So I did a bit of editing on this because I'm feeling more like myself lately. What I'm posting today is what was already there, just organized a bit better. And hopefully I'll be back to writing regularly and will be able to finish this one soon. Thanks for all your patience. ~Ripley

Draco Malfoy was angry. He was forced to sit with his parents and the Greengrass family for tea, AGAIN, to finalize a marriage contract between him and Astoria. Draco liked her well enough, but he was certainly not in love with her. And he most definitely did NOT want to marry her.

Draco was pretty sure Astoria felt the same way, but they could not seem to get their parents to understand. Or even care. The only thing that mattered to them was being with someone from The Sacred Twenty-eight. And Merlin forbid if either one of them felt different.

Well, that was it, then, wasn't it? The contract was in place. He and Astoria would be getting married next summer and there was nothing either of them could do about it. He was surprised he was able to put it off this long but there was no more avoiding it. As soon as Draco signed the papers, he got up from the table and stormed inside the Manor. Astoria followed him to make sure he was alright.

She found him standing just inside in the massive hallway that ran between the giant arched front door and the back entrance to the garden patio. "Draco, darling, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Astoria. I promise," he said to her. He turned away from her and looked out the window to the patio where their parents still sat, talking. "I just don't understand how, after everything that happened with the war, they can still hold these values."

Astoria linked her arm in Draco's. "You're my best friend, Draco. I'm honestly just glad that Daddy picked you and not Marcus. I don't know what I would do if I were to have to be with him."

"You wouldn't have a thing to worry about. Flint is scared to death of me. He knows if he hurts another of my friends like he hurt Daph then I would kill him."

"We will make this work. I'm sure of it," She said. She stood on her toes to give him a peck on the cheek before releasing his arm and making her way back outside with their parents.

Draco made his way up to his bedroom to lie down. His head was swimming. They had to find a way out of this. There was just no way his parents could make him marry someone whom he viewed like his sister. He dozed off into an uneasy sleep.

Draco was in a kitchen. His kitchen. Not the one at the Manor but the one he shared with his wife. He had just put the lasagna in the oven and had walked over to the sink to start washing the dishes he used while cooking. A small, slender hand appeared, rubbing tenderly up and down his arm.

He turned around and folded his arms around her waist and smiled. "Good evening, Mrs. Malfoy. You got home just in the nick of time. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Good. I'm famished," she stated, reaching up to place a kiss directly on his lips.

He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up around the waist like it was nothing. He planted her firmly on the kitchen island behind where she was standing, not dropping the kiss. He whimpered slightly as she pulled away from him, her face flushed.

"Feeling a bit frisky this evening, aren't you Draco?" she asked, her lips turning up into that crooked grin he had come to love.

"Whatever do you mean, love?" They both laughed as he grabbed her off the kitchen counter and set her down on the floor. He grabbed her hand and led her through the door...

Draco was awakened suddenly by Astoria, who was shaking him slightly to get his attention. "We're leaving for the afternoon. Shall we meet for dinner tomorrow? Your mother says we should begin with planning the wedding as soon as possible to make sure all the right vendors are available," she said softly. She was obviously still just as upset as he was.

He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he tried to focus on her, still a bit fuzzy from his dream. It had been a good dream too. "Alright," he said. "I'll come by at six to pick you up."

Astoria smiled sweetly at him. A small smile, not one that quite met her eyes but beautiful nonetheless. "We will figure this out. I know we will," she promised him.

Draco couldn't take the tension anymore. He decided he needed to get out of the house. Maybe he would get a new broomstick. "I'll walk you out, I think I'm going to clear my head a bit anyway," he said as he stood up from the bed and offered her his arm. She took it and they arrived together at the bottom of the stairs where Astoria's parents were waiting for her.

He leaned down slightly and pressed a chaste kiss on her cheek. She released the grip she had on his arm and walked behind her parents towards the floo in the dining room. He waited a few moments until he heard the roar of the hearth that told him they had departed.

After a few more moments, Draco finally felt certain that his parents would have left the dining room for either their chambers or his father's office for a drink. He made his way towards the fireplace and he threw in some floo powder, saying, "Diagon Alley" as the green flames roared to life and swept him away from everything that was troubling him.