Hi! I'm sorry for the short chapter, but I was so busy yesterday and today that I didn't get to writing until late. Hopefully you will still enjoy it! Also, I'm happy you guys seemed intrigued by Aldrich's POV! Thank you so much for your feedback. It's so encouraging and fills me with so much happiness especially in such a stressful time for me.

I don't own anything from Harry Potter.

"Draco?"

Draco looked up from his desk to see Astoria in the doorway watching him expectantly before glancing around the walls of his office.

"Astoria," he replied, blinking slowly at her.

She normally did not bother him when he was in his office, not that he was doing anything terribly important, but he did prefer to have his peace while he was in there. She took his response as an invitation to come in and she walked over quietly to sit in the chair on the other side of his desk, her feet making no sound in the silent room as she looked around nosily.

"May I help you?"

"What's your favorite dessert?" She asked, tilting her head at him.

He felt his eyebrows pull together curiously before giving her a considerate frown, amused at her question. It seemed she had been inspired by the idiot Auror from earlier. "Custard I suppose."

"That's rather simple," she mused thoughtfully.

"Insulting my dessert of choice? Quite rude of you," he sniffed light-heartedly.

She smiled, genuinely, and his gaze caught on the expression, enjoying the authenticity after growing used to her false, plastered smiles that she gave to others such as the Aurors. "No. Simple is good. Though I had expected something more creative seeing as your family has a habit of being.. ostentatious."

"Ostentatious?" He repeated, scoffing. "And where do you gather that?"

She bit into her bottom lip, still smiling. His eyes fell to her mouth, a small part of him stirring at the sight of her teeth pressing into the pink, soft skin. "Your father has tied his hair with a bow in the past, and that walking stick.." Her mouth grew tense as she held back a laugh and ducked her face. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to offend you."

"That walking stick hurt like a bitch. Imagine being smacked with it all of the time, especially as a child. The teeth of the snake were like knives. I have to say I wasn't terribly upset when the Dark Lord broke it," he said, shaking his head as he remembered all of the times he had been wounded with the thing, ignoring the memories of darkness relating to it being broken.

"Perhaps you need one of your own. Don't you want to grow your hair out as well? I can braid it like how I braid my own. Based on the paintings in your home it seems like a common Malfoy trend.." She trailed off, appearing to be holding back another giggle.

"That's quite alright," he said flatly. "I have no desire to grow out my hair."

"Well, the offer still stands if you ever change your mind," she replied, her voice almost singsong.

"Noted."

"Am I distracting you?" She asked after a bit of silence.

"Yes," he answered. "Obviously, seeing as you're striking up conversation with me and I'm required to pay attention."

"You're not required to. You're the man. The boss. You could ignore me if you really wanted to," she said softly.

"Mmm."

"Your eyes are almost silver," she told him, her eyes observing his in admiration. "I really like them."

"Are you attempting to woo me, love? Romance me?" He snorted, surprised at her odd compliment.

"As your wife I feel compelled to stroke your ego, though I do believe it is in perfect condition without my help considering the comments you made today about your sexual relations with many girls."

"Careful. I may begin to fall under the impression that you're jealous."

"Do you want me to be jealous?"

"You and I both know that you have no reason to be, and I prefer you not to be insecure. Though I'm sure it would amuse me to see it occasionally."

"Hmm," she said, tilting her nose up. "Well I'm not. We have been over this."

"That we have, and then you attacked Pansy."

"Parkinson was speaking out of line. It had nothing to do with jealousy."

"You speak out of line at times," he told her, his eyes skimming down her neck and over her collarbones, distracting himself with his sudden desire to drag his teeth over the skin there.

"It's my house," she said confidently.

"It's my house, just as you are my woman," he said, a thin blanket of pride as well as a bit of lust settling over him for her at her sure words.

"Yes. I'm your wife. Meaning this is my house, as it will be the house I raise my children in," she responded, still just as sure of herself.

"Our children," he corrected, watching her eyes as they unfocused themselves with a glaze of fondness as she seemed to imagine the idea. "Not now."

"Hmm?" She asked, her eyes refocusing on him.

"No children now."

She scowled. "I don't want to be an old mother."

"I truly can't imagine you old. Besides, you're barely seventeen."

"My mother began having her children around my age," she argued before her face fell slightly, looking down.

"Ah, yes. Your mother. Very maternal, that one," he said dryly, ignoring her reference to her family member that wasn't meant to be acknowledged as someone that existed anymore.

"Do you think I will be?"

"Judging by your facial expression and how eager you seem I'd say you will be adequate," he offered, not completely sure.

"If I'm being honest I was just thinking about how I will be able to satisfy you as your wife by providing you an heir," she told him, her voice clear.

Draco didn't know how to respond to her confession admitting to being more eager to possibly gain more respect from him than to actually interact with their children themselves. A part of him felt guilty that she felt as though that was the only way to gain his proper satisfaction with her seeing that she had already surpassed his expectations on what he would feel for his wife or what their relationship would be like. He certainly didn't expect to be sharing the same room every night even when they weren't having sex, nor did he expect to become borderline infatuated with her. Not to mention how interested he had gotten in her past and her family, though he supposed he would be interested either way in such secrets, even if he didn't want to fully admit it to himself that he cared about secrets and gossip like a female. However, he also never expected to deal with the pain and betrayal she had brought upon him or the insecurities when it came to simply feeling good enough for his own wife.

"And how are you sure that I will be satisfied with you then? Perhaps I'll still find you lacking," he said after his mood darkened slightly at the last of his thoughts, his voice emotionless as he spoke.

She blinked and his breath caught as her face fell and her eyes dropped to her lap, her shoulders lowering slightly.

"Hmm?" He pressed, feeling a bit as if he was prodding at a dog's broken leg.

"Why are you so mean to me?" She asked quietly, her voice much too gentle and fragile for his own sanity.

Fuck, why did she have to play that way?
"I'm not being mean to you, Astoria." He had meant to sound firm, but his voice came out in more of a murmur than anything.

Her shoulders dropped more and she stared down for a few moments before she stood, turning around to exit the room.

"I didn't dismiss you."

She stopped, turning around to look at him with sad eyes. "May I go?"

"Why do you want to leave?"

"You just seem as if you don't want me in here," she answered, her voice small.

"I never said that. Come over to me," he commanded, waiting for her as she complied, pulling her into his lap when she was close enough after she had walked around his desk.

She allowed him to navigate her so she was seated across his legs, adjusting herself so she was sitting up as tall as she could manage, looking down at him with the same pitiful expression. "How can you believe I'm mean to you when I allow you to sleep nearly eighteen hours?"

"I do not sleep eighteen hours," she responded, her eyes changing from sad to almost defiant. "That's an extreme exaggeration."

He snorted, tugging her hair down from it's unnecessarily tight updo, feeling a small amount of satisfaction when her hair tumbled down to frame her face. "Nearly eighteen."

She was quiet for a while, considering his expression and demeanor before she spoke again. She seemed to decide to move on from her hurt feelings and and accept the situation instead of pressing it more.

"I kissed you last night," she announced.

Draco raised a slow eyebrow, leaning back slightly to watch her. "What?"

"I did. While you were sleeping," she said matter-of-factly.

".. Alright," he replied, fighting a smirk at her comical announcement.

"Yes. You look a lot sweeter when you're asleep."

"So should I take it that you'll only kiss me when I'm not awake to consent?" He drawled, taking a piece of her hair between her fingers to play with it. He looked sweet to her, did he? Did she have any idea how she appeared to him?

No, not likely. He wasn't one to sit around complimenting her all day, was he?

She considered this, looking upwards as she did. She looked back down at him before he watched her gaze drop to his lips, hesitation in her eyes. He waited, amused at the uncertainty and innocence of her actions as she clearly and openly thought about kissing him as she stared shamelessly at his mouth, clearly shy and inexperienced though they had kissed and gone well past that before. It was the kind of look and hesitation two young teenagers would hold during their first kiss, and it was incredibly endearing to him that she didn't pretend to act as if she was some confident lover as did more than a few women he had been with had attempted to pretend. He didn't say anything as she looked up between his lips and his eyes, seeming to be waiting for his direction or his command. No, if she wanted to kiss him she was fully capable of doing that herself. Apparently she already had, according to her little confession.

Finally she leaned forward enough to press her lips against his, her hands coming up to hold his face lightly as if she feared she would damage him if she were to properly grab him in her hands. He didn't move to escalate the intimacy, only responding appropriately as she began to move her mouth against his, brushing it back and forth sweetly before closing her lips over his lower lip. It was difficult to not feel weakened by her softness in such moments, in her tenderness as she explored him, her mouth much too warm and welcoming as she kissed him. It became harder not to take matters into his own hands when he felt her tongue touch gently against his lip, running against it before she broke her curious kiss to pull back and look at him, nearly eliciting a groan from him.

The little tease.

His stomach twisted oddly as he looked back at her face, so sincere and open with him as she searched his features, her own face lifted slightly with contentment, seemingly pleased with their kiss.

"No," she said finally.

"No?" He questioned, resuming his attentions on the piece of her hair, accepting that she was finished kissing him for now.

"I won't only kiss you when you're not awake to consent."

He felt the corners of his mouth lift up into a small smile, nodding in response. "So I've been shown."

She moved to sink lower in his lap so she could adjust herself to resting the side of her head against his shoulder, getting comfortable against him in his lap. "Draco?"

He rolled his eyes, naturally gathering his arms around her to hold her as she leaned against him. "What."

"Do you think I'm boring?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Daphne's friends always called me boring, and I suppose I never did much that was very exciting. Not that I was supposed to, not that any of them were supposed to. Well, most of them. She had a few questionable friends," she said, distaste in her voice.

"You've claimed to have no friends. That does sound boring," he replied fairly, not that he would ever expect an exciting woman to become his wife. Exciting women were never considered suitable wives.

"I did have one actually."

"Ah, yes. Still going with the claim that Braden Naylor was your friend?"

"I.. Suppose," she said slowly, seeming to decide for herself whether it was true or not.

"Should I be worried that there is yet another man out there feeling as if he has a claim on what is mine?"

"No, nothing like that," she told him, shaking her head against him.

"Then I don't suppose you'd mind if I looked?" He inquired, coiling more of her hair around his finger.

".. No.. I don't mind," she replied sheepishly, her tone reluctant.

He stopped, gauging her her reaction suspiciously before slipping into her head, searching for memories of the wizard.

Fourth year Astoria sat at a desk in the library, glaring at her books tiredly as she flipped through the pages, not seeming to read them as she grumpily looked through them.

"Come on, baby snake. Why don't you come play with us instead of sitting there all by yourself being boring?" A Gryffindor boy asked as a group of them passed her table, grinning at her as a mischievous glint flashed in his eye. "I bet we are much more fun than the gits in Slytherin. Why not give a chance, beautiful?"

"Sorry, but the baby snake is obviously too busy for cheesy, unoriginal idiots such as yourselves," Braden Naylor snorted, dropping his own books down on the table before sitting across from Astoria, staring at the group of boys until they left, sneering at Naylor as they did. "You look tired there, Greengrass."

She sighed, slamming her book shut in her frustration before shoving it away. "Only a bit," she grumbled, watching the boys retreat. "Thank you for making them go away. You didn't have to do that. You don't have to stay with me, really. I don't think they will be back."

"Yeah, I did have to do it. Look after our own and all that, remember?"

She nodded slowly, looking appreciative as her eyes wandered over his books. "I believe I may end up with horribly terrible marks in Potions," she announced. "Then my parents will kill me and my sister will never shut up about it. Truly, never."

"Well you wouldn't be alive to hear her go on about it if your parents killed you, now would you? And I wish I could be nice and relate, but I'm doing excellent in Potions," he replied, smiling up at her apologetically as he sorted through his homework.

"That's alright. Boast when you can in life, I suppose," she said, reading one of the titles of his books, before tilting her head slowly as she thought. "Do you want to work for the Ministry then?" She asked, motioning towards one of his books.

"Don't most want to work for the Ministry? Well, perhaps not you, and I can't say my parents are the most thrilled about the field I'm interested in, but yes to the question you are asking," he told her, looking up to meet her eyes curiously.

"My father has good connections in the Ministry," she told him, an odd look crossing into her eyes.

"Ah. Boast when you can in life. Got it," he replied as he nodded to her, opening one of his books.

"I need a flawless grade in Potions," she said firmly, sitting up higher as she watched him with intention, waiting for him to respond in the way she wanted him to.

He stopped, considering her words before smirking up at her.

"I see."

Draco couldn't help but snicker at the expression on his wife's face when he retracted from her head. "You cheated your way through Potions? And here you were having everyone fooled that you were this perfect good girl with perfect grades, having my mother fooled."

"Draco. It was only Potions," she grumbled, shifting irritably in his lap. "No need to make a big fuss about it."

"You bribed Naylor to do your work for you. To cheat for you," he tsked.

"No. I offered an exchange," she quipped back.

"Not sure I would count that as a friendship, love," he said, still fully amused.

"Why not? Are you unaware of how our house works?" She asked defensively, moving back so her face was hidden from him once more as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Not at all, though for some reason I didn't expect you to know. Foolish, seeing as you've proved what a snake you can be in the past," he mused.

"What is it with people and their unoriginal house references," she mumbled.

"What is it with you and your attitude?" He asked lightly, not truly irritated with it just yet.

She fell quiet, turning her face to press it into his shoulder, seeming embarrassed that her cheating had been exposed to him. He was sure his mother would have still approved even if she had slipped in a few subjects, she had forgiven her for cheating on him with Nott of all things, though he was sure her parents would have been furious, and he was quite sure her sister would go mental if she knew, knowing how Daphne was.

"Draco?"