Chapter 148: The Half-Blood Prince [Side Story]
The Story of Draco and the Girl
"Brother Draco. If you wouldn't mind, would you care to share a compartment with me?"
Invited by the girl he deeply cherished, Draco nodded without a moment's hesitation. Astoria smiled gracefully.
"But still—what about Daphne?"
Draco remembered well. The girl standing before him was supposed to be sharing her journey on the Hogwarts Express with her older sister, Daphne Greengrass.
"My sister has her own friends, too. I won't be riding on her coattails forever, you know," Astoria replied with a precocious air.
Having turned fourteen, her beauty seemed to increase boundlessly, and Draco narrowed his eyes as if dazzled by it. Astoria, too, gazed at Draco with eyes reserved for someone dearly loved.
"Perhaps you would prefer traveling with Maria, Brother Draco?"
"Don't be absurd. I say this fully prepared to be despised for it, but—I cannot compare the two of you."
"Ara... how cruel of you."
Astoria did not seem angry.
"But, for this time, please let me have you all to myself. ...For this will surely be the last time."
The softly added whisper did not reach Draco's ears. The girl did not wish for it to.
Taking his hand as they boarded the train, Astoria bit her lip slightly.
"Brother Draco, I—I—"
It was not for nothing that Draco had cherished his former wife. He could easily tell that something was wrong. He squeezed the hand holding his.
"No. It's nothing."
"Astoria, if something is troubling you, tell me. I will do whatever I can to help. For you, I would—"
"Oh, what grand words. You shouldn't throw around promises you can't guarantee."
"Astoria."
At Draco's slightly faltering tone, Astoria laughed lightly. —It was a light laugh. Having resolved to stand in opposition to the person she loved, the girl's heart felt surprisingly clear.
She had made the decision to leave him behind entirely.
"Come now, Brother Draco. Open your mouth. Say 'ahh'. Ahh. I baked a pie, with a little help from the house-elves. I've checked the taste countless times, so I'm certain it hasn't turned out to be a disaster."
"Astoria... listen to me,"
"You left yourself open."
As soon as they arrived at the compartment she had saved, Astoria pulled out her homemade pie with an innocent look befitting a fourteen-year-old girl, and popped a slice into her beloved brother figure's mouth. Knowing that he would end up eating it regardless, Draco was truly weak to her. ...Astoria knew this well.
"...How is it?"
"It's delicious. ...There's no way a pie you made could taste bad."
Even their son loved it—the home cooking of the woman he loved.
"Hehehe, what a strange way to put it. It was worth preparing so much of it."
Reluctantly dropping his interrogation, Draco also reached for the evenly divided pie. Astoria watched as his manly yet beautiful fingertips, with perfectly kept nails, grasped the pastry without hesitation. She watched him the entire time. —She watched him without missing a single detail, until she caught Draco on her lap as he fell gently into a slumber, courtesy of the Sleeping Potion she had spiked it with.
He should just stay on this train and go far—far away—somewhere beyond my reach.
Stroking his hair, playfully touching his nose. After savoring these little mischiefs, her fingers traced the boy's thin lips.
"...I'm sorry, Brother Draco."
The girl's hair cascaded down to her lap, as if forming a canopy to conceal the sleeping boy. Just a little more. Just a little closer and they would touch. She gazed at the lips that let out sleeping breaths she found almost endearing.
"I love you."
The blonde eyelashes that caught a fallen teardrop trembled ever so slightly, letting the drop slide down his cheek.
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