Draco opened his eyes, not knowing where he was. He looked around, too confused to be scared, and when he saw Astoria's room, he remembered everything.
He jumped up, looking around for Kali and Slughorn, but neither of them was there. However, someone had left the curtains half open, and the morning sun streamed through them, illuminating the room. Draco turned to Astoria, fearing what he was going to find, but his heart calmed when he saw that the young woman looked completely normal.
She was asleep, finally free of the capsule of blankets that had covered her, and her breathing was soft and rhythmic. The color of her skin, although pale, was no longer sickly, and her lips once again showed signs of life.
Draco laid down next to her, trying to move slowly, and tried to absorb that the miracle had finally occurred. Astoria had survived, she had made it. The relief was such that for a moment he felt dizzy. He watched her sleep, wanting to caress her cheek and hug her, but he stopped himself. She deserved to rest after everything she had been through.
However, it wasn't long until she shuddered and sighed, opening her eyes lazily. At first, she looked at Draco as if she didn't recognize him, but then she seemed to realize what had happened, and then she looked at herself, feeling her chest and neck.
"How are you?" Draco asked her.
"I don't know. I think... I think I'm fine," Astoria turned around and stared at the ceiling, as if she were mentally checking to see if something was wrong. "Although very tired. I feel like I've run a marathon," then she frowned and looked at Draco. "I remember my father making me drink the drug. He filled the glass more than necessary, and then..." she wasn't able to continue. She had no words to describe the anguish she had felt before sinking into the endless darkness of unconsciousness.
"Then we got married," Draco said softly. "Remember?"
"Yes... No... I don't know... I only remember darkness," she answered. "Although I think there was a time when my bed was surrounded by people, but I'm not sure."
"You opened your eyes for a second, but I wasn't sure if you realized what was happening."
"How did I manage to recover?"
"I talked to Slughorn, and I convinced him to help us," Draco confessed. "He prepared the antidote to extract the poison from your body. You were very sick, and for a moment—" Draco bit his tongue. There was no need to worry her more. "But you're okay now, and that's what matters."
"How long have I been like this?"
"Three days and three nights, not counting the night of the wedding day. I asked your father to grant me the right of marriage."
"What?" Astoria opened her eyes wide, and for the first time, her cheeks colored. The contrast with the whiteness of her skin was very striking. "Then my father thinks that...well, you know," her face turned even redder. Draco wanted to tease her, as he was amused by her reaction, but he took pity on her.
"I don't know what he thinks, but those days have helped us save your life."
"I will never be able to thank you."
"You don't have to."
They remained for a few minutes without saying anything. Draco looked at her, very calm, relieved to see her improvement, but she was not so relaxed, and she couldn't focus her eyes anywhere. She played with her wedding ring before noticing it.
"I hope you like it," Draco commented matter-of-factly. "My mother put a lot of effort into adding more carats than I can count."
"It's impressive," she admitted. "Did my father give you the early seal?" Draco looked for the first time at the thick solid gold ring that covered his finger. It had the Greengrass crest embossed on it. "It's a bit ostentatious," Astoria apologized.
"One has to keep appearances, don't you think?"
She laughed, and finally dared to look him straight in the eyes.
"Do you realize that we are married?" she commented, shyly. The malicious part of her mind added, "And in the same bed?"
"Do you regret it?" he asked, caressing her hand.
"No!" Astoria exclaimed with such vehemence that even she thought it was exaggerated. She blushed even more. "No... now I won't have to take the poison anymore and..." it was no longer possible for her face to turn redder. "I'm glad you're here, Draco. I'm glad it's you who... who is by my side."
The effect those words had on Draco is difficult to describe. For a moment he felt like his heart wouldn't fit in his chest, and he felt a sudden desire to hug Astoria.
"But there is still something very important to do for us to be husband and wife," he commented, as if nothing had happened.
"It just can't be! What is missing?" she opened her eyes, scared. "It can't be my consent. My father was my representative!"
Draco laughed amused.
"Don't worry, it's just a small formality."
"Tell me which! Nothing can go wrong! Is it my father? Have you had any problems with him? Does he want to annul the marriage?"
"Astoria—"
"It's not fair that he put obstacles! Is it because of the money? Does he what more?"
"That's enough," he laughed, approaching her. "It's nothing like that."
"But you said—"
"It's nothing that can't be solved."
"How?"
"Like this," and taking her face in his hands, he kissed her softly.
She responded in the same way, and shortly after they hugged, without stopping kissing.
"For a moment you scared me," she smiled, when they separated.
"I didn't expect you to react like that," Draco laughed. "Would you forgive me?" he whispered, brushing his nose with hers.
"Depending on how you behave," she replied. But when Draco kissed her again, she didn't have much else to object to.
***
Kali carried the breakfast tray to the room, somewhat afraid of what she might find. The last time she had seen her lady, she seemed recovered, but one never knew. What if she had gotten worse?
However, before opening the door she could hear her voice and laughter, and from that moment she knew that everything had turned out well.
When she entered the room, she could see Astoria sitting on the bed, with her back to her, trying to stand up. Draco took her hands and gently pulled her, encouraging her. Neither of them realized that the house-elf was looking at them.
Astoria positioned her weakened legs and pulled on Draco's hands to give herself momentum. She managed to stand up, a little wobbly. They both smiled.
"Now try to walk," he said, "but be careful."
"My knees are shaking so much, my legs look like jelly," Astoria complained, but she tried to put one foot in front of the other. It took a lot of work, but she was determined to achieve it. Draco held her hands, attentive and patient. Then she stumbled.
"Careful!" Draco hugged her waist, preventing her from falling. Astoria clung to him, startled, but managed to recover, and they both laughed. "I think you should practice more," he commented, without letting go of her. They stared at each other and began to get closer. At that moment, Kali cleared her throat, and the two turned to look at her.
"Kali!" Astoria exclaimed, sincerely glad to see her.
"Miss Astoria, Kali is very happy to see you, miss. Kali believed that miss Astoria would not recover," the house-elf said, continuing to bow. "Kali regrets thinking that, miss Astoria."
"It doesn't matter, Kali," the young woman smiled, "I didn't think I would recover either. Come here."
The house-elf put the tray aside and obeyed, and Astoria knelt with effort, so she could be at her height.
"Thank you very much for everything, Kali, I couldn't have done it without you," Astoria said, moved. The house-elf began to cry.
"Miss Astoria is too good to Kali," she replied. "Kali does not deserve it, because Kali could not prevent the earl from poisoning miss Astoria again."
"No one could have stopped him," Astoria consoled her. She rested her hands on the house-elf's thin shoulders. "You have saved my life, Kali, all this time. Without you I would never have made it to this day alive. I will never forget it," and leaning towards her, she kissed her on the forehead. Then she hugged her, and they both stayed together for a long time, crying next to each other.
Draco looked at them dumbfounded. He had never seen house-elves as beings worth taking into account, and it would never have occurred to him to think that they could have feelings, or be worthy of them. And of course, never in a million years would it have occurred to him that they could be treated as friends. Apparently, Astoria had a lot to teach him.
When the girl and the house-elf separated, he helped his new wife to her feet.
"I hate being so weak," Astoria growled, leaning against him.
"Miss Astoria will regain her strength soon," said Kali, very cheerful.
"Why do you call her miss?" Draco asked, surprised. "She is my wife now; you should call her mistress."
"Kali is sorry, Mr. Malfoy, but miss Astoria will always be miss Astoria to Kali."
"I think she means that even though I'm married, I'll always be a girl to her," Astoria smiled. "Don't worry, I'll never forget that I'm Mrs. Malfoy now," and she gave him such a look that Draco completely forgot about arguing with her and felt like taking her back to bed. Although not to sleep.
That thought surprised him. Until now, Astoria had never consciously made advances to him, but at that moment there was a different spark in her transparent eyes that he recognized very well. He looked at her intently, and she held his gaze, without averting her eyes or separating from him.
"Sir and miss," Kali interrupted them, perhaps on purpose, "the earl sent me to tell you that he will not be able to accompany you today, because he is organizing the party for miss Astoria's birthday."
"Your birthday?" Draco asked, looking at Astoria.
"It is tomorrow!" she exclaimed. "I had completely forgotten."
"How can you forget your birthday?"
"I thought I would never have a birthday again," she apologized, suddenly sad, looking at the ground. Draco felt guilty, but Kali took charge of the situation.
"The earl has invited the most important families. Mr. Malfoy's parents were the first to confirm his attendance, sir and miss."
"I wonder what they'll look like when they see you," Draco smiled. "They don't expect you to be recovered."
"I guess that's my father's goal. But it surprises me that he already takes my recovery for granted."
"Remember that he didn't know the true effect of the potion," Draco said. Astoria remained serious.
"Many people won't be happy to know that I'm fine," she commented. "I guess the Parkinsons will be the first to get angry."
Draco hugged her waist and brought his face close to hers.
"Let them get angry all they want. I am yours now, and nothing they do will change that."
***
They had breakfast in good spirits, and for the rest of the day they dedicated themselves to walking around the castle, so that Astoria could regain her strength. She was very worried about the party the next day, and she wanted to be in shape, and look her best. She wanted to be a healthy person once and for all.
Draco accompanied her throughout the day, holding her hand or waist, holding her when he saw her tired, and talking to her the entire time. Astoria took the opportunity to show him the most impressive rooms in the castle and told him about the family history. It wasn't long until they lost interest in the visit and began kissing.
At first, they had been worried that someone would see them, and they looked around frequently, for fear of being scolded for their lack of decorum. But they immediately realized that they were husband and wife and did not have to explain themselves, so they continued sharing their love without hesitation.
Kali followed them, in case they needed anything, and smiled discreetly as she listened to their conversations. The house-elf was very happy to see her mistress so happy, and she knew when to disappear as soon as the two young people showed signs of wanting to be left alone.
They didn't see the earl all day, although given the size of the castle it didn't surprise them much. However, at mealtime, they looked askance at their respective plates. The memory of the drug was not easy to forget, and in the end, Kali volunteered to taste the food before they ate it, to avoid any kind of problems.
However, they didn't have any setbacks for the rest of the day, except that Astoria ended up feeling sore, but that, far from depressing her, made her feel more cheerful.
At the end of the day, they both returned exhausted to her room.
"I think we've walked at least thirty kilometers," he commented, stretching under the covers. Astoria just breathed a sigh of relief as she lay down next to him. "You know? It's very strange for me not having to return home secretly," he joked. Astoria leaned closer to him.
"If you want, I can ask Kali to kick you out," she joked, her voice tired. The intense effort she had put in during the day had left a tingling sensation in her legs.
"I don't think you will," he smiled.
"Test me," but she hugged him and rested her head on his chest. A few minutes passed, while Draco stroked her hair, in silence.
"By the way, you haven't told me what you want as a gift."
"Mmm?"
"And Kali doesn't want to give me any clues."
"Mmm..."
"Do you have any particular preferences?"
"..."
"Astoria?" but she had fallen asleep. Draco looked at her tenderly and settled down on the bed. He had a feeling that the next day was going to be very long.