I woke up the next morning to find an empty bed. I shot up, my pulse ten times it's normal rate. I looked over at the empty space to find a note on the pillow.

Draco,

I ordered cream cheese filled pancakes and ran to the kitchen to get the recipe. The bloody things are like little clouds of dairy filled heaven with fruit topping! Thought about leaving you a couple but couldn't find the self-control to.

~Tori

I found her an hour later covered to her elbows with flour and cinnamon, her hair pulled back into a bun and an apron over her muggle apparel. A shorter, black haired woman was next to her, stating directions in choppy but still comprehensible English.

"Until it's fluffy, yes?" The woman asked with her thick accent. She smiled fondly at the witch. "You are excelente kneader, Niño."

"She's good at a couple of other things as well." The brunette looked back at me over her shoulder, sticking her tongue out at me. "So I assume this means you'll willingly do all the cooking when the baby's born?"

"Hardly." Astoria told me factually when another cook came to take the dough from her, ready to cook it. "I made tamales, enchiladas, and homemade tortilla's, by hand, while you slept the day away. It's a good thing we have certain assistance or I would go mad."

"By assistance you mean magic." She wrinkled her face, hushing me. I looked around, smirking at her . "Tori, this isn't a muggle kitchen."

She stared at me, here eyes wide as if I had told her I was queer. "What?"

The entire kitchen began laughing, obviously in on the joke. The black haired woman came back up, smiling as she kissed Astoria's forehead. "Ninguna magia good with condition, no? Gives exercise!"

"No, not at all." She frowned, glaring at the woman. "I'm pretty sure everyone staying in this place is a bloody muggle!"

"Yes, clientes ninguna magia. We must to feed many here, yes? Magia importante."

"That explains why the bloody waiters were laughing at me!"

Astoria rose to pull off her apron. I glanced at the amount of leg her muggle shorts showed, my heart skipping a beat. The fact that her tank top was made of the thinnest cotton I had ever seen didn't help matters any. The brunette rolled her eyes, sticking her tongue out at me again when she caught my stare. Astoria washed her hands and walked back to our room with me. We weren't inside two seconds before my self-control wavered and I had her pinned to the door.

"Bloody hell, I though my hormones were bad." She moaned when I hitched her legs around my waist.

"I missed you, a lot." I muttered as I sucked on her earlobe. A million emotions filled my mind as I inhaled the scent of her hair, nearly going nuts by the aroma.

"You better have." Astoria stated authoritatively. I grasped the bottom of her thighs, the padding of my fingers brushing the inside of her legs. "Lolly gagging isn't going to get you any points, Malfoy."

I pulled her from the door and and turned, pinning her to the bed. I looked into her eyes as she went still, her face flushed. "What about that?"

Around three o'clock, an owl flew in our window. Astoria craned her neck around and swore. "That's a bloody ministry owl, isn't it?"

"Yeah, why?" I looked at her, pushing strands of her hair from her face as her eyes darkened.

"Let's just say I can never look at my co-workers with any sort of pride ever again." She sat up, pulling my shirt off the floor and putting it around her body. I watched her hair, recently highlighted silver and dull crème, swing as she walked to the bird. Astoria gave the feathered messenger three galleons from her bag on the desk and turned to face me, sighing as she red the letter. "He fired me."

"You're kidding me?" I sat up, my jaw clenched as her face lost color. "He's been slandering you left and right for the past few weeks and you're in the wrong? Like hell. Do you want me to file a wrongful termination complaint?"

"No. It's better this way." Astoria put the letter on the desk, shaking her head. "Andy... Gerard talked to me Friday about quitting. He reckons that Andy's starting these conflicts with you and I based on unethical ultimatums."

The words filled my head and suddenly my face flushed. "Has he tried anything to"-

"Draco, Andy was my best friend! He's also five years younger than my Dad!" The brunette stated, her cherry wood eyes stern at the apparent absurdity. "He would never blackmail me to shag him!"

"I feel a but coming on." I watched her expression tense as she started playing with the French Cuffs of my shirt. Suddenly it hit me. "Did you two have anything going on?"

"I wouldn't call it something." Astoria informed me. "After Travis broke off our engagement, Daphne temporarily broke up with Andy for some stupid reason. Anyway, a Christmas party, two heart-broken drunks and an empty conference room doesn't exactly simplify that relationship any."

"You two slept together." I stared at her for a second, forcing my pride not to get the better of me. I wasn't sure if I was completely in the clear after our last round. "Where'd it go after that?"

"No where. Daphne made up with him a week later and we've never exactly talked about it, except agreeing it was a mistake." She assured me strongly. "Andy didn't even mutter the words 'shag' or 'sex' to me until he found out about our one might stand. But Gerard's worked with Andy longer than I have. If he's certain Andy's behavior for the past few weeks towards me isn't about his parents coming in, I believe him."

There was a thick silenced as I watched her, her gaze even. My own insecurities watched her, unsure whether I truly believed her or not. My eyes landed on the mound on her stomach and instantly, I put all of my pride aside and gave her all my trust.

"What about your sister, though? They're set to wed in two months and some weeks."

"It broke my heart when Travis left me. It burnt me until I was bitter when I found out he'd been screwing Parkinson." The woman before me stated, her eyes going afire."If he wanted me, he should have done it a long time ago. I will not be the other women to my sister's fiancée, physically or emotionally. I may not get along with that bloody primp all the time, but I'd take the Avada Kedevra for her. I would also drop my career for you because I know our child needs you, Draco."

Astoria's eyes were watering, her jaw tensed. I looked up at her, stunned. This woman was constantly amazing me everyday. When her tears strengthened, she crawled into my arms and I held her, kissing her repeatedly. Maybe Blaise was right. Astoria Greengrass was not Pansy Parkinson, and I was just now starting to accept security from that factor.

*HarryPotter!*HarryPotter*!HarryPotter*

"So what is the agenda for the next two weeks?" I asked her that evening, sipping my wine in the hotel dining hall.

Astoria looked at me, lost. "How would I know? You're the one who brought me here."

I pulled out about nine pamphlets that I had picked up in the hotel lobby and put them on the table.

"Go at it. As long as tomorrow is free for me to sleep in, I'm good."

The witch smirked. "As if you haven't slept all of the day away already."

I chuckled, putting my glass back down. "I've had a week long trial, Crider Greengrasses Apprentice. I've also been distracted by a near nymphomaniac at every other minute."

"Fine then, we'll allow this trip to be an opportunity to connect emotionally and go without shagging. I would hate to over-exhaust you, Draco."

She winked from besides me, sipping her apple juice through a straw. I stared at her, slightly humored by her challenge. Two could play that game. I leaned back, admiring the paintings on the ceiling, sensing Astoria's disgruntled look. This was going to be as easy as pissing off a Weasley. I continued to stare at the ceiling while snaking my hand onto her lap and in between her legs. The witch froze as my hand caressed the skin of her thigh, glad she'd worn a muggle skirt.

I admired a group of angels as my hand sneaked up her leg, Astoria's face flushing. I watched her out of the corner of my eye, shivering at her darkening eyes. I suddenly withdrew my hand as the waiter came to give me the bill. "Gracias por escoger la Posada de Carlotta. Dónde están usted de, Señor?"

"Gran Bretaña." I replied, glancing over at Astoria to see her trying to regain her composure. This was too much fun.

"Ah, sí. Yo mismo soy de Rumania y estoy aquí para un puesto de interno en el restaurante." The tanned man informed me. "Tristemente, digo el mejor español y el húngaro o yo daría gracias a su esposa."

"Realmente usted todavía puede." I informed him, not correcting his assumption that Astoria and I were married. As far as I was concerned, she was mine anyway. "Ella es fluida en el rumano, aunque no sepa ningún español."

"Ah realmente? Bună ziua Miss, vă mulţumesc pentru luat masa la Carlotta's Diner. Sper că va plăcut vă tamales."

Astoria looked up at the college kid and smiled broadly at the discovery the waiter knew Romanian. "Acestea au fost delicioase, vă mulţumesc băiete!"

"Bine ai venit, Miss. Sper să te văd din nou."

The witch had spent all of Sunday planning our trip while I slept. Her obsessive compulsive tendency amused me but I was glad to see her mind was off the termination of her job. She obvious loved her career as much as I did mine, as she had risked breaking a gag order for it the first night we met. I felt bad that Astoria was forced to chose me over something she was so passionate for. Despite this, I was sure any newspaper in London would hire her on. In fact, I would make sure they did.

The woman rose from the table to get a bottle of water form the muggle-mini fridge, watching as the balcony doors opened themselves and her hair pulled it's self up into a messy bun. I could make out the pouch on her stomach from weight gain. I bit my lip,impatient for Astoria to actually start showing.

I had just finished spending a week facing Milicent's three children and the images of how our child might look at that ages. Would it be a boy or girl? Would it have her hair and my eyes? Or vice-versa? So many people expected me to be scared out of my mind because of my job and reputation and Astoria's, yet I wasn't. Perhaps I had dealt with the fear the night she told me she was pregnant. Or maybe it was taking it's sweet time coming. I didn't know which one it was, but all I knew was that this; me, her and the being that would be here in seven months; felt right.

Sure enough, by noon on Monday we had already gone to Torre Latinoamericana, The Angel de la Independencia; The Zócalo, The ruins of the Templo Mayor, The Church of Santo Domingo and the San Ildefonso College around Zócalo. By lunch, I was sure I was going to pass out from all the walking and translating I was doing for her. Astoria seemed content with the amount of photographs and sight seeing she was experiencing.

"The Colegio Grande portal is so beautiful." She smiled as we took a table at a small, college town restaurant. I sat down and my eyes landed on her chest, my heart skipping a beat. The skin revealed by her green shirtdress was starting to glow from sun exposure. The cut of the material showed off enough leg and cleavage to keep my head in the gutter for most of the day. It was unfair how much just simple images of Astoria's body could set me off guard. "How do you want to do this, Draco?"

"However you want it." I told her, hoping my sunglasses hid my expression. She smirked, telling me she had seen it. This competition was killing the aphrodisiac Mexico was so known for, especially when it was effecting me so greatly. But I sure as hell wasn't going to fold so bloody easy. This woman was going to have to walk stark naked on the beach before that happened.

"I feel like a bath in the hot tub tonight. Care to join me?" Astoria's fingers began tracing a triangle over the cut of her dress.

I shrugged, my throat going dry. Damn-my-bloody-anatomy. "I think I'll read."

The brunette gawked at me, dropping her hand. "Read? Like, a book? On vacation?"

"Yes." I smirked, taking control back from her. "It's a lovely time to do so, don't you agree?"

Before she could continue, three college age boys in muggle soccer polos ran up with notebooks. They all began speaking in fast Spanish as the brunette told them she didn't comprehend Spanish.

"You, writer Gran Bretaña. Asteria Greengrass? Argue Raul Cabana?"

"Right." Astoria's face shone with realization as she nodded, looking at my confused look. "I was arguing an economist here on relations between Brazil and Costa Rica on dragon imports for awhile. I totally creamed his arse."

"Wasn't that a major topic last year?" I shot as she took their notebooks and signed her name hastily as they bombarded her with questions. Apparently she had made an major impact. "Ella no dice el inglés, muchachos! ¡Esté paciente y puedo traducir!"

When the three boys realized my offer to translate, I instantly regretted it. By the end of the hour, all of them were sitting with us and asking the mother of my child everything from her opinions on the embargo between Canada and Britain to when she was expecting. The brunette was taking the attention shyly, though answering as opinionated as she always did.

"You employer Schwinger." The more detail focused of the boys, Rico, told me in even Spanish. "He is a very, how Brits say it? 'Bloody Prat'?"

Astoria understood enough of his words to giggle as the more hyper boy, Augustus, asked her about Britain's law structure. Another order of cappuccinos came and the entire table wrinkled their noses. So far, this had been a very unimpressive restaurant.

"We can try Lucifer's tomorrow." My partner told me, sighing as she pushed the cup away."Erica from MLE said they're wonderful."

"Lucifer gone." Guerrero, the more quiet of the trio, informed us in choppy English. "You come to Madre's shop, Excalibur in other part, no? Tonight you must, Greengrass and Malfoy." He emphasize the two words as three muggles walked by.

"I don't know..." She told them, having a whole agenda planned out already.

"We can pick it up later, Tori." I told her, having heard good things about the restaurant when I was doing research for our trip. Anything was better than the slim they were serving us here. "The wiz"-

"Other part!" Guerrero snapped quietly as a girl watched us all from across the patio suspiciously. -"other part makes the muggle exhibits look like Clean Sweeps in the shadow of a Firebolt."

Astoria looked at me, her expression deciphering. "Well, when you start bringing quidditch into it I really can't argue it, can I?"

"You like?" Augustus shot, his eyes bright.

"Not really," Astoria shook her head making all the men scowl. "What?"

"You must change that." Rico told me in Spanish as they rose, pulling out Muggle currency to pay for their drinks.

"Absolutely." I agreed, shaking my head as she laughed at my shame. We walked four blocks together as the boys began to argue with me over teams going to the World Cup this year. Astoria held onto my arm as we did so, rolling her eyes as I looked down at her. "Do you seriously not like quidditch?"

"Yes. I despise it, in fact." She confirmed, intertwining our fingers.

"Then how come you were always at the games in school with your sister?" I shot, instantly confused.

"Just because I don't like the game doesn't mean I don't like the players." She smirked salaciously."What? I could always count on you to wear snug robes."

I chuckled as she grinned up at me, kissing her before we entered an old monastery. The floor boards creaked and the dust caused me to cough. Guerrero and Augustus stopped us at the center of the room as the third boy went on. Rico walked up to an rotted alter and pulled out his wand, pointing it to the wood and muttering an incantation. The floor below us shifted and began rotating and lowering from the rest of the religious building. Rico ran and jumped onto the platform, sighing.

"We usually apparate but we wanted to show off." He informed me as he looked up at the black tunnel that consumed us."This way you can tell all your rich friends to come here and waste their money."

The ground stopped moving and an old door opened, leading us out of the tunnel. The wizarding world of Mexico City hadn't changed much since I was last here. A large town circle with carts and shops surrounded us. There were a few tourists going around in awe at the novelty items and souvenirs. Astoria smirked, pushing her hair back.

"I think I already like Mexico better than Britain." I rolled my eyes. Despite the major differences she had with her family, the woman was a Greengrass at heart.

Excalibur was a restaurant styled like a Medieval version of Spain. Sand colored, brick walls surrounded the place with old swords, tapestries and ghosts older than those at Hogwarts floating around and scaring the customers. Rico motioned for us to go to the bar where we met a red headed woman with tanned skin.

"Madre, este es Astoria Greegrass! ¡El reportero de Gran Bretaña con los artículos buenos!"

The woman smiled, her English better than the boys. "My sons and his friends are big fans. It's an honor to have such people here. Can I offer a drink on the house?"

We sat there and ate lunch, talking with the hostess and Astoria's fan club. She wrapped herself into my arm, still shy at the attention. When the group of boys left to go meet up with a study group for their journalism class and the woman left, the brunette sighed.

"Bloody hell, I think it's a good thing I didn't go into law. I'm horrible under pressure."

"You?" I choked on my wine, pulling off my glasses to stare at her. "You're the most widely feared silver-tongued devil in London, and apparently Mexico City."

"That's in writing though." She argued, stealing a piece of chili from my plate. "It's different in person."

"I've seen you argue with Amethyst and Crider, Tori. You're a savage." I argued matter-of-factly. "Morgana's bed, you're a right old bitch when we go at it, Love."

"That's different too." Astoria assured me as a ghost made a ugly face at her. "Family's different. We all know each others strategies. And I figured yours out because your a whiny, foul mouthed bloke like your Dad yet very verbally fluent like your mother."

"Woman, your compliments confuse me sometimes." I admitted, looking at her face. Her eyes were dark and I raised a brow for an explanation.

"All this talk about my articles keeps reminding me that I won't ever do it again."

"They'll be other jobs, Tori." I assured her.

"Not like this one. I used to go to bed when I was fourteen, dreaming about working at the Prophet." The witch confessed poetically. " When Mum and I would go at it, I always told myself 'it would be different when I worked for the Prophet, I'd show her."

"Wathen was an idiot for letting you out of his grasp, Tori. When other newspaper is gaining popularity because of his mistake, he'll regret it." I put my face in the crook of her neck as she sighed, guilt washing over me. She took my hand and squeezed it. I put my free hand on her waist and put my mouth to her ear, hoping my next words would cheer her up."So there's this really hot, sun tanned slag behind you that is totally checking me out. Too bad I'm taken tonight."

"I guess this means I win then?" Astoria chuckled, gloating at my suggestive flirtation.

"I don't think so." I pulled back, gladly bursting her bubble. "You've known my family long enough to realize a Malfoy never loses."

"Oh, just like that quidditch match your second year? I wasn't even there and yet it still cracks me up think of it!" The woman laughed at my sour expression, her sun kissed cheeks moving with her expression. "Aw, poor bloke. Walk if off and get back on your broom stick."

"Says a woman who doesn't even like quidditch." I told her, finishing off my wine.

"I may hate the game, but I love to see a certain addict make a git of himself. The sympathy shagging is bloody incredible! Speaking of which, I see a pair of shoes you totally owe me for our last fight."

I rolled my eyes as we rose and I put money on the bar. Yes, Astoria was defiantly a Greengrass. There was no doubt about it.