I wrote this for the amazing Rasiaa as part of the November One-Shot Exchange from HPFC. The part about Astoria is based off of information from the Cursed Child. I really hope you like this story.

Prompts Used: Draco/Astoria (pairing), romance (genre), sickness, "Go on. I dare you. Make me weep."

Word Count (excluding A/N): 1'562

"Hey Tori, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Astoria looked up to see her boyfriend Draco standing in front of her.

"Sure," she said, moving over on the couch and gesturing for him to sit, "How did you even get in here?"

"Daphne let me in," he said, sitting next to her.

"Oh okay." She smiled and put her book down, "I'm glad to see you."

"I'm happy to see you too." His smile was genuine but he seemed a little nervous. He was biting his nails and kept fidgeting with something in the pocket of his robes.

"Wait," she said suddenly, "I have to talk to you about something too. It's really important."

Draco grinned, "Can I go first then?"

Astoria sighed, he obviously didn't realize that what she had to tell him was more important than whatever he wanted to say.

"It's really important Draco. I've been trying to work out how to tell you for days."

For some strange reason, his smile grew. "Come on Tori, I've been wanting to tell you this for weeks. Surely whatever you want to tell me can wait for just a few minutes."

She smiled, she could just tell him her news later. He seemed really eager to tell her something.

"Alright, you can go first."

Draco smiled, "Well, I just wanted to tell you how much I love you and how much you mean to me."

"Oh," she said, taken by surprise. Draco wasn't the type of person who said things like that just out of the blue. "I love you too Draco, but is everything-"

"Just let me finish," he said, taking her hand. "Ever since my sixth year, where I had to-"

He cut off and looked down, biting his lip. Astoria knew it was hard for him to talk about the year where the He Who Must Not be Named had ordered him to kill Dumbledore in exchange for the life and well being of his parents.

"Shh," she said, lifting his chin and placing a soft kiss on his forehead, "I know what you're talking about. You don't have to talk about that. Just tell me what you're trying to say."

He looked over at her, a soft smile playing at his lips, "And ever since that happened," his hands gestured around vaguely, "You know I haven't been in the best of places."

"No kidding," she mumbled, remembering all the time Draco had spent alone in his house after the war. Refusing to talk, to eat, to even look at anyone.

"And then you came along and helped me realize that happiness is still out there, that I won't spend my whole life in sorrow. You helped me smile again, something I thought I would never do. You helped me realize that the world isn't all evil. You made me realize how much I love you."

Astoria, who had been smiling the entire time as he spoke, froze. He couldn't be saying what she thought he was going to say. Not after what the healers had told her last week. Not after everything she had been through these past few days, he couldn't be saying this. Not now, not ever.

"Draco," she said softly, "You're not saying what I think you're saying right?"

"If what you think I'm going to say is what I'm actually going to say, then you're right." He smiled and gave her a soft kiss. Then, he pulled out a small box from his robes and got down onto one knee. "Astoria Greengrass," he said, holding the ring inside the box out to her, "I love you and I always will. Will you be my wife?"

Astoria brought a hand to her mouth, not in shock, but to keep herself from crying. She loved Draco, she loved him more than anything but she wouldn't let herself burden him by marrying him. A tear plopped onto her lap and she buried her head in her hands.

"Tori?" Draco reached out to touch her face. She shrank back, stifling a sob.

"Astoria, what's wrong?" Draco asked, confusion obvious in his voice. "Why are you crying?" He paused, then asked, "Don't you want to marry me? We're dating, I thought you would be happy. Don't you love me?"

Astoria looked up, wiping away her tears. "Of course I love you Draco."

"Then why don't you want to marry me?"

"It's not that I don't want to marry you..."

"Then what is it?" Draco sounded hurt now and a little angry.

"I can't tell you."

Draco raised his eyebrows, "When did we start keeping secrets from each other?"

She bit her lip, "It's not like that Draco. Merlin's beard Draco, why can't you understand? It's not like that at all."

"Then why won't you tell me?"

"I can't."

He gave her a kiss, "You can tell me anything. It doesn't matter what it is. Just tell me."

"No," she said, her voice raising, "I can't tell you."

Draco's face changed. He whispered, "Is it bad?"

She nodded, not even bothering to hide her tears anymore. They flowed down her cheeks.

"Tori..." He pulled her close and she stiffened before relishing his touch. "Astoria, please tell me what's going on."

She took a deep breath before finally telling him the truth.

"Do you remember the blood malediction I told you about? The one that my great great grandfather got cursed with."

Draco paused, his eyes going wide. "Wait. You don't mean that-"

She brushed away a fresh onset of tears. "Yes, I do mean that. The blood malediction resurfaced in me." Draco opened his mouth to speak and she talked faster. "It's the reason I've always gotten sick so easily, the reason that I'm so frail."

"Astoria-"

"My mom and dad took me to the healers last week. I was feeling really sick and dizzy. I couldn't even stand up most of the time. I kept fainting. It was really bad."

"But-"

"The healers ran a bunch of tests. And that's when they told me." Her voice trembled. "That's when they told me that the blood curse resurfaced in me."

"What-"

"I thought maybe I would just be fragile for the rest of my life. But it's worse than that. It means-" She cut off and buried her face in her hands.

"Astoria," Draco said softly, "What does it mean?"

"It means life long fragility, and-" She bit back another sob. "It means early death."

Astoria felt as Draco froze, heard his breath hitch.

"Tori," he said, his voice breaking, "Oh Astoria...I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," she said as she turned away, hiding her face. She briefly wondered what Draco was thinking. But she didn't want to know. She knew Draco wouldn't want her anymore. Not when she was so fragile. Not when marrying her meant he would soon be widowed. Not when giving birth would weaken her and probably make her die even sooner. He would never want her now and probably not ever.

"Astoria," he said, his voice not much louder than whisper, "Can I say something?"

She sniffed, "Go on. I dare you. Make me weep."

"What do you mean?"

She looked up. He wasn't joking or messing around with her. He looked genuinely confused.

"What do you mean 'what do you mean'?"

"I don't get it," he said, reaching for her, "You sound like you think I'm not going to want to marry you anymore. That I won't love you anymore."

She froze, not wanting to get her hopes up. "Wait, you still want to marry me? Even after everything I said, you-"

"Do you really think that low of me Astoria?" Draco said, something unrecognizable in his eyes.

"Of course not!" Astoria said, trying to get Draco to understand how she was feeling. "It's just why would you ever want to marry me now?"

"I still love you!" Draco said, getting up and pacing the room. A sure sign that he was feeling angry and overwhelmed. "How could I not? You're still the Tori that I know and love! You think that because of this blood curse, one that I already know lies in your family, I won't want to marry you."

"Draco," she sighed, "It's different now. It's not just in my genes, the whole curse is in me now."

Draco stopped, pulling Astoria to her feet. "I love you Astoria, and I always will. You don't have to be afraid." He pulled her into a hug and she smiled, knowing that Draco was telling the truth.

"Does that mean we can get married now?"

Draco grinned, "Of course it does." He slipped the golden ring onto her finger.

Astoria kissed him, kissed him fiercer than she had ever done before. He reacted strongly and they melted into each other.

"I love you Draco," she whispered.

He smiled, trailing kisses down her cheek before whispering into her ear, "And I will always love you."