FIC--Reconstructing Draco, Chapter Three: Love Actually

[ficsbydeenas]

Title: Reconstructing Draco
Chapter Title: Love Actually
Rating: R
Pairing: Draco/Asteria
Words: 2900
Beta: queenb23more
Summary: Draco's life is not what he had imagined it to be. Change comes in unexpected ways.
Author Note: This is going to be the last chapter for a while. I need to concentrate on my entries for smutty_claus and hp_canon_fest but don't think that I'm abandoning Draco and Asteria. There will be more, but not soon enough for some of you.



Reconstructing Draco,

Part Three
Love Actually


Draco's eyes fluttered open to bright sunlight and he knew something was different. Natural light was never this clear in Hackney; the air was always dirty as was the sunlight. Shaking the cobwebs from his brain, he looked around and smiled. He was at Asteria's and there were no Aurors to be found.

Three days ago, he'd accepted the offer Potter had made, eliminating the restrictions of the past five years. Draco had given notice to Gringotts and even though he was still employed at the bank for the next week, he spent most of his evenings at the Ministry, being briefed on what his job would entail and setting up contacts within the terrorist cells he'd been told about. He was more tired than he'd ever been at the end of the day, but he liked nothing better than Apparating to Teri's and spending the night with her.

Life was changing in some of the most unexpected ways.

He looked to the right and smiled again. Asteria lay on her side, curled up like a child, but that was where the comparison ended. She was naked beside him with her hands tucked under the pillows under her head and her right leg hooked around his. A twinge below his waist sent a shiver down his spine and he reached down to stroke himself lightly. Morning sex with her was always indescribable. Hell, sex with her at anytime was indescribable but last night had been special.

Draco knocked on the door of Asteria's flat, surprisingly nervous about seeing her. She'd got back from Luxembourg the previous night and their reunion was cut short by her being called away for a case involving a handful of murders in the Cotswolds. She didn't want to leave but duty called and Draco had gone back to Hackney alone.

The door opened and she stood, beaming, and launched herself at him. Their lips met in frenzied kisses as he pushed his way into her kitchen. Hitting the wall finally drew them apart and they stood breathing heavily, staring into each others' eyes.

"I missed you," she said breathily. "It was terrible last night—"

"Shh. Don't think about it. I'm here." Draco held her, rubbed her back and nibbled at her ear. "You okay?"

She drew back and nodded. "I'll be fine." She took his hand and they strolled into the sitting room, where there was a crackling fire warming the room and adding the sort of ambience Draco wanted for the evening.

He fell onto the sofa and pulled her onto his lap. "I took the job."

She smiled again; her smile could always soothe him. "I heard. When do you start?" She laced her fingers with his.

"Next week. The goblins actually are sad to see me go," he answered with a smirk. Theu had surprised him by offering him an increase in pay to stay but ultimately, Draco had to take the position with the Ministry.

"And we get to work together," Asteria said, waggling her eyebrows. "You could visit my office some lunch hour and we could...have lunch."

That idea was very desirable. "Lunch? Now that sounds delicious." He leaned forward and kissed her lightly, gently tracing the seam of her lips with his tongue until she opened for him, moaning in satisfaction.

Her hands began playing with the hair at the nape of his neck and she pressed her breasts against him. He growled and kissed her harder, thrusting his hips up. Teri giggled and pressed herself down, grinding against the tell-tale bulge in his trousers. Her hands went to the buttons of his shirt, which brought him to his senses.

It wasn't supposed to go this far yet. They had to talk. Grudgingly, he held her away from him, breathing heavily.

"Teri...I really want to, but we have to talk first. And please don't dig into my emotions, alright?" he smoothed her hair back off her forehead.

"Yeah." She closed her eyes, mentally turning off her ability; Draco knew it was difficult for her to do. "Go ahead."

He took a deep breath and took her hand. "Remember the night we met? I was bound and determined not to like you. Blaise hasn't had much luck setting me up."

"I know. You inferred that I was uncouth and had no manners," she teased.

"And for that, I'm sorry." He looked down at their linked hands and then up into her eyes. "I've never been happier that I have been with you. I just want you to know that."

Asteria lifted his hands and kissed the knuckles. "I know. I've felt your happiness."

"And the day I was arrested, I wanted to say something to you, but I mucked it up by getting angry with you."

She opened her mouth in protest, but he placed a finger on her lips.

"Let me finish. When Weasley took me away, you said what I'd been wanting to tell you." He put his hands on her cheeks gently, hoping his touch could help convey his emotions. "I love you, Asteria. You made me see that this new me is okay and that I'm worthy of having someone like you in my life—"

She didn't let him finish and kissed him hard, their teeth nearly crashing together and they picked up right where Draco had stopped them just moments before.

Asteria stirred beside him. She snuggled closer to him and hugged him against her warm body. He looked down at her and marvelled at what he saw. She wasn't perfect by modern day standards: her middle was round, her bottom was full, and her legs were skinny in comparison to the rest of her. At that moment, he felt a twinge of guilt at the way he talked to Weasley about his mother. There was something to be said about something extra to squeeze and cuddle with. No matter what she would say about her body, he would always say it was perfect.

Draco hovered above her, his knees on either side of her, and moved to kiss her belly button.

"Don't...I don't like my tummy," she pleaded with him.

He ignored her and bent down to place his tongue in her navel. He swirled it around in the little divot. Then, with deliberate slowness, he moved down to just above the triangle of curls, kissing the smooth skin and laving it with his tongue.

"I don't care. You taste incredible," he said against her skin. "You feel magnificent." His hands stroked her midsection reverently, caressing her sides and under her breasts before heading back down to her hips.

"I'm bumpy," she said breathily, sounding completely unconvincing.

"You're real."

She moaned in pleasure as his mouth disappeared between her thighs.

The memories faded away as he felt her grab his growing cock. He looked to the right and saw her gaze at him mischievously.

"Merlin, I love you," he murmured before she took him in her mouth.

~~~~~

"So please tell me why we're here, Draco," Asteria whinged as Draco led her across the field. "And slow down. You do know I have heels on, don't you?"

He laughed, nearly dragging her behind him. "Don't you have any flat or comfortable shoes?" When she didn't laugh with him, he stopped and turned to her, still grinning.

"You said we were going out for a romantic day. Ergo, I assumed I needed to dress up. Hence the heels," she said with a touch of anger in her tone. "You might've told me we were going traipsing across the countryside."

Draco stared at her, taking in her appearance. Her hair was tousled and her breathing was shallow; her cheeks were reddened by exertion. The blue blouse she wore with the short, pleated grey skirt had become untucked, and the bottom button had loosened, revealing her lower stomach. She was a vision.

"Ergo? Hence? My, my, Greengrass, your Ravenclaw vocabulary is showing," he teased as he reached out and flicked her chin. A jolt of energy shot through his arm, making him swear.

"Shut it! Serves you right!" she shouted with a smile. "My feet hurt."

"You can do wandless magic?"

She rolled her eyes. "Job requirement. Can we get back to my sore feet?" Asteria lifted her right leg and slipped off her shoe, revealing two blisters on the ball of her foot.

"But...but you can do wandless magic!" Why was he stuck on that silly little point?

She threw her shoe to the ground and removed the other. "What's the big deal? And why are we fighting about this?"

Draco swallowed and licked his lips. "I...I can't do wandless magic," he admitted quietly. He'd tried several times over the years but never quite got it right. "I want to."

She stared at him with her mouth open. "You're kidding."

"No, I can't do wandless magic." He hated the way that sounded.

She stood before him with her hands on her hips, looking every bit the angry woman. "You don't think a woman can do wandless magic?" Her nostrils flared and she pursed her lips.

"What?"

Several heartbeats passed as they stared at each other in silence.

She gesticulated between them before saying, "You insufferable...man!"

"Wait a second," he said, holding up his hands. "I don't care that you can do wandless magic. I'm mad that I can't. And it's not because you're a woman."

Teri began to say something but opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water. "Did we just have a fight?" she asked with furrowed brow.

A grin was twitching to come out the side of his mouth. "I think so."

She looked at the ground and chuckled. "Over shoes and wandless magic?"

Draco began to answer, but he couldn't hold the laughter in any longer. He sunk to the marshy ground, laughing like he hadn't in years. In a playful mood, he reached up and placed his hand on her thighs and pulled her onto his lap, making her squeal like a little girl.

"I thought you didn't like sitting on the bare ground," Asteria reminded him as she straddled his hips.

"I've changed my mind. Someone showed me it was okay to do it."

She leaned forward and kissed his nose. "So why are we here? And where are we?"

Draco pointed to the left. "What's that?"

She turned in the direction he indicated and squinted. Realization washed over her and she cringed. "Stonehenge? Oh Merlin, I hate this place. It's so depressing."

Cold disappointment washed through him and he tried not to let it show. Stonehenge was one of his favourite places.

"I'm sorry," he said with a downcast expression. "We'll...go." he made to get up but she stopped him.

"No! I'm the one who should be sorry, Draco." She put her hands on his chest. "You obviously want to tell or show me something. Go ahead." Asteria slid off his lap and rose to her feet, slipping her shoes back on. With a smirk, she held out a hand to help him get up.

Draco brushed off his trousers and cast a cleansing and warming charm on both of them. "That feel better?" He took her hand and headed toward the monoliths.

He grew up north of Stonehenge, in Swindon, and his father had brought him here over the years, telling him about the magic that could and should be harnessed from the ancient site. Of course, he and many of his friends wanted to harness that magic for themselves and use it to their evil advantage.

A group of Muggle tourists was milling around the stones, looking at guidebooks and snapping photographs willy-nilly. Draco led her through the stones which littered the ground and stopped just on the edge of the inner ring.

"We have to cast a spell. But don't worry. There's so much magic here, the Ministry won't notice," he whispered. "We need to confuse the Muggles so they don't notice when we disappear."

"What?" Asteria asked, looking more confused than ever.

"Trust me," he reassured her. "Confundus charm on three?" She nodded. "One, two, three. Confundus!" They each waved their wands and on Draco's nod, they stepped forward into the inner ring.

Asteria gasped and her mouth opened in awe. The area around Stonehenge had changed into a beautiful garden. The grass was an emerald green, and small white flowers bloomed in little bunches here and there. It was breathtaking.

"Where...where did this come from?" She spun around and faced him, but he only stood there silently. "Draco!"

He chuckled at her childlike behaviour and took her hands. "Well, there's a story." He sat down on one of the stones and patted it, indicating she should join him. "It's not a Beedle the Bard type story, but it's pretty good."

She sidled next to him and her warmth was comforting. "So, is it an evil wizard tale? I've always wanted to know what fairy tales you grew up with." She nudged him playfully in the ribs.

He nudged her back. "It is. Ready?"

She nodded and he put an arm around her.

"A long time ago, there were Dark wizards who sought to take over the world."

"That's not really news to me, Draco," she interrupted.

He shook his head with a wry smile. "Will you just shut it and let me finish?"

She put her thumb and forefinger together and moved them across her lips like a zipper.

"If only," he teased, earning him another nudge in the ribs. "A large group gathered in a flat, secluded part of England, which allowed magical power to flow freely from all corners of the earth.

"Among the numerous wizards, there was one witch. She was more powerful than most other witches and was drawn to all sorts of magic, both Dark and Light. However, her heart was purer than the wizards who were gathered there that night.

"As they began their ritual, it became apparent to the witch that the rest of the group's intentions were evil. She wanted to leave, but she was magically bound to stay at the gathering until its conclusion. As time went on and she heard the plans, she began to panic and silently pleaded for someone to rescue her. She even resorted to prayer to help her out of the situation.

"Across the plain, the sound of rushing wind drew everyone's attention, interrupting the spells that were forming. A large wizard with a glowing wand materialized in the midst of them and stunned each of them, including the witch.

"'Tell me your secrets,' the formidable wizard said and went around to each wizard, appearing to delve into their minds.

"When he reached the witch, she begged him not to harm her. To her immense surprise, he smiled and held out his hand.

"'Your heart reveals your true nature. You are here because you wish to learn, not use magic for evil. Because of this, you will be spared and I will teach you to harness your magic for good.' He waved his wand and released her from her spell.

"'Thank you!' she answered and fell on her knees in gratitude.

"The wizard then turned to the rest of the group and cast a spell, causing them to stand in a circle with their hands clasped in front.

"'Your hearts are black with evil and your desire to enslave the human race, magical and non-magical, has earned you punishment. You naively thought there would be no recriminations as you gathered here. So here you shall stay.'

"With a flourish, the wizard cast a most powerful spell, changing every Dark wizard into a monolith, forever forced to keep silent watch over the land they had hoped to enslave. The wizards still stand today, watching Muggles marvel at the wondrous stone skills the ancients must have possessed in order to build the monument.

"The witch, once she was rescued by the wizard, learned much about magic. The two of them fell in love, and in time, had children who were more powerful, yet never strayed from the path their parents mapped out.

"As for the Dark wizards left at Stonehenge, it is said that once they realised their folly, the stone crumbled and their souls could leave this earth. Some still stand, refusing to this day to acknowledge the warning given to them so long ago."

Draco looked at Asteria, waiting for some sort of reaction from her. Minutes seemed to have passed before she cocked her head to the side and placed a hand on his cheek.

"That, my love, is a remarkable story. Why haven't I heard it before?"

He cleared his throat before saying, "It's not the sort of tale blood status crazed Pureblood wizards like to hear."

She nodded.

"My father told me the story but skewed it so that the ones who still stood were to be revered since they still held onto the Dark magic." He gazed at the remaining stones. "I think that if he were here, he'd stand until Doomsday."

"I think you're right." She snuggled up to him. "And I think that you are one that has crumbled and allowed his soul to be redeemed."

"I hope so."

She eased herself out of his arms and turned to look right at him. "I know so."