A/N: Reviews would be extremely appreciated so that I'll know how I'm doing with this story ;)
Draco woke the next morning with the distant hope that he was dead. His hope was soon squashed when he realized there was an incessant pounding on the door to his chambers. He tiredly snapped his fingers and a tiny house elf appeared with a hot cup of tea and lightly buttered toast. He grabbed the offered plate and nodded to the small table beside him. Obediently the elf put his tea on the table and then turned back to him and bowed deeply.
"Will Master Draco need anything else?" The elf inquired while still bowing at the side of his bed.
"Who the bloody hell is at my door?!"
"Bonk is thinking that it be Mistress Astoria, Master." The elf replied timidly. He trembled slightly, as if afraid that Draco might suddenly punish him. Draco counted to five in his head and released a deep breath before speaking.
"Inform her that I will be busy the entire day and I require her immediate departure from my wing of the manor."
Bonk's ear twitched and he shuffled his feet nervously.
"Master Draco… Bonk is to be needing to be nice to his new Mistress. Bonk is thinking that he cannot order her away." Now the elf's voice clearly shook in fear as he addressed Draco. Draco paused for a moment. The elves never talked back or questioned their orders. Never. And now because of his stupid nuisance of a wife the bloody creatures had decided they could not obey? This was an outrage.
"I am your Master. Only my parents and I can order you about. Ms Greengra- I mean the new Mrs. Malfoy's commands are to be ignored. Now do as I said!" Draco's hissed before turning his attention to his toast. With a tiny pop the house elf disappeared from his room.
After a moment he heard muted shouts from outside his chamber and he was glad the walls were thick so he didn't really have to listen to the stupid bint speak.
Another tiny pop alerted him to the second arrival of his house elf.
"Master Draco… Bonk is needing to be punished. He has failed to make Miss Astoria leave." Bonk stood noticeably just out of Draco's reach. Draco had never actually harmed an elf but his father provided abundant discipline.
"Bonk listen to me. GET RID OF HER. I don't care what you have to do, just keep her away from me unless I specifically tell you otherwise. Understand?"
The elf nodded, his large ears bouncing and effectively making him look a lot like a cartoon character, and another tiny pop marked his disappearance.
Draco smiled to himself as he thought of his goofy looking house elf. They were such strange creatures but they were loyal and extremely handy. He couldn't even imagine doing his own chores and cleaning up after himself constantly.
A shrill scream sounded loudly from the hall before there was peaceful silence once again.
Curiously Draco stood and walked to the door, barely registering the cold marble floor beneath his bare feet. He reached the door and grabbed the large sterling handle. He slowly opened it and peered out into the hall before quickly falling into a fit of hysterical laughter.
Astoria was levitating three feet above the ground. A thick looking rope was tied around her body rendering her immobile. A red handkerchief was in her mouth effectively muting her irritating voice. From Draco's position peering around the door he could just make out the corner of the smile on Bonk's face.
She was clearly distressed but Draco didn't care. He knew that Bonk wouldn't harm her; he would just remove her from Draco's wing of the house which was exactly what Draco wanted.
Still chuckling to himself Draco moved back into his room to retrieve his tea, making sure to spell the doors closed behind him. He took his tea and sat in front of the fire quietly pondering what he would do with his day.
Normally he would attend to any business that father might have for him and then take a walk through the gardens with mother for a bit before having tea in the afternoon with both his parents and sometimes various acquaintances of theirs.
Based on current events he had no intentions of leaving his rooms at all.
"Brooding does not become you Draco." The deep soothing voice of the man that could only be Severus Snape said from the direction of the fire.
"How did you get in?" Draco wasn't upset to see Snape; actually he was rather glad to have the company of his mentor. But his wards were supposed to be impenetrable….
"I can do as I please Draco. Surely you know that by now? Now will you tell me why you are skulking about locked up in your rooms or shall I have to force it out of you?"
Draco did not doubt that Severus could in fact force him to speak but he knew that despite the man's cold exterior he did care and would help him if he could. Severus was probably one of the only people in the world that Draco actually trusted.
"I just wanted some space; I need to think is all and I can't do it with that she monster around."
"Why Draco, if I didn't know any better I'd say that you were unhappy with your marriage. Tell me, where is the lovely missus?" The usual cold darkness in Snape's eyes was replaced with a kind of knowing sparkle that was suspiciously Dumbledoresque. Draco took a moment to look at Snape closely before answering. He looked different. He looked healthier than Draco could remember ever seeing him. His skin was certainly still pale but it was not the translucent paper it used to be. His eyes were brighter; his hair was combed through, cleaned, and held back in a leather band. He seemed to glow…
"You got shagged?" Draco hadn't meant to sound so incredulous but… as far as he knew nobody was interested in Severus and Severus was even more uninterested in everyone.
Snape raised a brow elegantly before chuckling. Snape laughed. SNAPE LAUGHED!! Severus Snape never laughed. Draco pinched his arm harshly, leaving a tiny blue and purple bruise almost instantly. He couldn't help but feel that he had somehow fallen into an alternate universe unwittingly.
"It seems you've lost your flair for elegance. However, you are just as observant as usual," A playful scowl passed over his features as he continued, "If you must know, I had a nice evening….and morning." A triumphant smirk graced his lips as he glanced at Draco.
Draco was flabbergasted. Severus was not an unattractive man… it's just… he was so damn mean all the time. He had never seen Snape say a kind word to anyone other than himself or his parents. He didn't have time to ponder who could be sharing Snape's bed though because he was quickly fixed with that inquisitive look that told him he had better answer the question he had been asked.
"I do not know where she is, and to be perfectly honest I could not care less. Earlier this morning Bonk had her bound and gagged and was levitating her off somewhere…" Draco trailed off with an amused smile on his face.
Snape narrowed his eyes at him in annoyance.
"I do not understand Draco. Please explain to me why it is amusing that your house elf carried your wife off much like a hostage." The serious tone of his voice almost made Draco feel bad for not caring where Astoria was. Almost but not quite.
"You know everything about me Sev. It should not surprise you to hear that I do not take an interest in Ms Greengrass. In fac-"
"Malfoy." Severus interrupted. Draco looked at him quizzically.
"Her name is now Mrs. Malfoy, not Ms Greengrass."
Draco sighed. He hated to hear his family name attached to such a monstrosity as Astoria.
"I think I will just continue to call her Ms Greengrass. She does not deserve my family's name… I was forced into this Severus. I didn't have a choice. I don't like her. I don't like her stupid voice, or the annoying way she clings to me, or the over powering smell of cotton candy perfume that she insists on wearing a gallon of, and I absolutely hate it when she touches me. I am not attracted to her. I'm not attracted to women at all. I'm only doing this for my family. I'm only doing this because I must…"
A thousand different emotions plowed through Draco at once. He had just admitted out loud that he did not like his wife. Amongst the purebloods this was a social crime. He trusted Severus with a lot of things but could he trust him with this?
"If you were not attracted to women, you should have said so Draco." Severus sighed as he walked over and put a comforting hand on Draco's shoulder.
Oh shite… I just made a right arse of myself. I told him I don't like women. I don't like women?
Well…I don't like girly voices, or perfume, or breasts, or the female anatomy in general…I suppose that's why I detested having to have sex with her. It just felt so wrong…
"Severus, I just don't know what to do. I hate her. I really do. But we're married now and nothing short of death can break us apart. Divorce would result in father disowning me…"
Snape gazed at Draco as he looked intently into the fire. Severus could see that Draco was not handling this well. He looked like he was about to break down any second and just jump into the flames in front of him. Severus could see that Draco was falling apart but he did not know what to do so he just sat there for a moment longer and then stood and walked back towards the fire.
"Draco, I will not divulge this information to anyone. You may trust me. I'm sorry but I don't know what else to do right now. I will think on it though." With that Snape picked up a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fire, called out Diagon Alley and vanished in the flames.
The fire was momentarily a vibrant green color because of the added powder. Draco found himself thinking of vibrant green eyes with a sad smile on his face. They were most definitely the vibrant green eyes of a man that he very much loathed.
But damn were those nice eyes….