Astoria knocked on Draco's door softly. A part of her hoped that he wouldn't be home or that he wouldn't answer the door. However, she knew better than that, and as she expected he was there in front of her. His hair looked a mess as if he had been running his hands through it continuously. His outfit wasn't crisp and put together. Something looked wrong, even if he greeted her with a smile. The smile itself put her off as he wasn't one to do so unless they were telling a story or a joke. He was like Astoria, usually quite serious unless they were taking the piss out of someone. The smile looked out of place and didn't quite meet his grey eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked before she could help herself.

"It's good to see you too," he replied sarcastically before he stepped aside to allow her in. There was a table set with half uneaten food. She had never seen anything in his flat out of place.

"Is Pansy here?" Astoria asked.

He shook his head. "I, erm... I ended it."

Joy coursed through Astoria even though she tried to ignore the sensation. She couldn't pretend that Pansy's dismissal didn't mean something to her. She looked for signs of some sort of big blowout, but there was nothing... nothing other than the cold and unfinished meal.

"Did everything go alright?"

Draco shrugged. "As well as it could have been."

She stood there and wrapped her arms around herself, unsure of what to say. She didn't want to offer comfort or condolences as it would imply that she had been somehow invested in Draco's relationship's survival. Instead, she asked, "Are you doing alright? You look a little..."

"I'm fine. It was just the last loose end I had to tie up," he explained. "It just feels... odd. I don't need her anymore, I don't regret what I did, but everything somehow feels different."

Astoria hadn't expected Draco to open up to her like that. She had expected a succinct answer that expressed too many emotions. Instead, she had Draco in front of her with a pleading look in his eyes that she didn't quite understand. She wanted to be able to be what he needed her to be, but she didn't know what it was.

"What d'you mean, loose ends?" Astoria decided to go along with his openness, but she couldn't do so with his cryptic speeches. She made herself at home and went to go make them tea so that she didn't seem too concerned. She wanted to appear casual. Astoria simply didn't want Draco to feel as if he were on the spot.

He moved his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably, his composure not what it usually was.

"You know my family history," he murmured. He waved a hand dismissively. "Everything associated with that... it's just..." he shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. "Not something I want to be reminded about."

"And Pansy was a big part of it?" she asked as she waited for the water to boil.

"One of the biggest," he admitted. "She was there since the beginning, siding with my family. The thing was, her family wasn't connected like mine. She had no personal investment, so her urgings were empty. She had nothing to lose. She wanted to see me go far, but I doubt her intentions were..." he paused for a moment to smirk. "Pure."

"Then why did you keep her around?"

"She was funny. Besides, why does any bloke keep a girl around? She made me feel good about myself," Draco explained, honestly. "And now she's... gone."

Astoria couldn't decipher whether Draco was upset about it or if he was pleased. Somehow, he managed to sound like both. Astoria managed to continue making their tea, and they both sank onto the couch in silence as they drank. Draco ran a hand through his hair with an absent mind. She wanted to think it was because he was trying to clean up for her, but realistically it was most likely because his hair had begun to be overgrown and fall into his eyes.

Draco turned to Astoria to open his mouth, but at that moment there was a disruption in the form of a silvery blue Patronus entering right into the living room in the shape of a hyena but with the voice of a panicked George Weasley.

"You must come to Bill and Fleur's immediately – something... something is happening."

With that, the Patronus disappeared.

"I need to go," Draco stated abruptly. He put his tea on the table roughly.

"What's going on?" Astoria asked, quickly, as she was caught off-guard.

"I can't – it's work related," Draco said to her. "I have to..."

He turned from her, and as he did, Astoria reached for him to ask another question. This was the wrong move, however, as he was evidently about to Disapparate. Her hold on him solidified and they both felt like they were being squeezed through a tight tube. When they re-emerged, they were on a beach, just outside the limits of Fleur and Bill's cottage where they had been staying as they saved up for a home. It was dark and the sky was clear.

"Why the devil would you -" Draco began to scold until he noticed that Astoria was whimpering.

As Draco hadn't been expecting a passenger, he didn't manage to have everything in his mind when he transported, which meant that Astoria got splinched in the meantime. Her leg was bleeding profusely. Luckily a whole limb hadn't been taken, but a rather large chunk of her lower leg seemed to have been cut clean off. She didn't want to cry out, but it was difficult. She had never felt pain like this before in her life, and the blood that spewed from her made her nauseous.

Draco knelt next to Astoria and ripped the lower part of her jeans to make a quick make-shift tourniquet.

"Fix it," Astoria pleaded.

His grey eyes met hers, and for a moment he looked conflicted.

"This is too deep, it's not something that a simple spell can heal," Draco tried to explain. Usually his composure was on point, but he felt a strange attachment to Astoria which made his thinking unclear. "We need medication, we need the hospital, but we need to stop the bleeding as best we can. Come on, I'll have to bring you down to the cottage to clean everything up before we go."

His motives were two-sided. It wasn't just that he needed to clean Astoria up, but he had heard the urgency in George's voice. There was something occurring that needed to be attended to, and he couldn't just leave. He doubted that Astoria's injuries were life-threatening, but something here very much could be. He figured he could pass Astoria off into Fleur's care and then move on to whatever catastrophe was happening here. Fleur would no doubt get her to St. Mungo's. It was two birds with one stone.

Draco encouraged Astoria to wrap her arm around his neck. The feeling of her skin on his sent goosebumps along her body that she hoped that he would attribute to the cold breeze coming off the ocean. Draco himself was warm, inviting. She felt like she could just sink into him and that everything would be okay. Her face was the closest to his that it had been so far, and the temptation to close the distance between them was overwhelming. Draco searched her face and it was like he had come to the same conclusion, but after a moment he turned away from her.

"Are you okay to limp your way along?" he questioned without looking at her.

"Erm, I think so."

Their progress was slow, but it was their only option. Draco had a slight frame and doubted that carrying Astoria would get them moving along any quicker than they were. Just as they descended the hill that led onto Fleur and Bill's property, a howl broke the night. From around the bend of the house came Bill, but something had changed – he had changed.