The Accidental Malfoy

6 | Husbands and Wives

Disclaimer: I do not own this, nor am I profiting off the display of this story in any way.

Astoria wandered disconsolately through Malfoy Manor, making her way down the main staircase. She was bored and it seemed all she did these days was walk aimlessly around. She socialised with her friends, of course, but currently, they all seemed to make pointed remarks about Draco's absence which was becoming all too familiar.

Her husband really was beginning to cause problems. Long gone were the days where he would gratefully do what she wanted, happy to no longer be a social pariah. Now he delighted in being infuriating. She had also thought that her prestige would continue to grow the longer she remained his wife, but sadly, it hadn't worked out that way. Whilst she might be Queen Bee amongst her set of friends, the older purebloods tended to ignore her, preferring to defer to Narcissa. As for Draco's set of friends, they had never really warmed to her. She reckoned it was because they were jealous – that was definitely true for Pansy and Millicent. Neither had managed to land him and although they remained friendly with Daphne, they showed nothing but contempt for her.

She sighed, fed-up with the status quo. She wanted to be treated with more respect. After all, if it weren't for her, then Draco would still be on the sidelines of society, reviled for being a failed Death Eater. She had personally revived the Malfoy fortunes and did they give her any credit for it? No! Instead, it was all nagging about heirs and duty.

Astoria stopped as she heard voices coming from within Draco's study. She hadn't even realised her feet were taking her this way as she tended to avoid the room whenever possible. For a start, it was where Draco tended to spend so much time working on boring things that took him away from squiring her around to various social events. Secondly, it was dull; it was all work and dusty tomes with nothing fun or bright or airy in there.

She was about to turn away and go back to the drawing room when Pansy's clear tones rang out. "Draco, are you sure Astoria can't hear us?"

"No, she never comes this way. Why do you think I spend so much time in here?"

Astoria bristled at this. How dare her husband speak about her in such a way to others? It was outrageous. She moved closer to the door and peeked through the gap. She could see her husband, Pansy, and Millicent gathered around the fireplace. Draco, as usual these days, looked stressed. If he wasn't careful, he was going to age really badly.

She didn't care for herself, but it would give her friends even more to reason to be bitchy. His good looks were one of the reasons her friends were so jealous – that, and his money. She knew they would jump into bed with him in a heartbeat whether they were her friends or not, which caused her to shudder. If it weren't for the fact that he would be cheating on her, then she would be more than happy for that to happen. She found sex distasteful. It was so sweaty and messed up your hair. She had been pleased when Draco had moved out of the room they had shared as a married couple and stopped all sexual relations.

"What do you mean? Why would you want to avoid Astoria?" Millicent asked.

Astoria saw her husband sigh. Don't you dare, she thought. She couldn't bear the thought that those two women would know that she and Draco weren't happily married. They had never liked her and hadn't bothered to hide it. They were so boringly disapproving towards her.

"Astoria and I have been having problems for years now. We pretty much lead separate lives."

"Why wouldn't you tell us this?" Pansy asked.

"No one knows except Astoria's family. We like to try and keep up appearances."

"Oh, Draco! We're your good friends. You can tell us anything. We wouldn't breathe a word."