A/N Warning this chapter contains sexual assault.

Chapter 16: Hurt Feelings

Marcus held the newspaper so tightly in his hands, he was causing the tiny people in the pictures to yell soundlessly at him. The same paper that had been magically stuck to his locker after his Quidditch game five days ago. The team had two games left in this road trip, but after Witch Weekly and Pansy Parkinson had contacted him trying to get interviews, he decided he needed to let the second-string chaser have a crack at it and took a couple days off.

He was already in a foul mood when he arrived back in London, and finding Daphne not home, didn't help his mood improve. He hadn't spent much time in Daphne's living room before. Now, finding himself there without her for the first time, he walked around the room looking at the drawings and pictures she had hung all over the walls. He had to admit she had some talent, but as much as he wanted to get into fashion and care about it for her sake, he could really care less.

Marcus couldn't tell you what Daphne was wearing the last time he saw her. 'Oh, wait.' He smiled to himself. Yes, he could. It was him. But before that, no idea. Hell, he couldn't tell you what the woman he was with last night had on other than it being a skirt, because all he remembered having to do, was pull it up.

Looking around the room, Marcus saw a drawing of the dress Daphne was wearing in the pictures of her in the prophet. As he stared at the picture his blood started boiling, and he started to wad up the paper. Realizing it was in his hand he unfolded it, looking at the picture of Nott kissing his girlfriend. He really didn't care about the fact Daphne was kissing someone other than him, it was the embarrassment it caused him he was pissed about.

Talking to the picture as if Theo could actually hear him, Marcus said, "I will kill you Nott, do you hear me? Her father has already promised her to me, you lost this game before you got back to London."

Marcus wadded the paper back up and threw it at the front door. Where the hell was Daphne anyway? He had been wondering around her flat now for half the day. She should be home by now, from wherever she was.

Marcus went into the kitchen and found the only bottle of fire whiskey Daphne had. She only kept it because he liked it. She only drank wine, so pretentious. That was one of the reasons he liked to find other women. Daphne never knew how to unwind, let her hair down, and just have fun. His kind of fun; wild, free, careless. Always so prim and proper. The perfect Pure-Blood daughter and girlfriend. Precisely the reason he agreed to take her as a wife. She would be the perfect wife, obedient, and quiet. Her father may have put in the marriage agreement he had to be faithful, but no way was that about to happen. Marcus had also agreed their first-born son would be named the Greengrass heir, he would be disappointing her father on that part of the agreement, also. He wasn't worried about it. He planned to have enough kids with Daphne to field his own Quidditch team, so there would most certainly be more than one boy.

He sipped his drink as he walked back into the living room and plopped himself on the couch. Marcus laughed out loud, while he thought about Dalton Greengrass's obsession with having a male heir.

He was halfway through his drink, when a smiling, happy Daphne, wearing pink Mickey Mouse ears and an Anaheim Angels baseball jersey, apparated into her flat singing 'It's A Small World'.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Just where the hell have you been?"

Daphne turned around surprised, "Marcus! What are you doing here?"

"You are my girlfriend Daphne, even though the prophet seems to think differently." He set his drink on the table.

Daphne wondered how much whiskey he had already had, "You saw the prophet?" It was more of a nervous statement than a question. "Marcus, I can explain."

"Explain what? Why your school-age boyfriend had his tongue down your throat at your fashion show?" Marcus used his wand to summon the paper off the floor and into Daphne's hands.

Having already seen the pictures and read the article, she set it on the drawing table she was standing near, instead of opening it up. "It was during the interview. Pansy said some really nasty things, and I reacted."

Marcus stood up, "What could she have possibly said to make you react by kissing Nott?"

"Since you didn't come back for the show, Theo escorted me. She made comments about him being a Death Eater, called me a whore." Daphne realized just then, she still had the Mickey ears on her head and figured she must look ridiculous. She pulled them off and quickly tossed them on the table next to the wadded-up prophet.

Marcus walked around the table toward Daphne, "So you decided to prove her, right?"

"That's not the way it happened. I was trying to be snarky, not so proper. To put her in her place." Daphne took a step closer to the table to put distance back between them.

He closed the gap with two steps, "Do you often put other people in their place by cheating on me?"

"No! Never." But for the last month, she had been, cheating on Marcus.

Daphne started looking around the flat, then down to the baseball jersey she had on. It suddenly hit her; she had been the one cheating. Sure, she had planned on ending things with Marcus, and still was, but she hadn't allowed herself to think what she was doing, as cheating.

"Tell me love, have you been with Nott now? Oh please, say yes. I would love a reason to take another crack at kicking his ass." Marcus was now standing directly in front of her.

"You will find that just as difficult a task now, as it was for you at eighteen, I'm afraid." Daphne tried to back up but ran into the drawing table she had been standing nearby. She wasn't entirely certain Marcus beating up Theo would be so difficult. Theo was at least three inches taller than Marcus, and boy, was he built. But so was Marcus. Playing professionally, had filled him out much more than being on a Hogwarts house-team ever had. Daphne figured Marcus must have at least thirty pounds on Theo. But Theo knew how to fight. Marcus only knew how to bully. All in all, it might equal out.

Marcus slapped her. "I would watch my tongue if I were you."

Her cheek stung where he had hit her, and tears filled her eyes. No one had ever hit her before, except her father. "Why Marcus, did you not like being reminded that Theo bested you once already?"

"No, because your father has already promised you to me. I don't think you really want to upset your future husband more than you already have." Marcus sneered at Daphne, and roughly grabbed her wrist, making her wince in pain.

"My father has not told me about any arrangement with you, Marcus. I really think he would not make one, without telling me. Stop being over dramatic." Daphne tried to sound stern, but it came out much more timid than she would have hoped.

Marcus laughed, "Perhaps, you don't know your father as well as you think."

Daphne knew her father much better than Marcus realized. She was more than aware he could have promised her without telling her. She had no intentions however, of going through with any arrangement her father made without her consent. Arranged marriages within the Pure-Bloods were still practiced. Believed by many of the older generations to be binding, and unbreakable. The truth was the new laws allowed the arrangements to be broken by either party, at any time. It was, according to the Wizengamont, illegal for a parent to force an arranged marriage on their child. However, within proper Pure-Blood society, one wouldn't dream of breaking an arrangement, and risking their own inheritance and family's reputation to do so. Daphne had already decided she didn't need her father's money and was tired of playing by the 'rules' of a time, long since passed. Her only obstacle was her own fear.

"I know my father well enough, Marcus. It's me, you don't know." Her voice was a little shakier than she intended. Daphne took a deep breath, hoping Marcus didn't notice.

He pulled her closer to him by the wrist he was still holding tightly. "Just what the hell is that supposed to mean Daphne?"

Daphne turned her head. She hated the smell of whiskey. Marcus always seemed to have it on his breath. Mixed with his cigarettes, it was like smelling a dirty pub. Why had it not bothered her so much before? It repulsed her now. Daphne secretly thought to herself how happy she was Theo didn't smoke, and only drank whiskey once in a while, and never more than one glass. In fact, Theo's vices were his coffee, his music, and his bike.

"It means, it's over Marcus."

"What's over? You can't possible mean we are over?" Marcus tighten his grip.

"You're hurting me, Marcus. Please, let go." A tear escaped down Daphne's check.

Marcus pulled her close to him, wrapping the arm he was holding tightly behind her back still holding her wrist. "You have never complained about me being rough before."

Daphne placed her other hand on his chest, trying to push away. She was suddenly having a flash back to her fourth year at Hogwarts. But Ernie was not about to come through the front door of her flat and rescue her. Theo was waiting at Nott Manor for her. She had told him she was going to pack up what was left in her bathroom and would be back after. He would expect her to be at least a couple of hours, which unfortunately gave Marcus plenty of time before Theo would start to wonder where Daphne was.

"I am complaining now, and yes, I do mean we are over." Daphne tried not to show how scared she was from her sudden onset of courage to stand up to Marcus.

Marcus released her but pushed her into the chair in front of her favorite drawing table and leaned over her. "You think you are breaking up with me, is that it?"

Daphne leaned back in the chair, grateful he had let go of her, but still scared of the way he was leaning over her. "Yes. I am breaking up with you. I want to be with someone else." Her shaky voice giving away the fact that she was scared of Marcus, but not willing to back down just yet.

"You mean Nott. You are leaving me for Nott. Why?" Marcus placed his hands on the back of the chair, one on either side of her head, pinning her to the chair.

Daphne felt his breath on her face. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "He is attentive, you're never around."

"You knew I would be gone often when we got together." He spat in her face.

She jumped slightly in the chair when he yelled. "Yes, but I really didn't think through what that meant."

"That sounds like your problem, not mine. Since, I am the one with a betrothal contract from your father, I think Nott is out of luck." Marcus grabbed her face with his right hand similarly to the way her father had five days ago.

Marcus crushed his lips on Daphne's and forced his tongue in her mouth. She pushed hard on his chest and closed her eyes so tightly the tears which had formed when he slapped, her leaked out the corners. Marcus tangled his left hand in her hair and pulled on it hard, making her cry out. Pulling her out of the chair, Marcus moved his right hand from her face, and wrapped his arm around her waist. Daphne knew he was turned on. Handling her roughly always got him hard. Over the last year she had convinced herself it was alluring, sexy, even exciting. She only had Luc to compare it to, and Luc had been timid, shy, and clumsy; so, had she. Marcus was much more experienced. She had let him take the lead and teach her what turned him on. Now, after being with Theo, even if it had only been a few times, she knew Marcus had no idea how to please a woman. At least, no idea how to please her. She fought against his embrace, and was able to get his mouth off hers, but Marcus just started biting her neck.

In a raspy voice, Daphne told him the only thing she could think of, "I don't love you, Marcus."

Marcus pulled back, just slightly, "What has love got to do with anything? I don't recall ever saying I was in love with you, either."

Marcus recaptured her lips and painfully pushed against her until Daphne's knees gave out and he had to lower both of their bodies to the floor. Marcus attempted doing all the things that he normally did as foreplay. While grinding his hips against her hard, Daphne continued to push hard on Marcus's chest, until he finally relaxed his grip on her. Only to move his hand between her legs and rub roughly on her. He moaned in her ear, as tears started running down her face. He wanted her now, on the floor if necessary.

"Just let it happen Daph, you know you want me." Marcus started to unbutton her jeans.

Daphne tried grabbing his hands, "Marcus, please don't. You're hurting me."

He pinned her arms above her head and forced her legs painfully apart with his knee. "Come on baby, you like it when I am rough."

"No, I don't." Daphne continued to cry. It was making Marcus lose his erection.

Forcing himself on an unwilling woman, was not something which really appealed to Marcus. He never had to force himself on someone. Women were normally throwing themselves at his feet. He let go of her and got up. "You're pathetic right now. Nott has made you all sappy. Get up."

Having realized she was no longer being encapsulated by his embrace, Daphne scramble to her feet and took several side steps away from him. "Why would you want to marry me?"

"You're a Greengrass, Daphne. I am a Flint. Sacred twenty-eight and all." He walked back over to the coffee table, and picked up his drink, taking a long draft of it.

She crossed her arms over her chest, still crying. "When did the Flint family start caring about that?"

"When haven't we? Being Pure-Blood means just as much to my family as it does to any of the twenty-eight. We just didn't buy into the ideas that lunatic had about keeping magic within only Pure-Blood families. Most of my family could care less who has magic and who doesn't." Marcus knocked back the rest of his whiskey.

"You expect me to believe my father made a betrothal contract with you when he as gone on and on about not wanting to tie ourselves to anyone who still believes in the old ideas about blood purity?"

Marcus let out a sinister laugh, "You're talking about the reason he gave you, about not approving of Nott. The difference is my dear, that for one, my father was not a Death Eater, and neither was I. Andrew and I also fought alongside Potter during the war. Two, my brother has a son, your father wants..."

Daphne cut him off, "Yes, I know all about his needing an heir and your family agreeing to make sure our son is named that heir. I don't care about it. I will not marry you."

Marcus took a step closer to her, "If you do not marry me Daphne, you will risk your inheritance, your family's reputation, and your sister's happiness." He got a sly smile, "Since one has no idea how much longer she has on this earth, is her happiness something you are willing to mess around with?"

Daphne looked at Marcus trying to read his expressions. She knew if there really was a contract, to break it could mean the rest of her inheritance. But she had a job and besides, Daphne knew Theo would take care of her. She didn't want to risk her family's reputation and she did want her sister to be happy. If Draco made her happy then so, be it. What she didn't understand, was how her not marrying Flint would affect Astoria's happiness.

After a few minutes of not being able to put a finger on it, she asked him. "What the hell are you talking about? How is us getting married got anything to do with Tori being happy?"

Marcus gave her a slick grin, grabbed his glass and went in the kitchen. Daphne stood there, waiting until he returned with a refill of whiskey. He rubbed his chin, as if trying to think of how to tell her some big news.

"Well love, Malfoy is having dinner with your father tonight. Just the two of them. What do you suppose he wants to talk to your father about? I am sure it has nothing to do with real-estate. Not unless you count your sister's ass, as real-estate." He chuckled to himself as he took another drink.

"You're full of shit Marcus. There is no way my father, no matter how badly he wants a male heir, would hold my sister's happiness over my head like a bargaining chip." Daphne shivered slightly at the thought.

Marcus sat back down on the couch and swirled the amber liquid in his glass around. "Are you so sure?"

"Yes. Astoria loves Draco, and to my surprise, Draco loves her. I am sure my father will see that when they meet tonight." Daphne wiped her face, then went over to the front door and opened it. "Please leave."

"Leave? I am not leaving. I just got back and took three days off to spend time with you to remind you where your loyalties should be. I am not about to leave." Marcus put his feet up on the coffee table.

"You will leave, or I will call for an Auror and have you escorted out." Daphne opened the door wider, making sure to speak louder as well.

Marcus smiled at her, "And, who do you think they will send? Do you really think Andrew will make me leave?"

The next-door neighbor's door opened, and Mrs. Miller came out of her flat. "I just spoke with the Aurors department, Daphne dear. They are sending Mr. Potter right away." The old lady went back in her flat, smiling happily to herself.

Now the one with a sly smile, Daphne looked at Marcus, "Sometimes thin walls and nosy neighbors really are the best."

Marcus stood up just as Harry apparated into Daphne's flat. Harry looked annoyed, like he had been working on something much more important than a domestic dispute, until he saw the marks on Daphne's wrists and neck. Harry's expression went from annoyed to angry. He pointed his wand at Marcus, "Mr. Flint, I think it would be best if you did as the lady asked."

Marcus slammed his drink on the coffee table, spilling most of it. "You were a meddlesome prat at school, and you are a meddlesome prat today, Potter."

"Marcus, don't start something that will embarrass your brother, he is one of the best we have. Not to mention, I really don't have time, nor do I want to have to take you in." Harry let his stance relax slightly but didn't drop his wand. He was grateful for the Flint family fighting on his side during the war, but Harry didn't approve of mistreating a woman for any reason.

Marcus gave Harry a dirty look as he walked past him, but stopped in front of Daphne, "This is not over Love."

"Yes, it is Marcus." Daphne slammed the door behind him.

"Do you think he will be back?" Harry asked quickly, as he lowered his wand.

Daphne turned startled. She almost forgot he was there, "He might. He is not happy with me. Thank you, Potter."

"Certainly. Lady Greengrass, I cannot post a guard, unless you fill out a complaint. Do you wish to?"

"No, I don't think it will be needed." Daphne quickly cleaned up the whiskey.

"Are you staying here tonight?"

Daphne rushed past him, "No, I am staying at Nott Manor. I just need to throw a few things in a bag."

Harry winced at the name Nott. He was trying very hard to leave the past in the past. Still, it was hard not to think of old wounds when he heard names like Nott, Le Strange or Malfoy. Of course, Nott Sr. was dead, and he was the one those old wounds were associated with, not the Nott she was most likely going to see. None of his business, really. So, Harry would not be asking.

She reappeared a moment later, with a bag Harry could tell she had just thrown things into quickly, very unlike the woman standing before him. Daphne had always been overly organized in school, one of those students who had all her things just so on her desk. It reminded him much of Hermione.

"I have everything I need now. Thank you again." Daphne offered her hand to Harry, a gesture she never would have done in school. Harry was a little taken back but shook her hand.

"You're more than welcome. Lock your door, then you go first, I will leave once you're off."

xXXx

"Are you going to meet him in here?" Veronica Greengrass asked her husband, who hadn't come out of the bathroom for the last thirty minutes.

Dalton smoothed his jacket after buttoning it, "Of course not. Why on earth would you ask such a question?"

"He is going to be here any moment, and you have been in the bathroom for the last half hour." She smirked at her obviously nervous husband.

"Just feeling a little queasy." Dalton gave his wife a peck on the cheek.

She closed her eyes as he kissed her and gave him a loving touch on the shoulder. "Why? You know what he is going to ask."

"Of course, why else would he insist this be between just him and me?" Dalton walked past her into their extraordinarily large bedroom.

"And what are you going to tell him? Yes, I hope." Veronica sat on her favorite overstuffed blue chair. It was older than both of their daughters, but she loved how cozy it was and refused to give it up.

Dalton looked at his wife shocked. "Of course, not yes. My answer will be no. That boy does not deserve our daughter."

"Why not?" She pulled her legs up and tucked them under her.

"What do you mean why not? You know about the things he did. The things his family did. How could you possibly want her with him?" Dalton sat on the edge of the pine bed they shared.

She reached out and took his hand, "Perhaps, because she loves him, and he loves her."

"Love? Please. Malfoy loves nothing but himself, and the status marrying one of our daughters will give his family." Dalton pulled his hands away and stood, to start pacing the room.

"Dalton, you're acting like an ass. I think Marrying a Greengrass will hardly help his family's social status." She picked up a hair brush off the table beside the chair and began brushing her hair. She was planning to turn in for the night, and let her husband and Draco talk in private.

He stopped in his tracks, "Perhaps it wont help as much as he would like, and what about her being sick? She will not be able to provide an heir. Lucius will insist on one, and it will kill her."

"You think he will marry her, then force her to have a baby? Please, Draco is not that kind of man, and even Lucius is not that cold." She flung her long blond hair behind her. It was getting grey enough now that glamour charms really didn't really work well any longer, and she turned instead, to Muggle hair dye.

Dalton bit the inside of his cheek, thinking, "No, I suppose Draco is not that kind of man. He does seem to have changed. Still, when I inquire about him to people in society, they all say the same thing. 'Filthy Death Eater, the reason Dumbledore is dead'."

Veronica rolled her eyes, "He was not the reason. It all came out in his trial."

"Woman, do not get snarky with me. I will go and talk with him and try to have an open mind. But I do not like the match." He crossed his arms in front of him.

"You don't like either of the men your daughters have chosen. At least with Astoria, you have half a good reason. I am still trying to wrap my head around why you dislike Nott so much. Have you even talked to him about the heir issue?" She stood up and walked over to her husband.

"No, I don't intend to. I have made a match for Daphne, which will benefit our family, as well as the Flint family. I do not wish to discuss that now." He took her hands in his, preparing to end the conversation, and head downstairs.

She kissed his hands, "Not everyone does well in an arranged, marriage Dalton. Astoria might have, but it will stifle Daphne. She will stop being herself, and become whatever Flint wants her to be. You taught her to obey far too well. Nott would let her shine. He always did."

"Please, let me handle this V. Besides, our marriage was arranged, and we did just fine." He kissed her on the lips and left the room.

Veronica put her arms around her chest and thought about the last thirty-one years. Dalton always meant well and treated her kindly. But it had taken years for them to fall in love. It wasn't until after Astoria was born that she started to feel Dalton loved her. She knew Astoria would marry Draco, no matter what her husband told him this evening. Tori had always been determined and independent. Sometimes, far too head-strong. If she wanted to marry Draco, marrying Draco was exactly what she would do. Daphne, however, was the one she was worried about. She had always been proper, respectful, quiet and well mannered. Never spoke out of turn and always did as father told her. She was the oldest, so it had always been her place to be the daughter who was shown off and seen in public. Daphne was the perfect daughter and Pure-Blood princess, allowing Tori to be more reckless.

Veronica Greengrass heard her husband welcome Draco downstairs and went to listen by the door. She had a pretty good idea how tonight would go down, so after a few minutes when the voices got harder to hear, she closed the door, and ordered some tea and biscuits. She needed to come up with some sort of plan to help Daphne out of the future her father had planned for her. She loved both of her daughters, but the truth was Daphne was the one who needed her help. Astoria had found a good man, as least as far as she was concerned, and would marry that man. She had no doubt. Daphne, would in the end, do as Daddy said, she always did. Therefore, her only chance was for Mummy to find some reason to sway her husband into seeing Theodore was the better match for Daphne and naming her the Greengrass heir was not the end of the world.

She paced the room for several minutes, until a thought finally came to her. Dirt. She needed to find 'dirt' on Marcus. But how? Most of her contacts were also Dalton's contacts. She needed someone whom she could trust, that wouldn't have contact with her husband. Unfortunately, she had lost touch with most of her school-age friends. She did still receive sporadic letters from a few of the ones who had been closer to her. She remembered her friend, Amanda Prewett a Ravenclaw, had married a Half-Blood. What was his name again, Dunlap? No. Sun... something? No. She continued to pace until it hit her, Dunbar! They had a daughter who was the same age as her girls. She seemed to remember that daughter becoming an investigative reporter of some sort. Perhaps, that young lady would be able to help.

Veronica grabbed parchment and a quill, and drafted a letter to her friend Amanda, telling her the entire situation. She asked if there was anyway her daughter might be able to help. She sent it off, then settled in with the novel she had been reading; a tawdry Muggle romance, about men who could become wolves, and needing to find mates.

She was pleased the next morning when Amanda wrote back saying her daughter Fay, was on assignment, but would be happy to help when she returned. Amanda invited her to lunch in a couple of days when Fay would be back, which Veronica accepted happily.

xXXx

Dalton Greengrass greeted Draco in the hall and lead him to the dining room to sit at a humorously large table for just two people. Draco felt slightly relieved to notice the table had been set with the two of them beside one another. At least he wouldn't be shouting at the man from twenty feet away.

The two men sat in silence for the first five minutes, while they waited for the first course to be served. Once the soup arrived, Draco figured it was time to pluck-up the courage to talk to the man. "Lord Greengrass, my father wanted me to say hello for him."

"Hmm, did he?" Greengrass said with a sneer, making Draco fidget in his seat. "You may tell him hello in return; I suppose."

Draco fixed his tie, although there was nothing wrong with it. "He said you were housemates, back at Hogwarts."

Greengrass looked at Draco over the top of the lenses of his glasses. "I was a year ahead of him. Housemates, yes. Friends, no."

Draco smiled nervously and was happy a few minutes later when the soup was taken away, replaced by shrimp cocktail. He picked up his water goblet and emptied it, his mouth suddenly feeling dry. "I have been put in for Healer second class at St. Mungos. I should be hearing in about three weeks if I got the promotion. Most internships last six months, but my supervisor says I am doing an outstanding job."

Lord Greengrass took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "You don't need to point out your attributes Malfoy. I am aware of your status at work. I have been keeping tabs."

Draco rubbed his palms on his thighs, his hands feeling sweaty. "You have, Sir?"

"Of course, my daughter is living with you. I need to make sure she is being taken care of." Lord Greengrass ate his last shrimp.

"I will always take care of her, Sir." Draco sat his fork down and put his hands on his lap to try to control the shaking.

"Will you, Draco? You say that now, but what about when she enters stage three or four and is all, but bed ridden, will you take care of her then?" Greengrass signaled for the next course.

As a salad was set in front of Draco, he looked at the older man he was dinning with, "Of course I will. Astoria has already done so much for me. I will do what she needs, whenever she needs it."

Dalton Greengrass pushed his salad around on his plate, this was always his least favorite part of any meal. "Why don't you just ask what you came here to ask, before the steak arrives."

Draco swallowed his food, almost choking on it. "Alright, Lord Greengrass. I love Astoria very much. She is the most important thing in the world to me. I would like your permission to ask her to marry me."

"No."

It had such a finality to it. Draco hadn't realized he was sitting there stunned, not moving until his plate was taken away, and a steak with green beans was set in front of him. He looked down at the food and cleared his throat. "May I ask why?"

"Do you really need me to list the reasons?" Greengrass began cutting his steak as if he had not just shattered the hopes and dreams of the man whom he was having dinner with.

Draco tugged on his left sleeve. "Perhaps not all of them, but yes, I think I do."

Greengrass sat his fork down, "Fine, we can start with the fact that you were a Death Eater."

"I have already atoned for that mistake. I did join the right side in the end." Draco still had not touched his steak.

"I do not call paying a fine, atonement. But my bigger worry is your status in society; the way you are treated. It will affect my daughter. How do you think she will be treated?" He continued to eat.

"Lord Greengrass, I will continue to do everything in my power to atone for those mistakes. I am honestly hopeful, that one day the wizarding world will begin to see me for the man I am now, and not the sixteen-year-old boy who made those bad choices. Astoria already does." Draco couldn't help the slight crack in his voice.

Greengrass gave Draco a stern look, "But until they do, she will be ridiculed, talked about, made fun of. Is that what you want for her?"

"I want her to be happy!" Draco looked down at his plate of food getting cold, "I think I make her happy."

"Happy?" Greengrass scoffed, "You 'think' you make her happy? Are you not sure?" Greengrass took a drink of his wine.

Draco had long since lost his appetite, but picked up his knife and fork anyway, and begin to cut the steak. Mostly to give his shaking hands something to do. "Yes, I am sure. I make her happy and she makes me happy, very happy."

Dalton Greengrass said nothing, but watched Draco continue to cut up his steak. He spoke again, once Draco had finally put a small piece in his mouth. "I do believe that may be true Draco, but happiness is not my only worry."

Draco chewed slowly, as if the steak in his mouth had turned to rubber. He looked at Mr. Greengrass who had gone back to his own dinner, swallowed then asked, "What other worries do you have Sir?"

Lord Greengrass finished his bite, took a sip of wine, and wiped his mouth. It was all very methodical, and Draco didn't know what else to do, but take another bite while he waited for the man to answer him.

"Children Draco. I am worried about your family being in need of an heir. Tori cannot provide that heir."

There it was! Draco knew this topic would come up. Yes, all Pure-Blood families, all of them, including the Weasleys, wanted heirs. Draco knew it would be difficult to get anyone to accept that he was fine with not having one. He placed his fork on the table and swallowed the lump in his throat, as well as the steak he was chewing.

"Sir, Astoria, and I have discussed this, and I don't care if there is no Malfoy heir. Nobody in my family for the last few generations, has really done anything to bring much glory to the name. Perhaps it's time it died." Draco picked up his glass of wine and took a sip.

Greengrass sat there for several minutes, regarding the young man seated beside him. He watched his behavior. The slow way Draco was eating, he was obviously nervous. He noticed Draco only made eye contact with him when he was speaking, but when Draco answered a question, he looked down. He watched him constantly tug at his left sleeve, even though it never slid up. He noticed whenever there was a noise in the kitchen, Draco jumped slightly. He leaned back in his chair. Dalton Greengrass almost felt sorry for the young man with whom he was having dinner. He decided an experiment was in order. Just how broken was Draco, he wanted, no, needed to know. He waited until Draco was again looking at his food, and reached across very quickly like he was going to slap him. Draco flinched; without thinking threw his arms in the air to block, what he perceived from the corner of his eye as an attack.

"Sorry, there was a fly. Didn't mean to startle you." Greengrass apologized, and watched as it took several seconds for Draco to realized everything was fine and let his guard down. What the hell had this boy been through? Dalton Greengrass laced his fingers together in front of him, resting his elbows on the arms of his chair.

"What about what your father wants? Will he be so keen on the idea of letting the Malfoy name die?" He wasn't sure what had happened in Draco's past, but he was sure Lucius Malfoy was not innocent.

Draco watched as the plates were cleared and a platter of cheese was placed in between them. He never understood why people bothered with this course, no one ever ate the cheese. Sometimes, someone would spread some on a cracker, but most of the time it just sat there until the dessert was brought out.

"I honestly don't care what my father wants, Lord Greengrass. The only person whose opinion which matters to me, is Astoria's. As I said, she and I have discussed it. I will not insult you by saying it wasn't disappointing to find out she shouldn't have children. However, I understand and have accepted it. I love Astoria, and if being with her means no children, then I have no children. Astoria knows what marrying me means. She can make that decision for herself."

Lord Greengrass looked at the banana cream pie in front of him and wrinkled his nose, not his favorite. "I will give your request some thought Draco, perhaps my first answer was rash. I do not promise I will change my mind though. Your words do, however, deserve to be considered."

"Thank you, Lord Greengrass." Draco felt some of his appetite return and dug into his pie with enthusiasm.

"What will you do, if you don't mind my asking, if the answer remains no?" Greengrass asked while putting milk in his tea.

"No offense, but I will ask her anyway, I just hoped for your blessing." For the first time that night, Draco looked Dalton Greengrass in the eye when he spoke.

Dalton Greengrass smiled. He was in spite of himself, beginning to like the blond man, who sought his youngest daughter's hand. "I must warn you; my daughters do not normally go against the wishes of their family."

"You have my word Sir, if she says no, I will respect her decision." Draco smiled to himself. Astoria had already said yes. Tonight, wasn't a raving success, but it had gone better than it could have.

A/N As always thank you for reading and reviewing. Seeing the numbers grow always makes my day.