Choose Me Instead II Draco Malfoy x Reader

Astoria

Happiness.

It was one of the feelings Astoria expected to set in when Pansy told her the news at breakfast.

Happiness because you'd be no longer a concern of hers. Relief that the plan Mrs. Malfoy told her about worked. And hope – hope for a future with him. Not the man she loved but the man she needed. Weeks and months she had spent worrying, plotting, desperately trying to find a way to get you out of the picture – and now you were. However, she felt none of what she had expected. Because just when Pansy finished her sentence, Astoria's gaze landed on Draco who came through the doors of the Great Hall, accompanied by Theo and Blaise.

Her stomach plummeted at the sight of their grim faces. They weren't talking or laughing. Even Blaise who was always ready to crack a joke in the most inappropriate situations walked towards their table with a blank expression on his face. Theo kept glancing at Draco, worry written all over his forehead. The same worry that filled Astoria when she saw his pale, grey face.

Draco must not have gotten a lot of sleep the night prior, judging by the dark circles underneath his eyes which he kept locked on the ground and then on the plate as soon as he sat down. Astoria watched him playing mindlessly with the knife next to his plate and didn't seem to notice how Theo put a piece of bread on it.

"Eat something," he said but the blond man didn't react. Any remaining hunger left Astoria's body.

"He looks like shit," Daphne stated in between bites. She had turned her head in the direction of the Trio as well, sharing a knowing glance with Theodore.

Astoria crinkled her nose as she looked her sister. Even with no make-up and in an oversized sweater was she the prettiest girl at this table.

"He does," Pansy agreed. "But he'll recover, right? I mean, that little adventure he and that Gryffindor had was just that, wasn't it?" She looked at her friends. "An adventure? It's time for him to return to the real world."

Return to the real world. Astoria nodded. Yes, it was time for him to do just that. Return to the real world with her. But why did she steel feel this way? Why did the sting in her heart not fade?

"I'm not sure." Daphne shrugged. "I know first-hand what he's like after an adventure ... It's different. He probably loved her."

Astoria suppressed the urge to snort. Suddenly, her sister turned her head and looked directly at Astoria. "Makes you wonder ..."

The younger Greengrass narrowed her eyes and her cheeks turned red.

"Wonder about what?", Pansy asked, completely clueless.

"If it's worth it."

"If you have something to say, Daphne, say it," Astoria hissed. Pansy looked back and forth between the two sisters with wide eyes, irritated about the sudden change in the conversation.

Daphne didn't flinch. She leaned forward and spoke with a lowered voice: "What did Mrs. Malfoy say to you yesterday?"

Anger bubbled up inside of Astoria. The same anger that had plagued her for so long. She had thought it'd leave her as soon as you were no longer around but only now did she realize that it wasn't you who made her so mad. "Are you suggesting ...?"

"I'm not suggesting anything," her sister cut her off. "I'm asking you a question."

Astoria put down her knife abruptly and stood up with so much force that she hit her leg on the table and a glass fell over. She was done with this. With her.

Daphne rolled her eyes and took a bite from her toast. "Where are you going?", she then asked.

"The library," her sister said in a sharp tone. "A place where I don't have to listen to your groundless accusations and your nonsense about sleeping with Draco." She tried to sound stern when she spoke but the anger kept scratching at her tone and a smug smile showed on her sisters face. "What?", Astoria spat out.