It honestly took me a longer time to write this. I wanted it to be emotional yet still make sense. So let me know what you think! Did I do it right? You are all awesome for your support of this story :)

Draco never imagined parenting to be as easy as it was for him and Astoria. Ever. Scorpius was already three years old and neither of them had had a big argument. When he asked his father why this was, Lucius answered him, "It's probably because you two are soulmates. If things work out themselves, then you know you two are completely compatible. Your mother and I only argued because of our…circumstances. I made some bad decisions. But if you keep Astoria happy and choose to do the right things, then you'll have a very successful marriage." Draco found his words to be quite true. He was back to working at the Ministry now, considering Astoria was healthy enough to care for herself and for little Scorpius, and had a better time there than before his child was born. Draco often caught himself wondering why his life was so perfect…and did he deserve it?

After coming home from work one day, Draco kissed the top of Astoria's head and scooped little Scorpius into his arms from the sitting room floor. "My two favorite people!" he cooed. Scorpius giggled happily. Astoria grinned at him from her place at the stove. "How was work, dear?" she asked. "It went well, thank you. I'm about finished with that reconstruction project on the Forbidden Forest. My part was just to calculate the area of regeneration, but some people have it a lot rougher." he explained with a chuckle. A low rumble sounded from the skies—a summer thunderstorm was nearing. Scorpius whimpered, clutching his soft stuffed dragon close to him. "Daddy…" he cried. Astoria went around to sit across from Draco on the floor. "It's been thundering a bit all day. He doesn't seem to like the sound—either he's been glued to my side or hiding in a corner with his toys." she informed her husband. Draco kissed the top of his son's tiny head. "Does the thunder scare you, baby?" he murmured, earning a nod. "Well you stay right here next to Daddy. I'll keep you away from the scary sounds. Alright?" Scorpius snuggled closer as a rumble resounded.

Astoria used to her wand to summon a letter off the kitchen counter. "You got some mail today," she said, catching it easily with her left hand. "The owl came around noon. I didn't open it—I don't want to invade your privacy at all." Draco glanced up from rocking Scorpius on his lap. "Who's it from?" he asked.

"Hermione Granger,"

Draco paled. He immediately averted his eyes from Astoria as his breathing quickened. Scorpius reached his little hands out for his mother, asking to be tickled. Draco let him slink out of his arms and toddle over to her. He giggled without a care in the world. Draco, however, still hadn't said anything for quite some time now. He just silently observed Astoria wiggling her fingernails against their son's tummy, listening to the little shrieks of delight. After several minutes, Astoria held the letter out to him. "Sorry, I forgot to hand it to you after all that—" But she was interrupted as Draco shoved her hand away. "Don't!" he angrily said. Astoria froze, staring at him with wide eyes. "Draco, are you—"

"No I'm not going to open that letter, now get it out of my sight before I set it on fire!" he shouted.

"Darling, I wasn't going to ask—"

"I told you to do something; now do as I say!"

Astoria stared at him as if he were a stranger. Draco hadn't even looked at her. He kept his head down and his hands in his lap the entire time during and after his outburst. Scorpius begged for more tickles, but Astoria was not hearing him. The silent staring last minutes. Finally, she began to rise. "Well," she said quietly. "Should I continue making supper, or should I wait for you to order to me do it?" Immediately she swept away, not even explaining her sudden absence to Scorpius, who sat up from the floor and confusedly called, "Mummy?" Draco felt himself shaking. It had happened—the Lucius had come out in him. The entire dinner preparation was completely silent, save for the giggles from Scorpius who had now asked his father to set up the blocks into a tower for him to repeatedly knock down. After a little while of this game, the boy raised his silver eyes to him. "Daddy?" he asked. "Are you feeling sad?" Draco knew tears were coming to his eyes. "Daddy?" He pulled his sleeves down as far as they could go on his wrists—had it always been this cold in the house? "Daddy!" He squeezed his eyes closed as Scorpius began to sob from being ignored. Please block out that crying….please make it stop….

Astoria had come out of the kitchen again to see why her son was in tears. "Draco!" she sharply called, gathering the baby into her arms and bouncing him. He snapped his head up to look at her. Renewed anger that had nothing to do with his wife surged through his veins. "Can't you just leave me alone?!" he shouted. He meant for it to be gentler—he meant for it to sound like he was asking for just some solitude. But the Lucius had said it differently. Astoria looked thunderstruck. "What on earth is the matter with you, Draco? You've never spoken to me like this before!"

"It's because you don't understand! You have not, do not, and will not ever! Just leave me alone!"

"What did I do? What did I say to you?" she cried out, on the verge of tears.

"I'll tell you what you did! You gave me that letter! You should've known to just burn it and yet you didn't! You saved it out for me specially!"

"Draco, you didn't even open it—"

"I honestly don't care, Astoria! I'm not talking about this!"

"…You aren't talking," she softly said. "You're yelling at me."

Draco covered his face and jumped up from the ground. He darted towards their bedroom to get away from his wife and child. Oh god, why did this have to happen? Why did she have to send him that letter? Astoria watched him go. "Don't you leave me, Draco Malfoy! Everyone in my whole life has always left me except for you! And I don't want that to start now!"

"Ask them why they left you, not me!"

"Draco, stop! Don't go! Draco, I'll do anything! I'm…I'm sorry for whatever I did! Draco! Draco, please! Don't!" she was hysterical now, screaming and pleaded as Scorpius wailed in fear at such raised voices and thunder.

"I'm not leaving the house! I just don't want you or him near me right now!" Draco shouted, slamming the bedroom door shut violently.

Astoria stood frozen where she was, letting the tears stream down her face. What had happened? What did she do? She subconsciously bounced Scorpius to appease him as she bit her fingernails. There was so much hurt inside of her—and it was beginning to become physical. She knew that the Dark curse was preying on misfortune and sadness (as well as anger), and the fight with Draco was allowing it to rapidly strengthen. Her head ached. Weakly, she charmed Scorpius's highchair to bounce lightly so that he would be appeased when he sat in it. Sniffling, she finished cooking dinner to only be enjoyed by herself and the baby.

Draco paced in the bedroom. Why had Granger sent the letter? Didn't these three know what communication with them did to him? It was been so long, so long since he'd felt like this—before Scorpius was even conceived. Why did they feel it was alright to try to talk to him again when he plainly did not accept the last invitation? Oh god how everything ached on him. All he wanted to do was explain to Astoria that he felt an incredible weight of guilt upon his shoulders for what happened to those three—especially the Mud…Granger. But that would look absolutely pathetic; to be afraid of people his own age, people he went to school with, people he'd longed to make fear him. She wouldn't understand. She was a Hufflepuff—Hufflepuffs were friends with everyone. Before he knew it, it was already eight o'clock. Bedtime for Scorpius. Just as he realized it, he heard a gleeful laugh echo from the adjoining sitting room through the door.

Draco cracked the door open a tiny bit. Astoria was sitting on the sofa with Scorpius on her lap, opening one of his favorite storybooks. It was reading time. Usually Draco sat on his left, Astoria on his right, with him in the middle. They always took turns with the pages and watched him absorb the story as if he had never even heard it before. Every single night. His heart hurt at the thought of Astoria doing this herself—he had left her. Just like everyone else in her family. But Scorpius never did. He would always be there for her. Draco lowered his eyes as he slid back into the room. But suddenly, he noticed something on the ground in front of the door.

Astoria had put a plate of his favorite food there, set with a heating charm so it wouldn't spoil.

Scorpius clapped his little hands. "Again! Again!" he exclaimed. Astoria rubbed her sore eyes, smiling through her sadness. "One more time? Just one more—you've got to get to sleep so you aren't tired and cranky."

"Daddy!"

"W-What?"

"Daddy reads this page!"

"N-Not…not right now, sweetie. Daddy's…sleeping."

"Daddy's mad at Mummy,"

Astoria felt her breath hitch. How did her three-year-old interpret this altercation? "Why Daddy is mad?" Scorpius innocently asked out of pure childish curiosity. Astoria shook her head, tears brimming. "I don't know…" she whispered. Scorpius wiggled around a bit so he was facing his mother. "Mummy?" he asked. "Are you feeling sad?" It wasn't uncommon for him to ask questions like these. He was just beginning to understand emotions, thanks to an early-earning book that asked that same question about feelings over and over in the text. Astoria didn't answer. "Daddy's sad too," Scorpius acknowledged. "Mummy and Daddy are both sad." Astoria squeezed her eyes closed and fought against a sob. "Can I make you feel happy?" he asked brightly. There went the walls. Astoria broke down, covering her face in her hands. She felt her airways constricting as the disease gripped her tighter. Her head pounded. Everything was so terrible and bleak. Astoria didn't know how long she was crying for (Scorpius was a very good baby and hardly ever made a disrupting sound), but it must've been a while. Scorpius slid his tiny hand into hers. "Is it the thunder?" he whispered sweetly. Astoria finally looked at him. She attempted a watery smile and shook her head. "No, dear….It's not the thunder. How about we save the extra story for tomorrow night, alright? It's time to get you in bed." she murmured to her compliant son. Scorpius allowed himself to be carried off to the nursery in silence.

A while later, the door opened to the bedroom. Draco was lying on his back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn't look at her out of shame and stubbornness. A long silence passed as she dressed for bed in the darkness. "You didn't eat anything," she murmured gently. He could hear tears behind her voice. "I don't care," God, why was everything he was saying coming out so wrong? Astoria sank down onto the bed. "Draco, please just tell me what's bothering you. Do you think I was suspecting you of cheating with her?"

"Don't you dare say that!"

"I'm sorry! It's not what I meant. I just—"

"Not what you meant? This entire argument has been not what I meant to you, Astoria! You just won't understand because you're a Hufflepuff, not a Slytherin with Gryffindor rivalry!"

"This clearly has nothing to do with House interactions, it's about you and her."

"There you go suspecting me again!"

"I did not say a word about anything of the sort! You're just getting too defensive! Whatever this is, you're not telling me because it's clearly big and troublesome! I thought I married the honest Draco!"

Draco froze. "You dare to call me dishonest?"

"I didn't call you that. I just w-want my husband back. Not this…this…this defensive little Slytherin boy!" Astoria cried, more tears making their way down her cheeks.

"It's her! It's all her! Ever since that night at the Manor all I've wanted to do is get her out of my mind!"

It was now Astoria's turn to freeze. What did he mean by 'that night at the Manor'? Did her husband really… "Just talk to me," she begged. Draco drew a deep breath. "When…the Death Eaters had their base at my home…my aunt lived with us permanently. One night the watchmen caught Har—those three and brought them in. They told me to identify them. I didn't want to. I really didn't want to. But if I lied, they'd kill me. They'd kill my whole family. My aunt thought Granger had stolen her sword from her vault at Gringotts…although I knew…she couldn't have. So they threw the other two into the basement and…she kept Granger upstairs. She tortured her. I remember running to my room and just burying my face under every pillow I owned…to drown out the screaming…the screaming…. My mother came in and cried with me; she told me my aunt wasn't well. Father wasn't allowed near us—he had duties to perform. I remember it lasted forever…the torture….And I was later told what my aunt did to her…she carved the word… 'M-Mud…Mudblood' into her arm with a knife…."

Astoria was completely silent—she wasn't looking at Draco. Draco was shivering now as quiet tears slid down his face at the memory. "Your aunt…" Astoria finally whispered. He nodded. "Aunt Bellatrix," It was the first time he'd spoken her name aloud since her death. As a child, he'd loved her because she never obeyed his parents when they told him he couldn't have candy—she would always bring a whole bag over and sneak it to him when the coast was clear. However the older he got, the more the rules changed. It went from breaking rules about candy to breaking rules of society. He found his voice again. "We haven't spoken ever since. Ever. I never wanted to talk to her for the rest of my life. Her husband absolutely abhors me—I don't know why she sent me a letter when she knows I'm not alright with it! What don't they understand about me?!"

"You're misunderstood, Draco. You had too many duties for a boy your age."

"But even now! They won't just leave me alone!"

"It's alright, it's alright. You said before that you wanted to burn it? Go ahead and do it. If that will make you feel better, then just do it, Draco."

"…It's more than just the torture though. That was all my fault. If I had said I didn't know them, maybe she wouldn't have those scars….But even when I was a child, Father would always be disappointed that I came in second in my year—that a M-Mud…that should would come in first. I hated her all that time because it was her fault I couldn't make my father proud. And then when I heard her being tortured…oh god, all I wanted to do was take it all back."

"I'll burn every letter that ever comes here from them. Any of them. Potter, Weasely, Granger. I won't even tell you they arrived, alright? And if they're insistent, I'll write to them myself."

Draco nodded. He felt like such a baby—he'd thrown a temper tantrum the whole night because he couldn't man up and burn a letter. What would his father say about this? Yet there was his wife, who took the brunt of all his rage, sitting by him and promising to do her job better. Better? He had the best! How could she possibly get better? "I'm sorry," she whispered. Draco immediately sat up, stunned by these words. "What? Why are you sorry?" he asked.

"For arguing. I should've just let you have your space when you needed it. I shouldn't have went into my speech about being left by everyone and trying to guilt you into talking to me. I wish I had just let you go and then discussed it when you were ready. I wish I understood sooner."

"No….No, Astoria, please…don't say those things. No…you didn't do anything wrong. I was the one that acted worse than Scorpius does without a nap. Please don't…please don't think this was any of your fault."

Astoria coughed weakly, the disease infecting her systems again. Draco turned and gripped her shoulders. "Oh no…you're getting sicker! This is all my fault! I took away your happiness! I made you feel unloved! I—"

"Draco, no…I did it to myself."

Without another word, Draco pulled her down to lay on the bed with him. He covered the pair of them with blankets. He drew her in as close to him as he could. "Astoria, I'm so sorry that I caused our first fight." Draco whispered. She stroked his cheek lovingly. "I'm sorry that I didn't just put a stop to it while I could," she answered. The two shared a kiss that was gentle and apologetic. Astoria shivered as a wave of warmth overtook the ball of ice that had settled inside of her form the Dark curse. "We'll never fight again, I promise…" Draco breathed as he closed his eyes and kissed her once more. The two met lips until Draco fell asleep. Once she was sure he was out, Astoria used her wand to silently summon the letter into the room. When it hovered in front of her face, she squeezed her eyes closed and flicked her wand. Incendio.