❝ 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 B E C A M E F A I R L Y E V I D E N T
by the end of that evening, what Draco should do with the money. He shared the burden with Astoria, his eyes shamefully cast downward as he pushed the letters in her hand, hoping she'd have the answer to all his problems.
And she always did.
"The Lestrange's are richer than the Malfoy's, aren't they?" She asked, placing the letters back onto the table carefully, pushing them off to the side, so that they were obscured by a dying bouquet of flowers.
Draco lifted his gaze. "I reckon, yeah."
"It's not like you need this money to survive, anyways. With my income and the Malfoy estate, it's not as though we're poor...What do you want to do with this money?"
He shrugged, twiddling his thumbs. "I just don't want it...My Aunt Bella killed Tonks, Teddy's mum. She tortured Hermione Granger, she did countless heinous acts, and my uncle, Salazar— I don't even know where to begin. The murders of muggle-born children and dirty work for the Dark Lord," he ceased his thoughtless twiddling to rub his face angrily. "I just want that money to actually do something, change something about the world... I want to be on the right side of history."
Astoria rested her chin on the flesh of one palm, the other reaching for Draco's hands. "Well you've said it, haven't you? This money can change something. Your mother once said that life can be easy, when you don't have to worry over money. You could start a rehabilitation center for former Death-Eaters, give them a place to unlearn their biases, headed by a former Death-Eater himself," Astoria said thoughtfully, but her eyes were glowing with eagerness.
"Or maybe you can set up a scholarship foundation for witches and wizards who want to attend Hogwarts but have to use the school's money for things. This could probably sponsor at least twenty kids for things they need, brand new robes, and school supplies, and pocket money, every year until you die. Or maybe you can become a stakeholder in the Quibbler... I know you and your mum loved that magazine."
Draco smiled at his lover, his insides becoming warm from adoration. She always did have the best ideas. "I think they're all great, Astoria, though I don't think Xenophilius Lovegood would be very excited to have me as a stakeholder..."
"Why not? The Quibbler has always been a bit out there, and what's more out there than having an ex-Death Eater as a part of the editorial board? Besides," Astoria's smile softened. "Luna Lovegood is a wonderful person and I'm sure she'd be happy to welcome you."
"Loony Lovegood? Since when have you been friends with her?" Draco asked dryly, his eyebrow raised.
Astoria glared scathingly at him. "Don't call her that, it's rude. Do you want people to call you, ferret boy?" At Draco's silence, she continued with a smirk, "She gets injured quite a bit, and she isn't too keen on St. Mungo's, but she does come when she has a fairly severe injury, and I'm always the one to treat her. She's always been kind to me, regardless of how my last name might be tied to blood supremacy."
