Marriage of convenience (Draco x Astoria)

11- Fight against death

The golden light of dawn streamed through the room's windows, softly illuminating everything it touched. However, Draco did not feel the warmth of the sun, nor did he find relief in it.

He was sitting on his bed, looking out the window. He hadn't slept all night, thinking about Astoria. He wondered if he could watch another sunrise with her again.

He sighed slowly and stood up. He began to get dressed, mostly to keep his mind occupied. Minutes later, Narcissa entered the room and helped him silently. They didn't need to talk to understand each other, although each one was worried for different reasons.

Narcissa hugged her son from behind and kissed him on the back of his neck.

"Everything is going to be okay," she whispered.

Draco knew that she only wanted the best for him, and he let her hug him without saying anything. However, looking at his reflection in the mirror glass, he wished with all his heart that she was right.

Slughorn joined them early, before they left the mansion. He gave Draco a discreet wink, letting the boy know that the antidote was ready, but that barely calmed the young man.

The four made a joint appearance at the edge of the grounds of Greengrass Castle and boarded the carriage the earl had ordered for them.

The carriage moved slowly, and Draco wrung his hands in impatience. They were never going to arrive! It would have been easier to fly there on a broomstick and climb the secret stairs. But they had to go to the main entrance, where the earl received them in person, decked out in his best robe.

He looked so pleased with himself, despite his painful limping, that Draco wondered if he had managed to make Astoria miraculously recover. It would be a surprise for Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy to find their daughter-in-law in perfect health, up and smiling.

But when the earl allowed them to pass through the doors of Astoria's room, Draco found that the situation had not improved at all: Astoria was still faint, and her paleness stood out even more under the light emitted by the numerous candles placed around her. Someone had decorated the room with white flowers, but it looked like they were having a funeral instead of a wedding.

To make matters worse, the nightgown they had chosen for Astoria, and the way they combed her hair made the young woman look like a corpse. The witnesses were distributed around the bed, and a wizard dressed in black officiated the ceremony.

Draco was struck by the fact that he dispensed with the typical formulas that were said in those situations, such as "in this happy event" or "this happy couple", and that he nevertheless spoke of the transcendence of the soul over death.

Draco wondered if Astoria was aware of what was happening. Once he thought he saw the blue glow of her irises under her eyelashes, but the young woman made no movement that would reveal whether she was awake. Trying to get closer to her, he took her hand, and was surprised to see how cold it was. He surreptitiously looked for a pulse but did not find it.

Alarmed, he looked at his potions professor, his heart in his throat, but Slughorn just grabbed his wrist as well. Draco realized he had pressed the wrong place, and subtly altered the position of his fingers. Beneath them he noticed, very slowly and very weakly, the young woman's heartbeat.

That wasn't a good sign either, and he looked back at the professor. Slughorn, however, was scrutinizing the girl carefully, and the unusual gravity on his face revealed that he too was wondering how long Astoria would last alive. Draco saw him lean towards Lucius, whispering something in his ear. Mr. Malfoy also looked at Astoria with concern and nodded weakly.