The Request by redhead414

Chapter 13

Wide awake at a quarter 'til four, Astoria sat up in her bed with an odd burst of energy. Climbing out of bed, she walked over to her closet and pulled out three green boxes, each of them with an initial embossed in silver on the front. Carefully, as they were a bit heavy for her considering her loss in muscle mass, she brought them over and set them on top of her dresser. She peered inside each box, reviewing the envelopes and making sure they were all appropriately labeled and enchanted so that they wouldn't open until the proper moment by the appropriate person. Opening the top drawer, she moved around her undergarments and pulled out two envelopes and set them on top of the boxes.

"Harby!" she quietly called out.

In an instant, the dutiful house elf popped into her room. "Harby is here, ma'am. Harby will do whatever Misses Malfoy needs as Mister Malfoy instructed him to do."

Astoria nodded, pointing to the boxes and the envelopes on her dresser. "I need you to place these items in a safe place, and when the time is right, distribute them. Can you do that for me?"

Harby nodded quickly. "Of course, Misses Malfoy. Harby can most certainly honor Misses Malfoy's request. But Harby isn't sure if he will know when the time is right."

"You will know," Astoria reassured the worrying elf. "I trust you."

"Misses Malfoy trusts Harby," the elf gasped in awe. "Harby will not let Misses Malfoy down!"

"I know you won't," she replied. "And…I just want to tell you that while I never showed it, I greatly appreciated your help during these past years. You cared for my children, and you were always here to help, even when I wasn't always so polite."

Harby abruptly shook his head no. "Harby never thinks ill of Misses Malfoy. Harby and the elves always think the best of our masters."

"Because you're good elves," Astoria replied with a soft smile. "You're a good elf, Harby. A very good elf. You are dismissed."

Even in the dim light, the pink tinge of blush was visible on the Harby's grey cheeks before he took the boxes and the envelopes and disapparated out of the room with a faint pop.

Downstairs on the couch, Draco and Hermione slept in the dark, the glow of the telly incessantly flashing and dimming. Draco's legs were stretched out on top of the coffee table as his head was propped up against the back of the couch. Hermione was still curled up against him, sleeping with her head tucked in the space where Draco's arm connected to his torso, an arm draped across him as one of his arms stayed firmly braced around her back.

At the sound of faint footsteps from upstairs, Hermione stirred.

"What's wrong?" Draco mumbled. As soon as he realized he was sleeping comfortably with Hermione, he panicked that she would want to get up and go upstairs to their respective rooms. He held his breath momentarily and waited for her to state the obvious.

"We fell asleep downstairs."

Stay casual. "Mmhmm."

"I think I heard something. Upstairs."

He tightened his arm around her slightly in an attempt to distract her. "Elves," he said. "It's nothing. Go back to sleep, Granger."

Her eyes heavy, she felt awkward as she placed her head back down on the warm spot she created on his chest. Draco, with a small smile on his lips, released a sigh of relief as he felt her cuddle closer to him.

Astoria felt tired once again, but not enough to sleep. An instinct to check on her children summoned her legs to walk her towards the door, creeping down the dimly lit hallway towards Scorpius' room. As she quietly opened his door and walked in, she smiled as she saw him flopped over on his back, his mouth slightly ajar as his thumb rested against his lower lip. His curls always seemed at their wildest when asleep. Astoria smiled as she remembered back to his first birthday, shortly before she found out about her cancer.