Secrets and Confessions

It was late night by the time Draco got home, 10 PM, Astoria and his parents would surely be sleeping by now, Sandra he wasn't sure about. He generally stayed away from her, and she stayed away from his family, most of the time anyways. The children were away at Hogwarts. Yawning as he entered the house, Draco went over to the kitchen and poured himself some wine. It had been a hectic day at the ministry. Now with a new minister, Draco had to work extra hard to keep his job. Truthfully, he didn't even need a job, the Malfoy Family were rich enough to go on for about 100 more years without having any financial problems of any sort. But it was better to have a job, people had no respect for unemployed people.

Draco found himself thinking of Astoria. They hadn't talked much over the past few days, but he knew she would probably be quite suspicious about the fact he had spent the last night at the Leaky Cauldron. Sighing, he continued to sip his wine in silence.

Draco hadn't come in the night before and Astoria found herself waiting up to see if he would be in that night. As the hours ticked by and there was no sign of her husband, Astoria found herself growing silently angry and then slightly worried. She was up, pacing, at 10 pm, when she heard footsteps moving below her. There was a good chance it was just Lucius or Narcissa moving about, but Astoria had to check, to see if it was her missing husband. As she descended the stairs she saw a blonde head enter the kitchen. The short hair signaled that it was indeed her husband. She hurried down the last of the stairs, but slowed as she approached the doorway.

"Draco?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest--the short nightgown she wore wasn't enough for the cool air in the kitchen.

he house was utterly silent, and Draco could detect footsteps coming down the stairs in a hurry. It was probably Sandra, but it might be any of the others. However, there was no mistaking the voice, he looked up, seeing his wife standing at the doorway of the kitchen, dressed in a short nightgown. He was both relieved, happy, and nervous to see her. Because despite their relationship not gooing so well of late, he still loved her, a lot. Yet, he knew she would be suspicious, and possible angry. Quickly, his mind tried to think of good excuses for why he wasn't at the manor last night, without telling any of them. He came out blank though.

"Astoria," he said, standing up and going over to embrace her. He then kissed her mouth softly. "I missed you," he said, and he wasn't lying.

She wrapped her arms around neck and returned his kiss, pressing her body against his slightly. She pulled back a bit as he said he missed her, but kept her arms around him. "Where've you been? I've missed you too" She asked, tilting her head quizzically, "Why didn't you come home last night?" She thought she might not want to know the answer, but it was her wifely duty to do so. She did love him, dearly. She didn't know what had happened to cause them both restlessness. Whe she said she missed him, she meant it, too, though she also meant that she missed the old Draco, the one that she had married, the one she had had children with.

As she pulled back a bit and gave him a quizzical look, Draco knew she was going to ask the question he knew she would ask. He still didn't have an excuse, and he doubted he would be able to give a good enough one to not make her suspicious. "I didn't come because I spent the night at the Leaky Cauldron," Draco replied, trying to act calm about it, like he had nothing to hide. What should he have said? He had left the ministry late and so he just went to the Leaky Cauldron as it was closer? It would be a good excuse for a muggle, but wizards could just apparate home.

There was more there that he wasn't saying. She knew him, knew his idiosyncrasies, knew he had to have another reason as to why he didn't just apparate home. But now was her turn to make a decision: should she let well enough alone or should she press him for more of an answer. She wasn't satisfied with the answer she had gotten, so she knew, before she had even actually given it much thought, that she would be probing further.

"The Leaky Cauldron." she repeated, moving toward the counter and pouring herself a glass of the wine Draco had gotten out for himself. She took a sip and turned to face him, leaning against the counter, one arm crossed across her middle, the other resting upon it, her hand with the wine glass in it hovering somewhere near her chin. Obvious questions first, she thought, taking one more sip, "Why didn't you apperate?"

Clearly she wasn't going to drop it, as usual. Draco sighed inwardly, he was tired, but he knew that they would have to have this conversation. Why he hadn't apparated back was the obvious question. All he had to do was invent a reason about why he hadn't wanted to come back to the manor. He didn't like what he had done, but he wasn't about to admit it either. "Malfoy Manor does not feel like home to me anymore," he explained quietly. It wasn't so much of a lie either, though it wasn't the reason he had spent the night at the Leaky Cauldron. "I was stressed out, and I wanted to spend a night away from here, away from the others," he added, clearly meaning the Death Eaters who had basically taken over their home.

Astoria was a smart woman, she was logical and she was often more bullheaded than she ought to be. She knew deep down that she should not let the subject drop, that she should be persistent. Why hadn't he sent for her, sent a note explaining why he wasn't going to be home, or even telling her where he would be? She had her own infidelity to worry about--though it had been mostly mental--and she wouldn't be condemned a hypocrite, but she had been worried. She still cared for her husband deeply and when he admitted--truthfully or not--that his childhood home no longer felt like anything more than a house, she felt deeply sad for him.

She placed her wine glass on the counter and moved across the room once again to embrace her husband, "Draco," she whispered as she rested her head on his shoulder, "I was worried about you."

Draco knew this probably wasn't the end of it, Astoria might or might not have taken his excuse, but she was probably still suspicious. Still, he was glad, that for now at least, she had dropped it. He was tired after the long day at work, and he really didn't want to have a fight with her right now. She had stopped questioning him, but he still was a bit angry at himself. Astoria loved him, the other women were probably just after his money, so why would he cheat on her. He felt sorry for what he had done now, and yet he knew this probably wasn't the last of it.

"I'm sorry, I should of told you, I'm sorry for making you worry," he replied, stroking her hair. "So, what have you been doing while I was gone?" he asked.

If she had any concrete proof of Draco's indiscretion she might have been pleased that she was probably making him guilty with her concern. She sank briefly into his embrace when he apologized, and then removed herself once again to reach for her wine glass--she had started the wine, she might as well finish it.

"I haven't done much," she said with a shrug, sipping her wine, "Avoided them mostly." She didn't mean her in-laws, though she didn't go out of her way to be in the company of Lucius, ever. The Death Eaters who had taken over the manor, the ones Draco himself had just mentioned, were straining on Astoria's nerves. It was bad enough they lived with Draco's parents, but those who didn't belong there--it was enough to drive her mad. "I tried to do some of the housework, but the elves wouldn't let me pick up a rag." Astoria, while pureblood and privileged did enjoy the occasional bit of cleaning, to take her mind off of things.