Hey everyone! OMG thank you everyone who reviewed! I honestly was not expecting this much love for this fanfic, I love you all so much! Here's the next chapter.

Harry found himself standing beside a Draco Malfoy much more similar to the one he knew now. Though he looked younger, with less wrinkles, and his ponytail was slightly shorter. He looked to be in his early 20s, standing next to a brown haired woman who Harry only recognized vaguely: Astoria Greengrass. The woman who Draco loved so much he would be willing to sell his soul to get her back. Harry had only ever seen her alive once, at the platform on Albus and Scorpius's first year of Hogwarts.

Harry couldn't imagine losing Ginny the way Draco had lost Astoria. He couldn't imagine living if that ever happened.

The two were standing in front of the gates of Malfoy Manor. Draco was clearly tense, gazing past the gates at the menacing mansion that lay inside. He looked lost in thought until Astoria gently nudged him, obviously telling him that they should go in. He jumped in surprise.

"Draco, they're your parents," she said softly. "They will understand. After all, my parents did." She gave him an encouraging smile.

Harry furrowed his brow. Why did Draco look so nervous to introduce Astoria to his parents? After all, she seemed like the type of person his parents would want him to marry. She was a pure blooded woman who was in Slytherin. Then he remembered that Draco had said something about his father not approving of Astoria, because she was "muggle loving" or something like that.

Draco turned to look at Astoria gravely.

"You don't know my father," he said seriously. Astoria's smile faltered somewhat, but she managed to keep it up.

"Let's get this over with," she said, taking his hand. Harry saw the expensive looking diamond ring glinting on her finger, and suddenly he understood. Draco had proposed to Astoria without telling his parents, and now they were engaged. Now he understood why Draco was so nervous. He had to tell his father that he was going to marry a woman Lucius didn't approve of.

"Please try not to insult them," Draco sighed. "They already dislike you enough."

She smirked. "I'll try, but if they insult me, I'll have to do it back."

At Draco's pleading look, she relented. "Fine, I won't say anything."

Draco attempted to smile back, but a grimace came out instead. He gripped her hand tightly and together they began the walk through the front garden towards the door. Harry followed behind them, curious to see how Draco had convinced his parents to let him marry Astoria.

The two of them reached the front door, and Draco took a deep breath before touching the surprisingly ordinary doorknob. It turned golden, and the doors opened. Harry was fascinated. He assumed that only if members of the Malfoy family touched the doorknob, it would open. That obviously wasn't the case now, as Harry had been able to go to Malfoy Manor without any problem. And during the war, it must have been taken off as well.

Draco looked nervously at Astoria, then lead the way into the manor. He nodded at a house elf that was standing in the hall; the same one Harry had seen before. Tiffy was her name, he remembered.

"Master! What can I do for you?" Tiffy said, bowing her head low.

"Get my mother and father," Draco commanded. Astoria frowned at him. "No please?" she said, swatting him gently on the arm. A hint of a smile crossed Draco's face. "Fine. Please, Tiffy?"

"Of course, Master Draco," the elf said and disapperated. A few seconds passed, and the two senior Malfoys entered the room. Draco smiled at them hesitantly.

"Draco!" Narcissa said, looking surprised and pleased. Lucius nodded at his son, then sneered when he caught sight of Astoria.

"Hello Father, Mother. I hope you remember Astoria?" He gestured towards her, and she stepped forward, her smile now gone. It was obvious that she didn't like Draco's parents. Harry couldn't blame her.

"Yes, of course we remember her," Lucius snapped. Draco nodded nervously. Astoria looked like she was about to snap something back, but she forced a smile when Draco gave her a desperate look.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," she said coolly.

Lucius ignored her, eyes only on his son, while Narcissa smiled at her reluctantly.

She looked at her husband sternly, as if warning him to be polite.

"Sit down, Draco. You too, Astoria," she said. The two sat on the chairs opposite the senior Malfoys. Draco's body was unnaturally rigid and tense, and his hands were fidgeting nervously in his lap. But Astoria looked completely relaxed.

"Well, Draco. What gives us the honor of meeting with dear Ms. Greengrass again?" Lucius raised an eyebrow at his son. "I would've thought that you had come to your senses and left her, because of the… discussion we had last time?" Draco flinched, and Harry didn't even want to know what Lucius had said or done last time. Astoria glared at Lucius but didn't say anything.

Harry could tell how much the war and Azkaban had changed Lucius. He looked tired and much less intimidating than he had been. But he still managed to strike fear in people when he wanted to, like he was doing to Draco now.

He continued to look at his son, clearly expecting him to answer.

Draco cleared his throat.

"Father, Astoria and I have decided to…" he trailed off at the end, his voice shaking slightly. Lucius watched him carefully.

"Yes, Draco? Do continue," he drawled. Draco let out a shuddering breath and looked desperately at Astoria.

Even as an adult, Draco was obviously terrified and didn't want to anger his father.

There was silence for a few seconds. Astoria turned to look at Draco in concern, and saw his inability to talk. She lifted her left hand, with the ring on it. Narcissa gasped and Lucius stared at it, as if he was unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

"We're engaged," Astoria stated firmly. Draco's hands started to tremble.

"Draco. Is this a joke?" Lucius's voice had gone soft, dangerous. Draco's gaze hit the floor.

"No, Father, it's true." He attempted to sound strong, but his voice was still shaking horribly.

Lucius slowly stood up, holding his cane tightly in his hand. Draco slightly shrank back in his seat.

"I told you that we don't approve of her. I told you that she is a disgrace to purebloods. Yet you decide to attach yourself to her?" Lucius hissed at Draco, walking forward until he was in front of Draco's chair. Draco stared wide eyed up at his father. Astoria stood up as well and glared at Lucius in complete hatred.

"It doesn't matter if you approve of me or not. Draco can choose what he wants to do!" Lucius ignored her completely once again.

"She has some disease, doesn't she? Think about the Malfoy line. Is she even capable of having children? Do you really want to marry someone who will die anyways?" Lucius growled. Harry gasped in horror. How could Lucius be so uncaring towards his son's fiance? His son's feelings? Draco's eyes narrowed, and Astoria's mouth had dropped open. She looked speechless for the first time in this memory.

"Don't talk to her like that," Draco snapped, standing up from his chair. Then he seemed to realize what he had said and his eyes widened. Astoria beamed at Draco and took his hand, and that seemed to give him the courage to say what he needed to. He took a deep breath.

Harry couldn't hold back a smile. Draco was standing up to his father for love.

Lucius stepped back in surprise, but recovered quickly and narrowed his eyes. "What did you say to me?" he asked slowly. His voice had gone low, dangerous, and it gave Harry chills. He noticed that Draco's body was shaking. Whether in fear or anger he didn't know.

"I don't care about the Malfoy line, Father. I only care about Astoria. I love her, and she loves me. I'm going to marry her. No matter what you say. Please try to understand that." He looked at his father right in the eyes as he said this. Astoria glared at Lucius.

"I love Draco, Mr. Malfoy. And neither of us care about what you think," she said fiercely.

Lucius looked shocked as he stared at the couple in disbelief. He seemed to have thought that he had full control over his son. Harry grinned at the fact that he was wrong.

Draco was braver than everyone knew, including himself, Harry thought. His father was his worst fear, and he was disobeying him for Astoria.

Lucius's shock quickly turned into rage, and his hand flew across Draco's face. Harry gasped at the loud smack, and the red mark on Draco's face after. Astoria gasped and Draco raised a trembling hand up to his cheek, wincing as he did.

Harry had expected something like this to happen, judging by the other memories. But even if Draco wasn't a child anymore, he was still Lucius's son. And it just wasn't right. Harry could never imagine hurting his children like this.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Narcissa intake a sharp breath and look away. Her blue eyes looked suspiciously wet.

"Draco!" Astoria gasped.

"How dare you disrespect me. I am your father, and only I know what is best for you," he hissed. His gray eyes were furious, anger making him look more frightening than he had been before.

All signs of Draco's previous anger and bravery was gone, replaced with fright. Although Lucius and Draco were now about the same height, Draco still looked smaller now that he looked so scared. Harry had never seen Draco look like this before, at least in adulthood.

"Stop it!" Astoria shrieked. She pushed Lucius out of the way and grabbed Draco's arm.

"I'm sorry, Father. I didn't mean to disrespect you," Draco muttered quietly. Astoria stared at him in disbelief.

"What? He hurt you and you're apologizing? He should be apologizing!" She glared at Lucius.

Lucius ignored her again and moved towards Draco. Draco took a shaky step away from his father.

"Are you willing to anger me to marry this shameful girl?" Lucius asked. His gray eyes watched his son closely. But Draco stayed silent. Lucius seemed to take that as a yes, and sighed. He looked almost sad for a few moments, and then his eyes hardened.

"You are a disgrace to the Malfoy name. To me," Lucius snarled. He shook his head and took one last look at his son before turning around to walk out of the room. Draco's shoulders slumped and he looked down. Narcissa looked at her son helplessly.

"He's just upset," she said softly. "Draco..."

Draco didn't say anything. He looked miserable. Narcissa looked like she was going to comfort him, and then sighed sadly and left as well, leaving a devastated Draco looking after her. Harry knew that Draco loved his parents, despite what they did to him. He couldn't imagine the sorrow he was feeling now. Couldn't they see that they were breaking him with their insults and inability to accept him as he was? Their own son was hurting because of them, and they didn't even notice.

"Are you alright, Draco?" Astoria asked worriedly. Draco didn't answer, still staring longingly at the door from which his parents had left. He didn't move until Astoria gently tugged at his arm, leading him to the door.

They went out of the house and walked into the large garden slowly. Draco practically collapsed into a bench in the garden.

"We shouldn't have come here." He looked away from her. Astoria watched him sorrowfully and sat down beside him, putting her hand on his back.

"I was always a disappointment to them. Especially my father," Draco said, his expression unreadable. "I was never the son they wanted, but now they hate me. Even my mother." His voice broke at the end.

"They don't hate you," Astoria said softly. "It's my fault. I'm the one they hate. I'm sorry." Draco looked at her in surprise.

"No. It's not your fault. It's never your fault," Draco said. Astoria smiled tentatively, but she looked conflicted.

"Draco, your father… hit you." She sounded unsure as she said it, as if she didn't know what to say.

Harry saw that Draco's normally emotionless grey eyes were now rimmed in red, and he looked nothing like the stoic Draco Malfoy that Harry knew.

He blinked in surprise. "It's alright, I'm fine," he said.

"It's not alright," Astoria said firmly. "What he did to you was wrong." She lifted her hand and gently touched the mark on his face, making him flinch.

"Sorry," she said, quickly pulling her hand away.

"Don't be sorry. I've had worse," he said bitterly. Harry winced at that, because he knew it was true. And he couldn't help but feel like he was at least partly responsible. He and everyone else hadn't noticed. Even the professors, except Lupin. And he hadn't even done anything about it.

Astoria's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" she asked slowly. Draco only sighed heavily.

"It's nothing," he said quietly. "No, tell me. Did your father hurt you worse than this?" Her voice was quiet, but when Harry looked at her, he saw that she was furious.

Draco fidgeted uncomfortably. "Astoria-"

"Tell me!"

Draco sighed in frustration. "What do you want to hear? That my father beat me? That he punished me whenever I disappointed him?"

Astoria looked horrified. "He beat you? With his...cane?" she whispered. Draco grimaced.

"I don't want to talk about this," he said.

"But he abused you! I'll kill him!" She jumped up from her seat angrily. Draco jumped up as well and grabbed her arm roughly.

"It doesn't matter! It was a long time ago!" Draco snapped. Astoria looked taken aback at Draco's sudden anger.

"Let go of my arm, Draco," she said quietly. Draco exhaled heavily and released his tight grip on her arm.

"Sorry," he muttered guiltily. Astoria nodded.

"I know," she said. "Draco, that man hurt you. You didn't deserve that." She took his hands and looked straight into his eyes, begging him to listen to her. Draco looked doubtful.

"That man is my father," he said firmly.

Astoria sighed sadly and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. He looked surprised for a moment before relaxing into her embrace and putting his arms around her waist.

"It's ok, Draco. You're alright, sweetheart." That was a mistake. Draco jerked away from her as though he had been burned, panic flashing in his eyes.

"No!" he yelled. Astoria stared at him in shock.

"Don't call me that. Please," he pleaded. Harry realized that was what Bellatrix had called him while hurting him. No wonder he didn't want to be called that. Astoria looked at him sadly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly. Draco hesitated.

"I-no." he whispered. Harry knew exactly what he meant. Some things were just too painful to talk about.

"It's ok," she whispered back, and Harry could tell that she desperately wanted to help him but didn't know what to do.

The war had scarred everyone in some way, whether physical scars or mental scars. But it had damaged some people more than others. And Draco was obviously one of the more damaged ones.

He returned his attention to the memory, and watched as Draco let out a sob. Harry suddenly felt as though he was venturing in a very, very private memory as Astoria pulled him close again, letting him sob into her chest. Of course, all of these memories were private, he thought with a pang of guilt. But this one seemed like something different. It was a personal memory of Draco's, one of the woman he loved, who he would never see again. It made sense for him to want some memories with her that were private.

Harry felt extremely uncomfortable. Especially since Draco was an adult in this memory. He hoped that Draco never found out that Harry had seen these memories. His most private and painful ones. Draco would hate him once again, probably even more than he had at school. And this time he would have a good reason.

He decided that if he needed to use the memories to charge Lucius, he wouldn't use any of the war memories. Or the ones after. Those didn't have anything to do with Lucius. And he understood how Draco must want to keep these private, because they were painful. Some things were better left in the past.

But some weren't. And as Harry saw the memories fade away, and felt himself rising up, out of the memories, he knew that he had to help Draco. He had been suffering all his life, but no one had ever known, and Harry was determined to make it right. To make it up to Draco.