19 Years (HP - Drarry)

Chapter 5: Touché

Friday, September 1, 2017

"Be in the Great Hall in fifteen minutes, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco stared for a moment at the empty walls. He turned to his trunk, waiting beside the bed, and shrugged. His mother's charms would keep his robes pristine no matter how long they lay in the trunk, and he was tempted to leave everything packed so he could escape in a hurry in case this all turned out to be a colossal mistake. He wasn't convinced, yet, that it wasn't.

He closed his eyes, feeling the emptiness of the room - of his life - press in on him. He snorted mirthlessly, realizing that he missed Astoria, her light and laughter. For one aching instant he allowed himself to remember basking in Astoria's presence as it radiated out to fill the manor, once his parents had...

He sighed, opening his eyes. But that was in the past. He and Astoria had good reasons for splitting - better, in the end, than the reasons to stay. Theirs had been a typical pure-blood marriage of convenience, to cement loyalties, beget an heir. He supposed he was lucky, in a way. They'd been strangers, at first. Hardly unusual, in those circumstances. They'd come together to create Scorpius - the one good thing Draco had ever done, the one thing he could be proud of - and then faded back into their separate lives. They nodded when they passed one another in the hall, managed a civil conversation now and then, discussed the care and raising of their son. He'd favored men; she'd preferred women. He'd occasionally wondered if his parents had chosen her for that reason - if, in their way, they were trying to ensure his happiness. As much happiness as one could expect, governed by the rigidity of the Pureblood customs. Certainly their similarities had let them coexist peacefully - unlike Blaise and his harpy of a wife. They'd even become friends, of a sort. They'd had to, when the world turned away from them.

Their parents had been killed in a wave of anti-Death-Eater furor, not long after they'd married. The Aurors had assigned protection details, but... well. He'd never been convinced they could trust all the Aurors. Certainly his parents' had been mysteriously absent, that afternoon. And Astoria's parents - never on Voldemort's side, staunch supporters of Dumbledore, in fact - had been caught up in it. Because of him...

Draco sighed. He should be grateful, he knew, that he, Astoria, and Scorpius had been spared. That, even though the world turned its back on his family, still they were treated with a cold civility. Enough to get by, even if they did spend most of their time in their Manor, after. Harry'd had something to do with that, he was sure - not overtly, but his name was written all over it, if you knew him like Draco did. Had. He wished fervently that he'd been able to fall in love again, since Harry, but... Blaise's teasing warning came back to him, echoing down the halls of memory. "When a Slytherin falls, he falls once, he falls hard..."

"Touché, Blaise," he said softly. "Touché."

It had been surprisingly easy, being married to Astoria. They'd suited one another, in their strange, quiet ways. He almost wished he could turn around, go back to the comfort of their routine. But, no. Astoria deserved a second chance at happiness and love, even if Draco didn't want one. Didn't think he deserved one. He sighed, gathering his silence, his Malfoy mask around him like a familiar cloak, cold and hard as steel. He wasn't ready for this, would never be ready for this. But, as always, the world moved on around him, and he found himself shoved inexorably toward the future.

He waited until the echoes of McGonagall's heels clicking purposefully down the corridor faded away. Then, with one last glance at his trunk, and a quick pat to his pocket, to be sure he had the ridiculous key McGonagall had handed him, he turned back the way he'd come, shutting the door behind him. The lock engaged with a quiet snick, and he rested his forehead against the plain wooden surface, gathering his courage. His fingers moved to trace the small brass nameplate beside the door: D. Malfoy, Potions Master, Head of Slytherin House.