Astoria looked down at the chain on her neck and smiled. It was just a reminder of him: Draco. The heavy weight of the Malfoy signet was just a constant reminder of his love for her. He gave her this ring. He smiled whenever she wore it. He wanted her.

But he also wanted Daphne.

Well, that wasn't entirely fair of her. Draco said many times that he only wanted Astoria, that his betrothal was something brought on only by his parents. He wanted to be with her but... but he hadn't broken it off. He had done nothing as far as she knew to end the engagement.

So, yes, there might have been a ring on Astoria's neck. But there was a ring on Daphne's too.

She sighed. Thoughts like this would only bum her out. Nothing would be solved by worrying. All she could do was enjoy her time with him and wait for it all to work out.

Right?

By now, Aria had suspected something was up. Weeks had passed since her date with Draco and Astoria was only spending more and more time with him. And when she wasn't with him, she was thinking about him. It wasn't like Draco was any better. He sent her bouquets of flowers almost every day, packages arrived at the breakfast table filled with dresses and shoes all her size (and even a matching set of comfort clothes—not quite sweatpants like his but not far off either), and he was constantly watching her. Anyone with any sort of observation skills would notice the love between the two.

Thankfully, her sister was always a little too self-absorbed to notice. Not that Astoria blamed her—she always loved Daphne's blatant confidence and her ability to own every room she was in—and it was quite helpful in moments like these when Astoria was trying terribly to conceal the biggest secret she had ever had. Aria, thankfully, never asked. Astoria wondered if that was because her roommate knew both how awful of a liar Astoria was and how little she wanted to talk about her love life. It was far too complicated to even put into words.

He was spending time with Blaise, Mattheo, and Theodore. The four of them had been hanging out more, which was good. If Draco had his way, he would spend every waking moment with Astoria and she didn't want to be the girl that constantly demanded a man's attention. Well, perhaps demanded wasn't quite the word. He gave it more than willingly but that didn't mean she had to always accept it.

Plus, Draco having time apart had its benefits. It meant that he was all the more excited to see her at the end of the night when she appeared at the threshold of his dormitory door. And she was able to catch up on her classwork, even getting ahead in some of them by getting some extra credit.

And that's exactly what she was doing now. Professor Sprout told her that she could get extra credit if she took care of some of her plants while she was unexpectedly in London for the week. Astoria checked on the Venomous Tantacula, careful to keep away from its curling vines that tried to grab her, and she tended to the stores of gillyweed. Astoria didn't dislike herboology but she didn't like it either. Still, she liked good grades and staying on Professor Sprout's good side so she was the first one to sign up when the woman offered it as an extra credit assignment.

"You know, there's some debate among herbologists about gillyweed's effectiveness in freshwater as opposed to salt water," a voice from behind her said.

Astoria turned around, startled by the appearance of a short, slightly chubby wizard with blonde hair and kind eyes. He was smiling at her gently as she stood in front of the plants. Astoria had never spoken to the boy before but she could already tell that he was the kind of boy that you wanted to be your friend.

She recognized him. Longbottom. Neville, maybe. Draco used to make fun of him a lot but Draco made fun of everyone. His bullying had lessened but... Draco was still Draco.

"Sorry," he said with an awkward chuckle. "I thought you saw me standing here. Do you mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," she said with a small smile. The boy walked over and stood by her side. He began to guide her with the proper way to take care of gillyweed, making sure that all of its leaves remained under the water.

"I'm Neville Longbottom," he said after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

She smiled. "Astoria Greengrass."

His face dawned with understanding. "Ahhh, you're Daphne's sister?" She winced. Whenever people compared her to Daphne, they always seemed a little disappointed. The two were so different. Daphne was outgoing and confident and drew everyone's eye with both her smile, quick wit, and dazzling personality. Astoria was quieter, more delicate, with a kinder heart that showed through to the people who noticed her. It was like comparing a diamond to a sapphire. Both were extremely beautiful gemstones in their own, very different ways... but one was usually everyone else's main choice.

Neville laughed. "I take it you don't like being known as the littler Greengrass?"

She made a face and shook her head, which made Neville laugh again. Astoria decided that she liked Neville's laugh. It was comforting in a way, like sunlight on a warm day. "No," she finally said. "It's not that... it's just we're so different, you know? People usually expect something different and then they meet me and... yeah. I'm proud to be her sister and I know she's proud to be mine. I just wish people didn't compare me to her as soon as they learned what my last name is."

He smiled half-heartedly in a way that made her feel like he understood exactly how she felt. "Yeah, I know what you mean. It used to be like that for me. My parents... well, they were brave. Really, really brave. And I just... wasn't. I tried my best to make them proud and be who they were but, honestly, I didn't start feeling brave until I wasn't trying to be someone else anymore and I was just trying to be me. Maybe if you stop trying to live up to their expectations as Daphne's little sister, feeling like you disappoint them whenever you aren't like her, you'll finally feel like Astoria."

Astoria was shocked. Was it possible that Neville had a point? Maybe if she stopped trying to be who the world wanted her to be—the easygoing daughter her parents wanted, the graceful lady her grandmother raised, the fun sister Daphne wanted—maybe then she would find who she actually was.

It was odd. As Astoria let Neville's words simmer in her mind, she realized that the only place she didn't feel like she was pretending was when she was with Draco...

"I like you, Neville," she said after a few moments. "You give good advice and you're fairly good with gillyweed."

The two of them shared a laugh. "I like you too, Astoria. You're the only Slytherin I've talked to who hasn't been mean to me just because I'm a little different."

She furrowed her brows. "W-what?" He looked at her as if she sprouted two heads. "Daphne? D-Draco?" She couldn't help the way her voice cracked when she said his name.

He laughed a little bitterly. It didn't sound anything like the laugh he made before. "Daphne's not that bad, I'll give you that, though she always laughs when Pansy calls me fat. But Draco's awful."

"What?" her voice was breathless, unbelievable. "D-dray is—"

"A bully. He always has been. He picks on first years and insults muggle-borns and he's always stealing my friend's, Luna's, shoes. Don't even get me started on when he took my remembrall in first year..."

She raised her fingers to her lips in horror. Draco? Her Draco? The man who kissed her like there was no tomorrow, the man who bought her nice things just because they reminded him of her, the man whose smile lit up her entire world? Could he really do that to innocent first years, to muggle-borns who did nothing to warrant their torment, to Neville, the boy who helped her just because it was the nice thing to do?

But Astoria realized with a heavy heart that he could do those things. She had seen moments of unkindness in him. Not to her, never to her, but to people who didn't act accordingly. To people like Diego, who dared to interfere with his plans. Tears rose to her eyes as she realized that the man she was beginning to fall for showed cruelty to those around him. She couldn't stand for it. She wouldn't.

With shaky fingers, Astoria reached behind her and unclasped the necklace. She forced herself to look at the dark green gillyweed vines. "Thank you for telling me, Neville," she said softly. "And I'm sorry that you all have gone through that at their hands. I can assure you that it won't happen anymore if I have any say in the matter."

He eyed her like he didn't believe her. "Really?" he mumbled. "Because I'm pretty sure he and Blaise are going around talking up muggle-borns now."

Her heart sank. She immediately set down the gillyweed and began to run to the door of the greenhouse. "Bye, Neville!" she said quickly before she forgot. "I hope we can talk again soon!" Then, she waved to him and he waved back.

Astoria quickly made her way to the main corridor of Hogwarts. Maybe Draco was under his tree or in the Great Hall. But then, she found him.

Cornering a scared sixth-year boy with dark blond hair was Draco. The boy looked terrified. "Now listen here, Creevey."Creevey. Must be Colin's younger brother, she thought. "We had a deal. Hold up your end of the bargain or I will be forced to no longer hold up mine. Got it?"

Shaking, the boy nodded. Astoria didn't want to hear what he said nor learn what deal he spoke of. All she could see was the fear, the pure fear, in the poor boy's eyes. Draco really is a bully, she thought with a sad heart.

Astoria straightened her shoulders, lifted her chin, and walked away from the corridor where the two stood. The ring felt heavy in her pocket.

Sorry this is a shorter chapter but this is really all I could think of and I wanted to get something out there! Let me know what you think :)

Also, please please please consider checking out Darkness & Devotion. I just love writing that story and having your support means so much to me.