❝ Why can't we be more than friends, Draco?
-Why can't we be more than friends? Merlin Astoria, figure it out. I am fucking social pariah. Your friends, your family, your fucking parents who adore you, would never approve. ❞
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I T W A S A N O T H E R H A R D N I G H T .
But instead of Hermione Granger haunting Draco's dreams, it was Astoria Greengrass. She took the place of Hermione on the floor, and instead of Bellatrix torturing her, it was the Dark Lord— he was torturing Astoria because he knew she was Draco's weakness, and Draco deserved to be punished.
Draco woke up in a pool of cold sweat, his eyes unfocused on the image of his plain bedroom. He blinked several times, clearing the haze that kept him under the knife of terror, so that the first thing he saw clearly was the snow globe Astoria had given him two months ago. The sight of it caused just another wave of fear to engulf him.
His new garden, the garden of fear, was creeping on him steadily, leaving a twisting feeling of anxiety in his guts.
The morning felt just as sharp as his dreams, he accidentally spilled the pot of morning tea and barely saved it with a quick hover charm, he felt as though sounds were increasingly loud, and when Astoria came over to check up on them, he thought he was going to vomit from fear.
And if she noticed the green tinge to the Malfoy heir's face, she made no indication.
"Morning Draco," she said with a smile.
"Morning Astoria. Mum's getting ready for the day, my Aunt Meda just got here."
Astoria's smile brightened. "Oh— is Teddy here then?"
Draco rolled his eyes. For the past couple of weeks, Astoria had been trying and failing to get Teddy to like her. "No, he's with Mrs. Weasley."
"Damn," Astoria muttered, pushing her way into the manor without invitation from Draco. "I have to tell you something by the way."
Draco followed Astoria into the warm kitchen, seating himself at his usual chair at the far end of the kitchen table. "What?" He said teasingly. "Are you gonna tell me that my pot pie was bad the other night?"
Astoria rolled her eyes, pouring her and Draco both a cup of tea— he had started to drink a third cup with her now.
"It has to do with your mother. Hermione and I had an idea."
Merlin, those were the two people he didn't want to see a connection between again as it only returned him to his lingering nightmares. He swallowed, as though it could chase that connection away.
"Go on then," Draco said, accepting the steaming mug from Astoria's extended hand.
"It's simple really, and if it doesn't work, there's really no harm done...but Hermione thinks that we can try a siphoning charm to gather all the dark magic from your mother's arm. We'll take that magic and put it in another vessel, and then she'll get another dose of Snape's potion to defuse the remaining dark magic in her system."
