Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 10

"Merlin!" I cried out exasperated, "You're my ex-boyfriend." I turned towards Draco who did not look pleased at the turn the night had taken.

"Draco Malfoy, Geoffrey Brigstocke." I quickly made the introductions, hoping that I'd be able to repair the damage that had just been done. "Geoff, Draco is my fiancé, and Geoff is my ex-boyfriend," I explained to Draco as I turned toward him.

Admittedly both men did not seem thrilled at the idea of being introduced to each other.

Geoff broke the awkward silence that was starting the build amongst the three of us, "I saw the announcement in The Daily Prophet that your signing ceremony with Malfoy was taking place but I didn't believe it so I had to come see you. You promised to wait for me." His face was despondent, waiting for my reply.

But before I could begin to speak, Draco angrily spun towards me, "You were in a relationship this entire time and you didn't tell me?"

Without hesitation I cried out, "No!" Throwing an irritated glare at Geoff, I continued, "I never promised him that I was going to wait for him."

"You never said you wouldn't," Geoff volleyed back.

"Merlin Geoff, that was two years ago. And may I remind you that you're the one who chose your job over me. When you asked me to wait for you I told you maybe, I never said that I was going to stick around, waiting to see whether you were ever going to decide to come back to me. I have more self-respect than that."

"But we loved each other!"

"Really?" I snapped, "We loved each other? I sure didn't feel the love when I asked you if you ever had any intention of coming back to England and you replied with a, 'I don't know, but probably not.'"

"That's unfair, I asked you to marry me and move to Mongolia with me."

Before I could reply back Draco interrupted the argument, "I've had enough; you're both making my head spin. I'm out of here. Astoria, when you've got this all figured out send me an owl." The door slammed behind him as he left my apartment.

After the uncomfortable stretch of silence which immediately followed Draco's departure, Geoff began again, "I thought we were on a break."

I let out a deep sigh, "I never agreed to be on a break nor did I tell you that I would wait for you."

Geoff's face fell as if my words had physically struck him. "I don't understand. I honestly thought we loved each other. I thought you were going to accept my marriage proposal and when you didn't I was certain that you'd wait for me."

The intensity drained out of me, and the tone of the conversation became more conversational than argumentative. "I never intended to wait for you. And I never seriously considered your marriage proposal."

He blanched at my words and asked, "Why?"

A deep sigh escaped my lips and the weight of everything that had happened today fell upon my shoulders. I suddenly felt a great desire to just ignore everything and crawl into my bed so that I could sleep.

"I was so happy for you that you got your dream job working with Khangarids in Mongolia. But what did you want me to do in the countryside of Mongolia? I don't speak a word of Mongolian, or do they speak Chinese," I paused to think about it, "See I don't even know what language is spoken in Mongolia! I highly doubt I was going to find a job over there, and you had no intentions of ever coming back to England. Honestly it was selfish for you to ask me to marry you, because if I had married you all I would've done all day long was sit on the couch waiting for you to come home. I would've never been happy, and you knew that I would make a miserable housewife."

A pregnant silence followed. Geoff was staring at his feet, probably reflecting on what I had just said. It gave me a moment to take in his appearance for the first time. Geoff had been my first and only serious boyfriend. He'd been in the same year and house as me at Hogwarts and there was a time when he was my best friend. Sadly as I looked at him I felt as if I didn't know him anymore. I was struck hard by the realization that this person who used to be the love of my life, was now a stranger to me.

Geoff had grown out his red hair since the last time I'd seen him, and his skin had darkened, probably due to the fact that he worked outside all day long. His frame seemed to have bulked up and he seemed as if he'd grown slightly taller. Although I didn't perceive any radical physical changes, when our eyes had met earlier, I could feel the two years that had passed. His gaze no longer held the response to unspoken conversations that we used to share with each other and there were no flashes of inside jokes that we only knew in his eyes. I couldn't read him with the same precision, and just looking into his eyes I could feel the time that had passed by us.

Suddenly Geoff broke the silence, "Do you still love me?" I was at loss because I honestly didn't know the answer, but before I could think of a reply Geoff continued, "Because a week ago the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the British Ministry offered me a managerial position in the Beast Division. I'd considered taking the job, but when I saw the announcement in the newspaper, my decision was made for me. If you don't love Malfoy, and you still love me, I'll come back to England and we can get married."

I felt as if the floor was dissolving. Panic began to rise within me at his proposition and I felt as if I was free-falling. I started breaking out into a cold sweat, and I couldn't get my mind to work quick enough to process what was going on or how I should reply.

The only thing my mind was processing was the phrase, "What the fuck is going on?" And my mind seemed to have transformed into a broken record because it wouldn't stop repeating it over-and-over again.

Geoff stood there looking at me expectantly. Finally, I gave up on the concept of coming up with a retort so I collapsed in the first seat that I could find.

"Astoria?" I ignored him as I continued to ruminate upon what he had just professed.

"Astoria…" the silence grew heavier. I couldn't come up with anything to say, and I didn't even know where to begin.

"Astoria, why aren't you saying anything?"

I jumped out of the seat and began pacing, "For Merlin's sake Geoff, you just dropped a bomb on me. Stop being an arse." I mumbled to him as I continued going back-and-forth across my living room.

"I don't understand why you're not responding. It's not like you're in love with Malfoy."

I hurriedly snapped back, "No. No I'm not."

"Well then why are you acting all conflicted? The answer is simple it's a yes."

"That's bollocks Geoff. It's the fucking opposite of simple. He's my fiancé; we literally just had the signing ceremony this afternoon. If I broke the marriage contract do you know how much money my family would have to pay in damages? Because Merlin knows I wouldn't be able to pay the sum on my own."

I didn't add the fact that at this precise moment I couldn't pinpoint my feelings on whether I wanted to marry Draco or not. I'd come to accept the idea of Draco as my future husband, and I didn't abhor the idea. Sure we didn't have the fairy tale love story, but he was solid and a friendship had developed between the two of us in recent months. I also couldn't deny the fact that I most definitely was attracted to him.

On the other hand it was Geoff who was standing in front on me, asking me to start a legitimate life with him. He was willing to come back to England… and to me. We had been in love. He used to be my best friend, and after he'd left for Mongolia it had taken me months before I could get through a day without thinking about him. Not only had he left me with a broken heart but he'd also left me without my closest friend.

And here I was being offered the opportunity to get those things back, plus a future with Geoff. On the other hand though, my marriage with Draco also offered me a future, and if I was honest with myself that future wasn't looking half-bad.

"I can't give you an answer right now Geoff." His face fell as my words struck him. "You've got to understand that I haven't seen you in two years. After you left, I picked up the pieces and I've rebuilt my life without you. I have structure and I can see where I'm going in life. But suddenly you come out of the blue and ask me to throw my plan out the window and start over."

He quickly interjected, "I'm not asking you to start over; I'm asking you to start from where we left off."

I shook my head, "That's impossible, and you know it. Two years have passed, people change, and we haven't even kept in contact. But I'm not saying no. I'm saying that I need time to think about it. Okay?"

Geoff considered my words. He combed his hands through his hair, a sign that he was thinking deeply about what I had just said. With a deep sigh he lifted his head, to look back at me. "I understand. This was out of the blue. And after making the wrong choice two years ago I owe you the chance to think over what I just said. Because, Astoria, I don't want you to come back to me as an obligation, I could never live with myself if that was the reason. I want you to come back and be my wife only if you feel the same way you did two years ago."

I didn't bother telling him that was an impossible. Even if we'd stayed together love and feelings transform and change over time and a relationship is never static. But I didn't see the point in bringing it up. Geoff would probably just argue with me about it, and at this moment I just wanted to be left alone so that I could begin organizing my thoughts.

"Alright, I'll think about it and get back to you."

Geoff nodded, "I'm staying at The Leaky Cauldron in room 5."

"Okay." I felt awkward as we both stood there, Geoff looking expectantly at me as I tried to deflect his gaze.

"Okay." Geoff replied before he swooped in to give me a tender kiss on the cheek. Pulling back he gave me an affectionate look, "I missed you everyday Astoria…" he nervously rubbed the back of his neck, "I just wanted to make sure that you knew that."

I honestly replied, "I missed you too Geoff." A genuine smile spread across his face at my words. He then suddenly apparated out of my apartment and I felt myself sinking into the nearest chair, unsure of what I was going to do.

A/N: Damn... a lot of my personal life has been creeping into this story lately... well hopefully it makes it more realistic for all of you. It's funny because originally I began writing this story as a humorous escape from "Blank Canvas" which was very serious. But I guess somewhere along the way this story shifted in tone. Well there you go; I know you guys are going to be sad for the lack of Draco in this chapter but he's going to be featured heavily in the next chapter. Actually, I find myself torn right now because I fell like it would be more beneficial for the story if I write the next chapter in Draco's point-of-view but I don't want to break the rhythm of the story which has so far been told all in Astoria's point-of-view. What do all of you guys think?

Also thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! You're all awesome and thank you for the fanfiction recommendations. I have found myself with basically zero free time so I have been unable to check most of them out. Anyway I love you all! This story has officially surpassed "Fortune Cookie" as my most reviewed story. Thank you! And please continue sending me reviews they make my day (and I really need that right now because I've been working a really hard internship this summer which sometimes puts me in a sour disposition).

1/30/15 A/N: Hello everyone! I've decided to revisit this story after a 2.5 year hiatus. I'm going through and cleaning up my writing in the meantime before I start writing some new chapters. This chapter has been re-edited.