Astoria → Draco Malfoy

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"people throw rocks at things that shine"

And when, after two weeks, Astoria had heard nothing from or of her father, she finally felt at ease.

It finally occurred to her one Sunday during a Quidditch match that she felt safe. As she watched the snow form a blanket over the grass, she felt as undisturbed as it looked.

Turning her head from the snowy grounds, her mind quickly became overwhelmed as she watched the game unfold before her. Astoria had never really been one for Quidditch, she had never herself played it and her family hadn't particularly been the sporting kind. Watching Daphne soar through the air, straight toward another player, made Astoria feel rather glad that she had been able to avoid such feat. She had seen first-hand some of the injuries that fellow Slytherins had obtained whilst playing and she knew that there were no more scars she wished to receive.

"Head in the clouds there Astoria," Draco pointed out to her, seemingly no longer feeling negatively around her. It seemed that being home for Christmas had done him some good, as much as he wasn't back to his old self, he was certainly closer than he had been before.

Astoria rubbed her eyes, "what's happening now?"

Draco leant forward, placing his elbows on his knees, "so you see there," he pointed at Daphne, "your sister has the Quaffle, so she is going to try and score." He spoke fast, trying to keep up with the pace, "and the Keeper from Ravenclaw will try to stop her, but most likely fail," just as he finished speaking, Daphne shot for the goal, scoring.

Astoria smiled, "that was good."

"It was a weak shot," he wrinkled his brows, "Daphne got lucky there."

She hit him on the shoulder, "hey that's my sister!"

"Tell her to play better then," he said simply. "Anyway, Slytherin is going to win this, so it doesn't really matter what is actually happening in the match."

"You're sure about that? Is the team that good?"

Draco smiled, "absolutely, it was better when I was on the team, but anyway..."

"Why did you stop?" Astoria let the words leave her mouth before she had realised what she said. Everyone knew why he stopped, and it wasn't because he got tired of the sport.

"I think we both know why."

"Why don't you play again this year? It's your last chance..." Astoria wondered why Draco would want to avoid something that once brought him such joy.

"I don't have the time," he brushed her off.

Astoria shuffled, "that's not true. We have loads of time."

He took a deep breath, "I've been doing something else." He piqued her interest, "do you want me to show you?"

"Show me what?" Astoria racked her mind; she had no idea what Draco could have been doing with his time.

He took her hand, leading her out of the stands, "we have to go back into the castle," he dropped her cold hand gently.

Astoria followed behind him quietly, in her mind picturing a map of the castle in an attempt to discover where they were going. "Are we almost there?"

"Just a few minutes," he muttered, leading her up the staircase and through the corridor. He paused, taking a breath before pacing back and forth in front of a bare wall.

"We're at the Room of Requirement, aren't we?" Astoria had never herself visited but had heard all about it when Draco had been a proud member of the Inquisitorial Squad.

He took her hand, "indeed we are. Come on in..."

She followed behind him, "what are you showing me in here?"

He took out his wand, dropping her hand once again. "This," he took a few steps forward, walking further into the room. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, allowing his hand to drop slightly.

"Expecto Patronum." A small sliver of silvery light flew out of the tip of his wand, dancing around his head.

A moment passed.

Astoria was overwhelmed, "Draco," was all she could muster. "I-I wh-"

"I've been learning it, for a while now."

"Draco," she said again, "that's incredible." She thought back to her conversation with Hermione Granger only a few weeks ago.

"It was that conversation with Granger," he said, almost reading her mind, "it got me thinking. I want to be able to produce a Patronus, a real one though, not just that."

Astoria remembered how Hermione had offered to teach them a Patronus when the dementors had been roaming the castle ground freely. Although the dementors had reduced their presence at Hogwarts, they were still waiting close by the grounds, roaming through Hogsmeade, awaiting the chance to apprehend any of the escaped Death Eaters.

"I want to learn too," Astoria imagined herself being able to produce a Patronus, the thought filled her with such joy, until suddenly, her face went blank.

Draco came closer, "Astoria?" He questioned her.

"I don't think I would be able too," her voice wavered, "what if I don't have a happy enough memory?"

He place his hand on her shoulder, "I thought I didn't either, but look at what I just did!" Draco seemed somewhat proud of himself, a flicker of pride growing within him, "we can both learn, if we don't have happy enough memories, we can make them! This year is going to be a good one, our parents can't stop that, and they won't."

She sighed, taking in a deep breath of air, "Draco..."

"Yes?"

"I-I Can I tell you something?" She felt safe. And as much as she finally felt free of her father, she knew that somebody had to know.

Draco moved closer, Astoria feeling his warmth, "anything."

"I think my father is coming back."

"I know, we've all seen the article, we are all afra-."

Astoria cut him off, stepping away, "no! That's not what I mean, I've..." she took a breath, "I've seen him."

Draco was silent, blinking.

"It was on Christmas day, when you weren't here," she explained, "I saw him in the fireplace, his face appeared, he spoke to me."

"Well..." Draco trailed off, "what did he say to you?"

"He-he told me that they were coming back, he told me that in a few weeks, they would have the castle."

"But that was weeks ago Astoria, he hasn't come back, he can't. Hogwarts is the safest place on earth."

"I think he's still coming; I can feel it, I don't think we're safe anymore." Astoria wiped a tear from her eyes, it was her fault, it all was.

Draco closed the space that Astoria had made between them, "we are safe, Hogwarts is safe."