Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K.R.

AN: This story is part of the Halloween Collection of the Haphne discord server. You can find the other stories here.

community/HarryDaphne-Collection/133850/99/0/1/0/0/0/0/

If you are interested in Haphne and want to join the fun, go to

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Just delete the spaces and replace 'dot' with '.' after you copy and paste into your browser.

We're pretty open to other shippers, so you are welcomed, no matter which pairing you prefer.

This story is from a multiple pov. I will change the pov by chapter, so this means sometimes very short chapters. Don't tell me you've not been warned. ;) I'll try to post a couple of chapters at a time if they are too short.

Many thanks to Federer Rex for beta-ing this chapter in the middle of the night.

Astoria opened the floor-length French door that led from the orangery to the formal garden of Malfoy Manor and looked around.

Where was Carl, her familiar? Usually, he'd come to greet her each morning when she stepped out of the house for her morning walk around the park, while Scorpius was with his tutor and wouldn't need her. Unless—

A giggle escaped her mouth, and she hastily covered it with the palm of her hand to suppress the unladylike sound. Was Narcissa somewhere close? She'd never hear the end of it, the old hag would tell Draco, and then—

She shuddered, unable to pursue that thought to its ugly end. She'd better make sure that Carl hadn't overeaten himself on pumpkins. She had forgotten that she had to put up the Samhain decoration on Narcissa's orders yesterday. Just to spite the old hag, she'd put the carved pumpkins at the foot of the grand front staircase where Carl would have easy access to them on his prowls around the garden.

She grinned. Carl could never resist a pumpkin. For that matter, Carl couldn't resist anything that grew in the garden, except for boxwood, maybe. The big vegetable garden was his hunting ground, much to Draco's and Lucius' chagrin. However, they couldn't do anything about it. Daphne had insisted on the clause in the marriage contract so that she could bring her familiar with her to Malfoy Manor, and that the adult Seychelles giant turtle could move freely in the garden of the manor like he was used at home and like his species did on the islands he hailed from.

Little did Draco and Lucius know back then about the devastating effect Carl had on any vegetable garden, so they had agreed to Daphne's demand. Back then, that precious duo wouldn't have dared refuse any of her demands, and Daphne had made hay while the sun had shone.

Warmth permeated Astoria. Her big sister had looked out for her from the day she was born, and she still did.

Yet, Daphne couldn't protect her from the people she had to live with, once she'd left the safety of their home and moved to Malfoy Manor. Neither of them had thought it possible that Draco would retract his consent into a mutual divorce as soon as the baby was born.

She sighed and rounded the corner to the ostentatious cour d'honneur. Her eyes fell on the display of artfully carved pumpkins at the foot of the staircase. One pumpkin at the far right was missing half of its face.

This time, she didn't bother to mask her giggles. Carl had been here, alright. Narcissa would be furious. Served the old hag right.

If Carl had already found the pumpkins, that meant he was in the vegetable garden. Astoria directed her steps towards the gate in the wall that separated the vegetable garden from the cour d'honneur and hid the mundane part of the estate from public view.

Court, not yard. She'd made that mistake once and had lived to regret it.

Gravelled paths separated the vegetable beds. The gravel crunched under her feet as she stepped into the garden and looked around.

There the rascal was, at the far end of the path, his head in the sweetpeas. An unholy grin crossed her face. Sweetpeas were Draco's and Lucius' favourite vegetable, so Carl was welcomed to them.

"Carl, you bad, bad boy!" she said as she ambled closer.

There was no reaction.

Astoria frowned. Usually, the giant turtle would turn his head when he heard her voice and then walk towards her as fast as his bowed legs could carry him.

"Carl?"

Still nothing. She squinted her eyes against the bright October morning sun. He had his legs under his body as if he was asleep.

Carl never slept at this time of the day, he was way too busy eating. Cold fear crept into Astoria's heart, and she broke into a run.

"Carl!"

When she knelt beside her familiar, a blotch of rusty red hidden by the lettuce plants that enclosed the bed of sweetpeas caught her eyes, and an iron stench made her gag.

That was blood! Carl's head laid outstretched In the puddle. His black eyes were half-lidded. There was no sign of life in them.

"Carl! No! Nooo!"

Her wail echoed through the garden. She threw her arms around Carl's shell and leaned her head on it. Tears shot into her eyes and she didn't suppress the sobs that welled up in her. To hell with Narcissa's antiquated notions that dictated that a Malfoy never showed how they felt. She'd lost her only friend in this house and she'd mourn him as long and as loud as she pleased.

Her body shook with grief as she cried over the dead body of her familiar.

"Mu—Mother?"

Astoria's violent sobs had ended some time ago and given way to quiet tears. At the sound of the small voice, she raised her head from Carl's shell and squinted at the delicate form of her son. Merlin, she could barely look out of her eyes, they were almost swollen shut.

She straightened and pushed a strand of damp hair out of her face, while she inwardly cursed herself. How could she forget the time over her grief? She knew that her son would come to see her as soon as his class was over and he had a short break, and she should have known that her outburst would frighten him.

She forced her mouth into a smile. "Hello, sweet pea. I forgot the time. I'm sorry."

"That's alright, mu—mother." Scorpius waved her apology aside. He stared at Carl's body and gulped. "Is he—is he dead?"

Astoria cast a look at her familiar. "Yes, pumpkin, Carl's dead." She bit her lips to prevent herself from bursting into tears once again.

"I'm sorry, mother, I know how much he meant to you."

Scorpius moved forward with raised arms, as if he was going to hug her, but stopped mid-motion, lowered his arms and shuffled his feet.

Gods, what had those monsters done to her sweet boy? Scorpius had always been an affectionate child. He'd run towards her and throw himself in her arms whenever she came into the nursery—which was only allowed twice a day on Draco's orders because she was spoiling the child with her overly affectionate ways.

Even that had ended in January when Scorpius had turned seven. Draco, Narcissa, and Lucius had decided that he was now old enough to wear trousers and leave the nursery to be educated in everything a Pureblood wizard needed to know. They'd also limited her visits in the nursery to once a day, although Scorpius had permission to come to her in his breaks.

With Scorpius entering the first stages of his life as a man, as Draco had worded it, he'd officially stopped calling her mummy. On Draco's orders, he now had to call them mother and father. Also, Draco had determined that he was too old for cuddles from his mum.

She hated it.

Not that he'd ever called Draco da, or, Merlin forbid, daddy. Scorpius had always shied away from his father and seldom called him anything other than 'sir'.

She gave him a watery smile. "It's alright, sweet pea. Carl was a very old turtle, after all."

Scorpius shook his head. "Not that old yet. I looked it up in the library. His kind can become two hundred years old. Carl was not even half that old."

Astoria bit on her lips. Damn! Why did he have to be that inquisitive? A Ravenclaw like her, if she had ever seen one. Draco would have a fit.

Scorpius gestured towards Carl's head in the puddle of blood. "That doesn't look like a natural death, either. Did father kill him? Or grandfather?"

Scorpius was much too smart for his own good. Her stomach knotted itself in fear. Hopefully, he'd never utter this suspicion in front of Draco or Lucius. The consequences would be dire, even though they both loved him in their twisted way.

"Don't jump to assumptions you can't prove, Scorpius."

Scorpius lowered his head. "I'm sorry, mu—mother."

Astoria bit her lips. She hardly ever called him by his given name which she hated, and in her fear for his safety, she'd talked harsher than she'd intended. His meekness tore at her heart. Had Draco and Lucius already broken him?

"It's alright, pumpkin. Just think about it before you talk yourself into trouble, alright?"

His eyes widened in sudden understanding, and he nodded. "I promise."

Gods, he was much better at controlling his feelings than she had ever been. Draco and Lucius also always wore their hearts on their sleeves. Scorpius took after his aunt in that regard. Merlin be praised, he had not much of the Malfoys in him, besides his looks. He was the spitting image of his father and grandfather, from the slicked-back hair to the bespoke robes and handmade dragon hide boots, but beneath the Malfoy mask, he was a sweet, compassionate boy and loved her dearly.

However, how long would he stay like that under Draco's and Lucius' influence? If only she could get Draco to consent to the divorce they had agreed on when they signed the marriage contract. To this day, she didn't know what made him change his mind. Something had happened a few days after the Battle of Hogwarts and the monster's death that had Draco shaken up. A few months later, Scorpius had been born, and Astoria had been informed minutes after the delivery that divorce was out of the question.

Unfortunately, the law was in his favour. Thanks to some antiquated wizarding laws, divorce had to be filed by the husband. The wife had no claim to that. Daphne had tried to challenge that since the marriage contract explicitly stated that they would get divorced as soon as the baby was born, but the family lawyer had informed her that this was not possible. The decision to file for divorce or not was Draco's alone. The marriage contract didn't change that.

Dear Daphne! She had been looking out for her and meant to secure her future when she forced Draco to marry her, but unintentionally had condemned her to a fate she wouldn't wish on her worst enemy.

As a result, she was stuck in a loveless and often violent marriage. While he kept appearances on the outside, Draco never missed an opportunity to humiliate or hurt her. At least she gave as good as she got.

Her hands curled into fists. She raised her head, her jaw taut. How much longer did she have to endure this treatment? Until they had broken her? Was she supposed to stand by and watch as they turned her son into a Malfoy clone? There was no doubt about it, today, Draco had taken her familiar from her, the next time, it would be her son.

She couldn't file for divorce, but the law didn't prevent her from moving out.

She cast another look at Carl's unmoving shell and rose. Carl's death was like the last straw.

This had to come to an end, for both her own sake and Scorpius'. She'd had enough of this house, this family, this marriage. She'd take her son and leave, and nobody would stop her!

However, she had to be careful that they wouldn't cotton on to her plans too soon. She wouldn't put it past them that they'd lock her up in a tower like a damsel and take her son to an estate she had no access to.

The clock from the bell tower struck the full hour.

Astoria forced herself to smile at her son once again. "Run along, sweet pea, or you'll miss your next lesson. You don't want to be late and disappoint your father with your lack of discipline."

Scorpius didn't miss her subtle warning. He blanched, turned on the spot, and sped away, waving at her. "Bye, mummy! See you at lunch!"

She watched him running until he disappeared through the gate that led to the court, then turned and looked at her dead familiar one last time. The feeling of loss threatened to overwhelm her, but she fought to hold back the tears. She had work to do.

First, she'd find a house elf and order the small creature to take Carl's body back home. They'd bury him in her family's garden, where he belonged. Then she had to instigate a fight with Draco. As a rule, she'd disappear to her family for a couple of days whenever they fought and would take Scorpius with her. This way, he wouldn't catch on immediately to her plans.

Astoria took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and stalked back to the house.

Astoria pushed open the door towards the study with as much strength as she possessed—which wasn't much these days. Yet, it gave a satisfyingly loud bang as it slammed against the wall.

Draco's head jerked up at the noise from the papers he was reading. A deep frown appeared on his face when he saw her standing in the doorway.

"What do you want? Is that the proper behaviour of a Malfoy matriarch?"

"You wouldn't have to trouble yourself about that if you consented to divorce me." She stomped into the room, put both fists onto the gleaming surface of the desk, and leaned forward until her nose almost touched his. "What did you do to poor Carl?"

Draco pushed his chair back to get some space. "Carl? Who is Carl?" His eyes didn't quite meet hers.

Heat shot into her face and a small vein throbbed at her throat. What a moron! Did he think he could throw her off with his poor acting?

"You know who I'm talking about. Carl, my familiar. He ate something poisonous that you ordered the gardeners to plant and died."

"Did he? How fortunate. It was about time, I'd say. That animal was a pest."

He smirked at her, and Astoria balled her fists. How she would love to slap that smirk from his face! "The park and gardens are your responsibility, and you made sure that they were safe for poor Carl when we moved here, as it was stated in our marriage contract. Whatever killed poor Carl, it was planted in the vegetable garden on your orders."

Draco's frown deepened. "That damned marriage contract. I was blackmailed into it."

That bastard refused to answer her questions! She straightened and stemmed her fists on her hips. "You got what you deserved for what you did to me."

The frown on Draco's face morphed into a smirk. "You aren't the innocent maiden in this you made your big sister believe you were."

"I was drunk!"

"Yeah, whatever." He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture, the infuriating smirk still on his face.

Something exploded inside of her. She whipped out her wand and pointed it at her husband.

"Bombarda Maxima!"

A tiny spark shot out of the tip of her wand and sizzled to the ground.

Draco tilted back his head and howled with laughter. "This is priceless! Although I'm happy to see you aren't the Squib the healers told us you are. Or should I say, not yet?" He broke out into laughter once again.

Astoria walked around the desk until she stood in front of him.

Draco looked at her, still chuckling. "Yes, dearest?"

Instead of an answer, she raised her hand and slapped him across the face.

Hard.

Draco's head flew to the side. He sprang up from his chair and grabbed for her arm, his face an ugly grimace.

"I'll get you for that, bitch!"

A bright red bruise already formed on his cheek where she had hit him, and his hair was dishevelled. He whipped out his wand and pointed it at her.

"Crucio!"

She twisted out of the way. She had a lot of practise in that.

The spell flew past her, impacted with the wall, and left a smoking scorch mark.

"Tsk, tsk, Draco, what will daddy have to say to you destroying his study?" It was probably madness to rile him up even more, given that her magic was so weak she couldn't fight back. Yet she couldn't resist. He always brought out the worst in her.

"You—"

Astoria didn't wait for him to finish, she raised her knee in a swift kick to his privates.

"Urgh!" Draco doubled over, letting go of her, and clutched his groin. The wand dropped to the floor.

A grin spread across Astoria's face. Why didn't she do this before? Merlin knew he'd given her reason for that more than once. How liberating a good kick to the privates was! She added a hard kick to his shin just for good measure.

Draco crashed to the ground.

Astoria bent down, picked up his wand, and snapped it. She let the pieces fall on his head and walked to the door. At the door frame, she paused and looked back to the groaning huddle on the ground that was her husband.

"One of these days, I'm going to kill you, Draco."

She turned her back towards him and walked out of the room.

t.b.c.