Draco and the Old Man

Three

"Daddy?" Scorpius knocked on the door of his parent's room. Draco stood quickly and blocked his wife's face from view. "Can I talk to mummy today?"

"I'm sorry, my boy." Draco said quietly. "She isn't feeling well today."

"Oh." Scorpius hadn't actually seen his mother since she had failed ill almost a month ago, yet every day he came in and asked to see her only to be turned away time and time again. "I'll just... go finish my arithmetic then..." the disappointment was ripe in his little voice.

Once he had left, Draco knelt by Astoria once more. "I wish I could see my baby." she whispered soberly.

"I know, my love," Draco stroked her face gently, "but you know out boy. He's too gentle. It would break him."

"And what will happen to him when I die?" Astoria used all her strength to push herself up and look her husband in the eye. "He hasn't a clue of how sick I really am and when I die, he will break into so many pieces that you'll never get him back."

"You aren't going to die." Draco insisted. Astoria fell to her pillow once more.

"You're delusional."

"Daphne is looking for a cure. She will find one."

"As much as I love my sister, I somehow doubt her skills in finding a cure even when we don't know what disease I'm dying from." Astoria turned her head away from Draco. "I'm going to die Draco, you must accept that sooner or later."

"I won't accept it." Draco snapped. "You saved me once and I am going to return the act."

***

Why hadn't Astoria turned up? The same time everyday for the past two and a half weeks t promptly 9am. Why would today be any different? Draco paced across his sitting room debating what he was going to do.

Finally, the uncalled for anxiety took over. He grabbed his coat, dusted it off, and put it on. For the first time since he had fled from the war, Draco left the Manor. From the moment he stepped out the door, he realized a problem. He had no clue where to go to find Astoria.

He thought back to his pre-war days and the family functions he had gone to. He knew where Astoria's parents had lived, but as far a Draco recalled, she had left home the second she had finished school.

But with no other ideas, he apparated to the Greengrass family mansion. He lifted the large heavy brass door knocker and let it fall. He did it again.

"Can I help you?" a woman with a wiry figure and mousy brown hair opened the door. This was not Astoria, but her sister Daphne. Daphne had been in Draco's year at Hogwarts. Her tone had quite an air of disgust. The newly sober Draco -who, by the way, really wanted a drink- bit his tongue in saying that the green grass daily weren't exactly Saints when the war came.

"I'm looking for Astoria." he said instead.

"She doesn't live here, anymore." Daphne supplied quite unhelpfully.

"I figured as much." He was really trying hard not to say anything snippy. "Do you know where I can find her?"

"I do." she stood there and said nothing else.

"Can you direct me?"

"Nope." she popped the P.

"Can I ask why not?"

"I'm not going to send a stalker after my sister." If looks could kill, Draco would have been dead eight times over already.

"I'm not a stalker." he recognized the harshness in his voice and tried to soften it. "She was supposed to meet me, but never showed up."

"Why would she come to see you?" It was clear Daphne was making no attempts to stifle the disgust she had.

"Well she didn't. That's why I want to find her."

"She probably didn't show up because it's you."

"No doubt, I still want to find her."

"Send a letter." Daphne retreated into the mansion and slammed the door in Draco's face. He stood there, stunned, a moment, before grumbling and walking away from the house. He apparated away having lost all hope of seeing Astoria ever again.

A/N: Ok so originally, this was only a seven chapter stop that I was going to post from Christmas to New Years, but last night, until 5am, I rewrote the ending (it's much better now personally) and this is now and 11 part story. More to look forward to, I guess. -J.C