Draco’s Dastardly Misfortunes In The Cruel World Of Dating
#1: Kissing Pansy Parkinson
Nowdays, Draco and Pansy are the best of buddies, but back at Hogwarts, they used to date.
When they kissed, it felt empty, just tasting like Pansy’s heavy perfume, matte lipstick, and her favorite sweets.
Of course, they’ve only kissed twice and after both Pansy and Draco admitted that they were better off friends, they stayed together for the sake of their image. Both of their parents were strict about bloodlines and purity, so Pansy and Draco were an approved match for each other. Of course, once their fathers had been sentenced to Azkaban, they had broke off their dating.
That incident had strengthened their friendship rather than harm, and now that they matured, they joke about it all the time.
That moment was still engraved in his memory:
“Draco, I think we both know this isn’t working,” Pansy said, squeezing his hand.
Back then, Draco had panicked when he had felt no attraction for Pansy, but he convinced himself that he and Pansy just weren’t meant to be.
After all, the kiss only feels right when it’s with your one true love.
There were plenty of other girls for Draco, right?
That was what he told himself every time he was invited to a wedding.
Even Pansy had gotten married, to Urquhart, from Hogwarts. He’d had been at their wedding, his wine glass raised respectfully towards Pansy and Urquhart.
After the wedding, things started spiraling, and before he knew it, Pansy was showing off her round belly. He’d stopped hanging around with her after that, and they usually only interacted at their weekly lunch dates.
~
#2: Kissing Astoria Greengrass
Astoria Greengrass was one of his biggest mistakes and regrets.
Astoria was the younger sister of Daphne Greengrass, a fellow Slytherin from Hogwarts.
From a angle, Astoria could be considered pretty.
Unlike her pale-skinned, blonde-curled sister, Astoria had an olive complexion, with dark hair and hooded eyes. Astoria always put her hair up in a low bun and wore regal clothes, like a queen. She was the perfect choice for a wife, pure-blood, rich, and well-entwined through connections.
They met at 17, when the trials had just ended and Narcissa was looking for a suitable wife for Draco. Draco had been sentenced to a month in Azkaban, along with regular appointments by the Aurors. For the first few days after his release, he wandered around Andromeda’s house, like a lost puppy, before Narcissa suggested he pay a visit to Malfoy Manor. The wards no longer responded to her, as Lucius had taken full control of it and while the Dark Lord inhabited the house, he and the Death Eaters laced the house with traps and such as a sport.
Since Lucius had been forced to release control of the wards, Draco was technically now the owner of the wards.
For once, Draco had listened to his mother and at Malfoy Manor, found that the wards did respond to him. He’d also found a knack for finding the traps and disabling them. The whole work of renovating Malfoy Manor took five months, and during that time, Astoria had arrived. He was far too distracted in Malfoy Manor to pay her any attention so, the most interaction Astoria had received was a kiss on her hand at their first meeting, where Draco had acted like the perfect, polite pure-blooded suitor.
He still remembers. It’s not something anyone could forget. He even keeps the memory in his Pensive to watch:
Narcissa, prime and elegant in a black dress, sits in the parlor, legs crossed, her posture straight and her hands clasped in her lap.
Astoria sat across from her, glowing in a sage green dress and her hair in her signature style, accompanied with a bow.
Her eyes were dark and twinkling, her lips were stretched in a smile, and she held herself with grace.
”Draco, darling, meet Astoria Greengrass,” Narcissa says as she rises from the couch, beckoning for Astoria to follow.
Astoria dares a smile at him and holds out her hand for him. The first thing he notices that they’re encased in sheer, lace gloves.
Draco bends down and presses his lips to the fabric before straightening and responding, “My pleasure, Lady Astoria,”
Astoria turns a faint pink but still manages to reply with the same amount of elegance, “It’s a honor, Lord Malfoy,”
Draco grimaces slightly at the title, but cracks a smile for the sake of his reputation.
Astoria must have guessed that, as her lips stretched wider.
They stayed together for 8 years until Draco was 25 years old.
He and Astoria never kissed much, only their wedding kiss and the mild, polite kisses on the cheek Astoria gave him every morning and night.
Astoria’s kisses had a lingering sweetness from her lip balm, but they were dull and dry.
The kisses never lasted more than a few seconds, and once it was done, Astoria would draw back, a smile on her lips and leaving her faint perfume scent on his clothes.
It wasn’t until Astoria died from the blood disorder did he realize that he and Astoria were never fated to be. Though Astoria was a lovely girl whose death came too soon, Draco was forced to admit that Astoria had wasted her time on him. She showered him with small bouts of affection, though Draco had always brushed them aside and put on his cold mask that he had adapted since he was eleven. Astoria saw a lonely soul in him wherever he just saw a Death Eater in himself. Astoria had always doted on him without a word of complaint. She was the one who suggested he find a professional career in dark houses. She was the one who brought him tea and sandwiches whenever he returned late from the manors. She was the one who had thrown him a small celebration fling when he had his first client.
In her own way, she had quietly loved him for almost a decade, and he was sure that somewhere deep down, he had loved her too.
To honor her legacy, he played the mournful, polite husband society had required him to be and he attended her funeral, funded the whole thing, gave a speech, and brought her fresh flowers every Sunday.
He even commissioned his watch with her final words: Life’s just as fickle as fire. Those words had been uttered in a low, raspy tone, seconds before she closed her eyes forever.
He knew what those words meant. She had told him that every time he complained of something.
It meant that with the slightest reaction, his life could go on another course.
He owned a lot to Astoria.
~