the blood curse: a drastoria fanfiction

malfoy manor

"after all this time?"
"always." 
                              - severus snape (harry potter and the deathly hallows)

°

{two years later}

"Nice to see you again, Lucius," Astoria lied through gritted teeth. What she would give to not have to go to the balls at Malfoy Manor... She'd been forced to attend them since she'd graduated Hogwarts two years ago. Her father, drunk on firewhisky, had cursed some muggles. He'd always been the muggle-hater of the family; Daphne and Astoria were civil to non-magic people because their late mother had always been.

Their reputation in tatters, the three had been forced to rebuild it one step at a time, and unfortunately, that led to Astoria (the only available sister in the family as Daphne had married Blaise Zabini soon after graduation) attending way too many social functions then she would've liked. She swallowed her pride, though, and went to them for the sake of her family.

"Nice to see you too, Astoria," Lucius Malfoy said, his lip curling as he shook the young woman's hand. His tone was disdainful, as usual. She suspected he invited her to these balls to remind her how low on the social ladder he was. "How's your father doing?"

Her father was in Azkaban, and he knew it. Astoria forced a smile. "As well as he can, considering. Thank you for asking."

"I'm afraid Draco has been called away on business, otherwise he'd be here to say hello. I know how much you care for him."

Astoria stopped her eyes from narrowing at the last second. As if she'd thought about him at all in the last few years. "What's he doing, again?"

It was the first act of aggression that she'd committed the whole evening. Lowlings like her weren't supposed to remind their superiors they didn't care about their lives. But Lucius was getting to the woman, and there was only so much she could take.

"He's doing a bit of traveling. It's within our means, you know, and so formative. You're younger than him, aren't you?"

"By one year," Astoria said, trying to plaster another smile onto her face and failing.

"Yes, well, I wouldn't suppose you could travel around the world even if you wanted to. He should be in the Americas right now. He wanted to Apparate back, but he just met a girl and it's going really well, you see."

He just met a girl? Astoria thought before she could stop herself. She kept her expression neutral; Lucius was, once again, testing her. "Give my congratulations to him. He was always a little slow in that front."

Before the older man could respond, she excused herself and left for the nearest bathroom. Her chest was falling up and down unevenly, and stars were appearing in front of her eyes. No, no, no, she thought. She'd been cleared by St. Mungo's a year after graduation. They said they'd found a miracle cure. She should be fine... she hadn't fainted since then...

But she was obviously not fine. The world around her was darkening, and she slipped into the bathroom and locked the door behind her before splashing water on her face.

The stars slowly receded. Her vision returned.

She'd changed a lot since her Hogwarts years. Two more strands of white in her wavy hair had appeared since she'd graduated. She'd worn them as a symbol of pride, even if no one knew what her pride was for. Even so, it made her look more intimidating, which she enjoyed. She wore a Slytherin necklace and a simple black dress that was expertly tailored, a remnant from the days when her family could afford such expensive things. Her emerald earrings were from that era too. Even if everyone knew she was poor now, she might as well act rich if she had the material.

Someone knocked on the door impatiently. Sighing, Astoria collected her clutch from the sink counter and opened the door.

Draco Malfoy was staring right at her.

°

"What are you doing here?" Astoria burst out.

"What do you mean? It's my house," he said irritably. "And if you're asking why I'm standing in front of you, it's because I saw you walking here. You looked like you might faint."

"I haven't fainted in years," she spat.

"It didn't look that way to me," he said, obviously annoyed.

"Can't someone touch up their makeup in peace?"

"If you'd actually been touching up your makeup in there, I wouldn't even be here."

Astoria paused, looking at him. "So you're only talking to me because you thought I was going to faint?"

He scowled. "That's not what I meant."

She'd forgotten how much he annoyed her. Taking a deep breath, she continued, "How did you get here, anyway? Your father was just telling me that you were in the Americas, too busy with your new girlfriend to -"

Draco's scowl got deeper. "I don't have a girlfriend," he muttered, almost to himself. Astoria pushed down the soaring feeling in her chest and continued to glare at him.

"Oh, I forgot. Malfoys don't have girlfriends, they have -"

"I haven't had a girlfriend, or anyone else like that, since the end of seventh year!" he shouted.

"Why?" she demanded. "I would think girls would be falling at their feet to be able to talk to the famous, bad boy Draco Malfoy -"

He rubbed the back of his neck, which had become a little pink. "They have."

"Well, why didn't you chose one, then?" Astoria said impatiently.

"Because you told me not to," he whispered.

"Told you? When -" The realization suddenly dawned on her, and she opened her mouth in shock. Seventh year. The corridor. The fight. The list. "That long, Draco?"

His expression because sheepish. His neck was really pink now. "Well, you never told me to st -"

"You idiot," Astoria said, and as she did, she felt a weight lifting from her chest - her hate towards him finally evaporating into thin air. She stepped forward and kissed him.

When they broke away, Draco smirked. "Well, that was the best insult I've ever been given." 

"Enjoy it," Astoria said. "Now, seeing as I'm not fainting, why don't we go back to the party?"