IT'S NOT SIMPLE OR EASY

[astoria matilda greengrass]

Astoria sighed, relaxing a bit now that Narcissa Malfoy was out of the room. They had spent a good amount of the afternoon chatting, drinking tea, and eating delicate sandwich squares. Artfully, Astoria had managed to maneuver out of discussing her non-existent relationship with Draco. She didn’t think it was possible, but Narcissa actually hadn’t pushed the subject very hard. Astoria assumed that Narcissa had sensed the young girl’s hesitation and reluctance. Being the tactful woman that she was, Narcissa had not irritated Astoria’s nerves. Astoria closed her eyes, knowing that Draco would be down soon to talk to her and not really knowing if she was ready to deal with him. Narcissa had told her to wait, that Draco wanted to show her the gardens. Sighing, Astoria leaned her head back on the high-backed chair that she was sitting in—the seat of the chair was soft enough but the back was hard and wooden, making Astoria wish she could slump forward for a moment and rest her aching back.

Of course, she wasn’t going to do that. She was going to continue to sit up perfectly, shoulders back, pressed against the hard wood. Were she sure that she was going to be alone, she might have leaned down and stretched for a moment, but knowing that Draco would come in at any moment stopped her. God forbid he see another moment of weakness. Astoria was already furious that she looked exhausted; she had tossed and turned all night, Draco’s words playing over and over in her head. From moment to moment her thoughts went from anger to guilt to sadness. She didn’t know if she should apologize or stand by the things she had said—they had been true after all, and Draco’s internal problems were not an excuse for him to treat her the way that he had. She wished she had come to some sort of conclusion, so she could have some stance to take in the conversation that was sure to come soon.

Alas, nothing was decided and the following conversation was sure to be incredibly challenging. Astoria honestly hoped that he was going to sulk through the walk and not talk much, so she could get out of there as soon as possible. In her hazel eyes, Astoria saw this day as a necessary evil, and after it was over Draco Malfoy would go back to being a figure from her past that she would only converse with to polite at social functions. Hearing the door crack open, Astoria opened her eyes quickly and stood up. She wanted to rub the sleep out of her eyes but resisted it. Turning to look at the man in the doorway, Astoria raised an eyebrow and said coolly but not coldly, “You know, it is not entirely polite to keep a young lady waiting.”

word count:: 477
tags:: Draco
outfit:: here!
notes:: there you go, sweetie.

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[draco lucius malfoy]

Draco had been giving a lot of thought to Astoria, and his only idea was to be himself around her and let her see the real him, the him that his mother got to see on a regular basis. He had let them have tea and instead gone out to shoot down fwoopers with their wands. Fwoopers were birds from native Africa whose song drove people insane. Someone had set a bunch of them in his backyard as a prank and now he and his dad had gone off to exterminate the creatures. Lucius and Draco had privately joked that Narcissa was insane enough as it was without coaxing. Draco had gotten so lost in exterminating the threat of the fwoopers that he lost track of time. He shook his head not believing it. He checked his watch. He took his hat off his head, running a hand through his hair. Whew, it had been hard work, but at least he didn’t have to worry about going insane anytime soon. He walked into the tea room and laid a hand on the banister.

“Well, the only reason I was late is because people who disagree with my past and my father’s past tend to put dangerous creatures in our backyard. The fwoopers made a few of the white peacocks insane, and my dad and I had to exterminate them. Before they drove the family insane. If you don’t know what a fwooper it’s in Newt Scamanders book.” Draco smirked at her, with a smile, wearing casual clothes, cargo shorts, a plaid polo shirt, and various skull accessories. He grinned sheepishly. He really had wanted to show her the peacocks, and the abraxan horses they had, maybe he could get her to go on a ride with him. Tea was alright but he had other ideas, he had gotten them from his dad about a picnic idea. Hopefully by the end of the day he could woo her. He decided that would most likely be the best option, show off his gentlemanly side. He grinned sheepishly.

“Unless you wanted to get denied the pleasure of seeing the peacocks and the abraxan horses. I was thinking we could have a picnic in the garden by the lake, and go for a walk around the grounds and maybe even go for a ride on the horses. I had time to think about it and to be honest, you didn’t deserve to be treated that way. So I figured for old times sake, Stori, we could have a little fun together, your defintion of fun, not my defintion of fun.” He said with a cake eating grin, his defintion of fun was very very different then the whole romance thing, the typical guy thing was get some get gone, and he had been that way, but he was starting to figure out that maybe he wanted this to be more, a courtship, a proper one. His dad said to win over a woman like Astoria, he had afterall won over Narcissa, they required a more dignified handle, they had to of course have regality in their men, so he was practicing his dad’s suggestions.

Tags: Astoria
Word Count: 530
Clothes:click
Muse: All over you, Spill Canvas

[astoria matilda greengrass]

It was easy to see that Draco had been doing something difficult before coming into the room—he was slightly out of breath and looked a bit worn. For a moment she felt moment she felt bad for pointing out his lateness, but his response was irritating enough to balance that out right away. Of course people wanted to get back at the Malfoys for the things they had done in the past. Lucius Malfoy had tortured and killed people; saying, “sorry we’ve changed, we’re better now” didn’t exactly make up for it. Astoria was sure that if she were from a family who been hurt even offended by Lucius or Draco, she would want to put fwoopers in their backyard as well. Not that she would ever do such a thing, but still. It was hard enough for her to be in the Malfoy Manor; she was entirely relieved that she hadn’t been forced to interact with the head of the household. Furthermore, telling Astoria to go look up a magical creature from a book (instead of just telling her what it was or assuming she would know or figure it out on her own) was incredibly condescending and horribly annoying. Astoria felt herself tense—he was already being whiny and a snob, and the meeting had only just begun. It was going to be a long afternoon.

Taking a deep breath, Astoria choose not to respond to what Draco had said—if you don’t have anything nice to day, don’t say anything at all, right? The young brunette tried to live to that saying, feeling that arguing was just not worth it. The arguments that had gone on between the two the night before had been much more dramatic and upsetting than Astoria ever liked to deal with, and she was actively refusing to let it happen again. Standing, Astoria gave a polite, short bob that was almost a curtsy but not quite. She wondered, a bit paranoid, if either parent Malfoys from some unknown location were observing their interactions; was she being unwittingly judged from afar? Even if this wasn’t the case, Astoria decided to be on her best behavior. She was in unfamiliar territory and didn’t want to mess anything up.

Listening as Draco continued, Astoria frowned and watching him carefully. Surely he wasn’t attempting to weasel his way into her good graces? HE clearly was trying to let her have a good time in his company, and was being significantly more polite than the night before. Yet, Astoria did not trust Draco Malfoy as far as she could throw him. He was sneaky, manipulative, and honestly even if he were being genuine, she wasn’t sure she wanted to give him another chance. He was constantly making excuses for his behavior and never owning up to the fact that he was a selfish jerk. She would play along, be cordial, but at the end of the day, it was highly unlikely that her opinion of the tall blond in front of her was going to change.

”A picnic and a walk sounds lovely, but I must admit that I am not up for horseback riding today. I know that the Malfoy Manor has amazing grounds—ones that I have not seen since I was a young girl, as you well know. It will be nice to see them now, when I know that I can appreciate them.” Astoria smiled politely, smoothing out her skirt and walking towards Draco. She hoped what she had to say next would not spark controversy, but it had to be said. ”I would also appreciate if you did not call me Stori, Mister Malfoy. No one outside of my very immediate family has called me that since I was a little girl, and I would like to keep it that way. If you would like to call me Astoria, I will allow it.” She wanted to roll her eyes at him for saying for old times sake. Astoria had hardly been friends with Draco as a child—she had observed him, and been at the same events as he had many times, but they had very rarely played together. She was the little one, the unnoticed one. He had been far more interested in the children that were his age and with his confident demeanor, such as her sister Daphne. ”I accept your apology, let us put last nights grievances behind us.

word count:: 741
tags:: Draco
outfit:: here!
notes:: ack, Astoria is so annoyed lol

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[draco lucius malfoy]

This was increasingly frustrating for Draco. He tried so hard to impress this girl. He didn’t know what to do anymore. Why didn’t she like him? He could not figure this woman out. He wanted her more then anything because she didn’t want him. How could he convince her that he was the one for her? Apparently he had no luck in this particular area. So she was completely turning him down at every point, and it was so extremely irksome to him. What could he do? How could he do it? He did not know, she didn’t trust him, didn’t want him, yet if his mother asked she did things for her. He did not understand. So perhaps he would ask her? He did not know every time he opened his mouth, she became more irate with him. He irritated her, apparently he was like a bit of sand under her skin in a wound. Ugh, what could he do? How could he court her? He had an idea suddenly, she didn’t seem interested in a picnic, so he skimmed his mind. Daphne had talked about her sister a little bit, she was quite the gossip. Astoria could dance, and she loved ballroom dancing. He had a great ballroom for dancing, and he was an excellent dancer, having lessons with his mum and father many many times. He could practically dance as soon as he could walk. What else had Daphne said? Astoria liked fancy dinners, and champagne. He knew that much, but he had to really strain to think more of what the girl liked. She liked to swim? He had an amazing pool as well. So he’d take her to the ballroom and dance with her, and show her his more regal ettiquette side. He smiled up at her, and decided since she seemed to enjoy passionate speeches he would be honest and passionate with her.

“I do not pretend to deserve someone of your stature, but you must understand Astoria, despite my abilities to be a womanizer, I want to respect you. I would not ask you for a shag, or pretend that is where my interests lie. You are not interested in me, I know this, but allow me to show you the type of devotion I would show someone of your stature. I am very interested in you Miss Greengrass. I want you. I do not deny this. You would not be a possession of mine. All I ask is you to allow me to court you. I am willing to keep your privacy as much as it irks me to not flaunt I am in the company of a woman such as yourself. As I understand it, your sister has mentioned you are quite the dancer, something she is not. I happen to like to dance. Come with me." Draco extended his arm in a courteous manner, leading her to the grand ballroom. He flicked his wand, starting the classical station on the wizarding wireless network. He smiled and extended his hand to her.

“Allow me this dance Miss Greengrass?” He stood there, entering a perfect form to iniate the dance. He would lead, and show her just how spectacular of a dancer he was. “If I could be honest with you, I have been a professional ballroom dancer for many years. My mother entered me in a competitions for several years before Hogwarts. Please do not tell that to anyone, it is a secret I intend to take to my grave. I did pairs with my mother. So alas, I am rather good at it. That is not me having an ego either, it is just a statement of fact.’ Draco smiled at her. “Indulge me in a waltz, my dear?” He was pouring on the romance thick. He wanted this girl to like him.

Tags: Astoria Matilda Greengrass
Muse: Alexisonfire- Rough Hands
Notes: Draco is really frustrated.
Word Count: 643

[astoria matilda greengrass]

Astoria found it completely baffling that Draco would imagine her to be at all interested in him. Didn’t he remember how he had treated her the day before? It had only just happened—how could she have possibly gotten over it already? She wasn’t a goldfish; her memory spanned longer than three minutes at a time. It would take proof that the day before had not been Draco’s usual behavior; proof that he could be a gentleman. It would take a long time before she would even consider trusting the older man with her emotions. Astoria wasn’t one to jump into anything—her friendship with Blaine was proof of that. Anyone else would have tried to date him years ago, but she had not pushed anything, preferring to wait and watch her cards. If she couldn’t find it in herself to pursue her best friend, the person she trusted most outside of her family, how was Astoria expected to trust this man who’s behavior and past had a whole lot stacked against him.

When Draco spoke next, Astoria immediately felt a fierce blush rush over her features. No one had ever said anything like the things Draco was saying to her. She was secretly pleased, of course; what young woman isn’t excited about a man with a reputation giving them a bit of attention. Draco Malfoy could have almost any girl he wanted, and for some reason he wanted her. Her heart was pounding in her throat, but her head was screaming that the whole thing was wildly inappropriate. Who talked about shagging so casually??? Glancing up through her lashes, Astoria willed her blush to calm itself. She probably looked like a foolish little girl. As much as she wasn’t interested in Draco, Astoria didn’t want to ruin the reputation she had of being a lady. Right now, her embarrassed, childish reaction was not holding that reputation well. Willing herself to regain control, the young woman looked up with a demure smile. She felt that responding directly to the speech was pointless; Draco would think what he wanted about the whole thing.

Stepping forward and taking his Arm, Astoria kept her grip casual as she allowed him to lead her through the beautiful mansion. She smiled, closing her eyes briefly as the music began to float over them, “I love this song,” the brunette breathed softly as she fell into a dancer’s perfect form. Astoria loved to dance—everything about it seemed beautiful, romantic, and wonderful. Every move was precise and natural, flowing and perfect at the same time. Feeling giddy, she couldn’t hold back the giggle that escaped her lips from Draco’s story. ”I know,” she replied, tipping her head to the side and looking up at him, ”I competed as well, but we were in different divisions of course, because of our ages. My competitions were always right after yours, and I liked to watch the older kids perform. We weren’t supposed to leave our own rooms, so I used to hide and watch. You were the one of the few kids I actually recognized; obviously my mother couldn’t have paid Daphne to enter one of the competitions.” Astoria was also excited to move up in dance levels; she always wanted to be better, older, more respected.

”I would be delighted, Mister Malfoy,” Sliding gratefully into his arms, Astoria looked up at Draco and imagined that things were different. That they got along, and that she was going along with this whole plan of his. That the night before had never happened, and she could just fall for the romance of it all. Here she was, dancing with a well bred, intelligent, handsome man, and Astoria couldn’t even enjoy it. She felt like she was being teased by this whole experience. Sighing sadly, Astoria leaned in and rested her head on Draco’s chest, falling into the rhythm of the dance.

word count:: 652
tags:: Draco
outfit:: here!
notes:: awwww

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