Marriage of convenience (Draco x Astoria)

17- The poisoner

Draco said goodbye to his father without telling him where he was going. He knew that he could count on his help and advice, but this was an issue that he wanted to solve alone, and it was not convenient for him to have witnesses.

On the other hand, he didn't like what he was about to do, but it was necessary for everything to go well. He just hoped she would cooperate.

"Draco! What a surprise!" he turned when he heard that voice, as sharp and shrill as it was dangerous. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Hello, Pansy," he replied, trying to smile. How he hated her! And how he needed her help.

After having seen the Parkinson's stamp in the "Wallace & co" guest book, he had understood everything: Mr. and Mrs. Parkinson would not be content to sit idly by and had decided to put an end to the problem they were facing once and for all. They had not hesitated to use the dangerous product they bought to polish their jewelry for a much more perverse purpose.

"Are you coming alone?" she asked maliciously. "Have you had enough of your countess yet?"

"She's sick again," he lied, pretending to be tired of it.

"Oh really?" Pansy was visibly happy to hear that, and for a moment, she put aside her annoying pose.

"Yes, it must be because of something she ate."

"Poor Draco, how hard it must be to have a wife like that," she purred, placing a hand on the boy's arm. Draco resisted the urge to avoid contact with her. He needed Pansy to support him at all costs. "I know something that will cheer you up," she said suddenly, all smile and joy. She pulled him to another room, where some house-elves were putting platters full of fruit, sweets, and knick-knacks on a table. "Stay for lunch if you want. I promise you that I won't feel sick," she laughed foolishly.

"I'd love to," Draco agreed, pretending to be relieved at the suggestion. He decided it would be a good idea to boost Pansy 's ego a little more. "Astoria is unbearable, I don't understand how I have lasted so long by her side," he snorted. Pansy looked at him with bright eyes. "I wish I had never married her."

Pansy was so happy she could have jumped right there. As always when she got excited, she got hungry, and without looking at what she was doing she picked up an apple and started playing with it.

"If she died, would you marry me?" she asked, pouting. Draco grasped at straws.

"I don't want to do anything else," he said very seriously, looking straight into her eyes.

Now came the difficult part: how to address the question that had brought him there? Would Pansy herself admit that her father had wanted to poison Astoria?

"Maybe we won't have to wait long," she smiled mischievously.

"Why do you say that?" Draco approached the girl. She then did something that repelled him greatly: she took a bite of the fruit and began to chew it with her mouth open. "What, won't you offer me some?" he couldn't help but be ironic. She swallowed and looked at him contemptuously.

"Do not be an idiot! We both know you are allergic to apples. You would never touch one," she snapped.

Something clicked in Draco's mind, and suddenly he saw everything clear. His stomach sank, as if it were filled with ice. With a sudden and swift movement, he grabbed Pansy 's wrists, causing her to throw the apple to the ground.

"It was you, right? You sent her the basket of apples!" he hissed, very angry. But how blind he had been!

"I do not know what you are talking about! Let go of me!" she screamed.