a christmas break | draco malfoy - 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐃

61

"Lilith."

She almost felt herself shiver, not knowing if it was from the breeze and her lack of outer clothing or the fact that she hadn't heard his voice in over twenty years. Maybe it was the fact that his voice was deeper, mature but he somehow remained the same. Though, she noticed the slight wrinkles around his eyes and the way his eyelids seemed too tired to keep him awake. In a way, he seemed like he was the last time she saw him. And it was a shame, because she hoped he would be happier with Astoria and his son.

"Draco," she said back, "It's good to see you."

She kept her hands in front of her, resting them on her stomach and behaving like a lady; something Minerva had taught her before she became a professor. She made her walk with books on her head and a rolling pin on her shoulders for a straight back. Sort of like what queens did to their daughters before balls or marriages.

"You, too."

It felt, weird. Uncommon. She seemed like such a stranger, but he had never known a stranger as much as he knew her. He felt like a foreigner in her eyes, like someone she had just met and was yet to understand. And it was heartbreaking to see him after all they had been through. After all they had loved.

"How are you?" he managed to say. Draco moved slowly as he walked over on the stairs they used to sit on, bending his knees and sitting himself down. She stared for a moment before copying his movements and sitting next to him, her robes covering the stairs.

"I'm alright. Bit tired, actually. Yourself?" she said, resting her elbows on her knees, finding the courage to look him in the eye.

He slightly smiled before replying, "I think my son told you all about that."

"...Right," she coughed slightly, surprised when Draco let out a chuckle, "He came to me. I couldn't turn him away."

"I know. You never turned anyone away."

Their head's turned to face each other, a silent moment as both of them recalled their memories and laughter together. Astera felt an overwhelming feeling rush inside her, urging her to cry and throw her arms around him.

But he wasn't hers anymore, and she wasn't his.

"I'm really sorry, Draco. For your wife," she managed to say, not breaking eye contact, "I would do anything to help but... There isn't anything I could do."

"I'm not here to talk about my wife, Astera," he said, "I just came to see you."

She parted her lips at his answer, feeling the tension hang above their heads as she bit her cheek, turning her head away. Her palms opened as she put her forehead on them, letting out an airy laugh.

"Don't do this, Draco..."

"What?"

"You're married, for Merlin's sake!" she said, "You have a child, a wife. A family."

She stood up, putting her elbow in her hand as Draco watched her bring her fingers to her lips, slightly biting at them just like he did. How ironic.
He stood up after her, following her footsteps.

"You love her, right?" he nodded, "Then go. Go be with your wife, Draco. Go be with your son, be there for him. Be the man your father wasn't."

She almost begged as her face twisted, looking at him with glossed eyes, "Astera... I've loved you for all these years. And all the years that will pass," she turned away, her head low, "I will love you when they put me in my grave and I will love you in the afterlife."

"You shouldn't."

"Why not?" he asked, desperately as his words echoed, broken letters and fallen sentences ringing in her ears.