it was anything good at all.
Astoria stumbled to her front door. It was the middle of the night, her eyes were still bleary from sleep and she peered through the peep-hole to see who was at the door. Recognising Draco, she quickly let him in.
"Draco? What's wrong?" she asked, as soon as she was in.
Fear was filling his eyes. Fear, anger, worry. "Astoria, he's been so, so stupid!"
"Who has?" she asked, worry filling her own voice. The darkness of the night, and the paleness of his skin reminded her of his pictures in the newspapers, the ones that painted him as a villain, and suddenly she was scared. Not of him, but of the news he was bringing.
"My father," he breathed out. "I found out what was in those boxes."
Astoria stilled. The boxes, the ones the emanated something dark? A shiver ran up her back just at the thought of them. "Draco…?"
"He's been smuggling Dark artefacts," he told her bitterly.
Astoria gasped. So that was what was inside! And Dark artefacts?
"It's the only thing he knows how to do," Draco continued to mutter. "He's been doing it all of his life, but I was hoping he would stop, but he hasn't."
"He told you?" Astoria asked.
"There's been an Auror ambush at the receiving end," he explained. "Father sent me an owl, he wants me to save him, when they trace if back to him."
"Draco…"
She could see the fear in his eyes. His father had manipulated him all his life, and was continuing to do so. And the worst was, he was actually going to try to save him. But Astoria couldn't exactly blame him. He loved his father, he couldn't help it. Of course, he'd try to save him.
She put her hand on his cheek. "Relax."
He looked into her eyes. "Astoria…" he hesitated. "Should they ever interrogate you…"
"Yes?"
"Can you—can you say you never saw anything?" he asked. No, it was almost begging, "He just can't go to Azkaban again, it would—it would break him."
Astoria couldn't help but nod. It would be lying, true, but she couldn't say no. After all, she'd been lying most of her life. Just one more wouldn't be too bad, would it?
Astoria smiled at the Auror in front of her. He had no idea who she was. Apart her name, which he associated with a Sacred twenty-eight family, he knew nothing about her. She'd never been in the newspapers until now. She was so invisible no one could tell you anything about her.
"Name?" he asked.
"Astoria Greengrass."
"Blood status?"
"Pureblood." See, it was so easy to lie.
"Marital status?"
Astoria pretended to hesitate before finally saying, "I need you to understand that I am not emotionally involved in this situation."
The Auror raised an eyebrow, as if he doubted what she had just said. "Aren't you dating Draco Malfoy?" he asked.
"Dating…" She shrugged her shoulders. "It's an arranger marriage, an old Pureblood family thing. I don't particularly care for him, or his family."
The lie tasted bitter in her mouth, but it was what she needed to do. She knew it. The Auror frowned. Draco had prepared her story, and she knew it off by heart. She knew she wasn't being honest, but was it necessarily wrong to do so, when you protected someone you loved?
"Lucius Malfoy told us he hated you," the Auror pointed out.
"He does," she agreed.
The Auror sighed, before continuing with his questioning. "Have you ever noticed any Dark artefacts in his house before?"
Astoria shook her head as daintily as possible. "None."
"None?"
"Never."
It was a small room. Dark. The way they liked it for interrogations. She couldn't quite make out the interrogators face, but knew he probably had a charm or something that allowed him to see hers perfectly. If he was being honest, she would say she was feeling a little nervous, even a tad claustrophobic, but, like any good Pureblood girl, she had been taught to hide those feelings.
"You know, Miss Greengrass, we have a feeling you don't like Lucius Malfoy either."
"I didn't say that," she defended herself.
"If you could just tell us the truth-"
"Which is what I'm saying," she countered.
"We could put him behind bars," he finished. "You'd never have to deal with him again."
It was tempting, that was true. She truly detested Lucius Malfoy. But Astoria wasn't like that, and she desperately wanted Draco to be happy. And if for that he needed his father safe and sound in his own home, then she would do whatever was necessary. It wasn't difficult. The Auror was never going to get the truth out of her, she would make sure of it.
"I'm telling the truth," she told him.
The Auror sighed.
Astoria smiled, just a little. She'd never been honest, so why start now?