Chapter 1- Set Me Free

Disclaimer: I have not ever owned Harry Potter, I do not own Harry Potter, and I won't ever own it either.

(A/N: There are a few things that I have changed about Draco and Astoria for this story; they have two kids, a boy and a girl. Scorpius is two years older than his sister Emily. Astoria is in the same year as Draco at Hogwarts. Daphne and Astoria are cousins, Daphne is Astoria's uncle's daughter and Astoria has an elder brother Orion who is in Fred's and George's year.)
UPDATED- 14 June, 2015

Escaping reality, that's all I want to do. I have no other choice, I can't breathe anymore. My eyes… what's wrong with them?! I can't see anything. Everything appears to be hazy. Seems quite surreal to me. The sole purpose of me posing as a good person does not exist anymore. What should I do?

Before I realized it, a dense fog started to enclose my body. I felt the ground under my feet shift. And suddenly, I was falling. The smell of burning flesh reached my nostrils as I fell further and deeper into the ground and then I finally hit the surface, hard. I could clearly hear the sound of my bones breaking due to the huge impact but there was absolutely no pain. Like my body was high on pain numbing potions or anecdotes.

And then it hit me! The throbbing pain, that I sensed, was enveloping me completely. It was like the Cruciatus curse all over again. I couldn't hear my own screams… tears rolling down my cheeks. Was this my end?!

I heard a spell being cast a few meters away. I tried looking in that direction only to have my eyes blinded by the strong light and then…

Draco groaned, using his palm to cover his eyes from the bright light coming from the window. His eyes immediately popped open and he sat up on the bed, looking around the room. He let out sigh as he realized all that was just a dream. He ran his hand through his hair and turned towards Astoria's side of the bed to wake her up and tell her about his scary nightmare. Surprisingly, she wasn't there. He let out a yawn as his eyes darted towards the calendar kept on the nightstand. It was the 25th of December, the year 2025. He turned to look out of the window, his eyes were now adjusted to the brightness of the room, and noticed the sky covered with dark grey clouds. Everything was covered with snow, beautiful snow. It was one of those cold winter mornings when one wishes to stay in bed, all day long.

Draco shook his head, pulling the blanket up to his neck, loving the comfort of his warm blanket. He again looked towards the empty bedside and wondered where his wife went that early in the morning. He sighed once again and closed his eyes, concentrating on the silence of the moment. Only a few seconds passed, to be precise, when he heard the squeals of Astoria coming from downstairs.

"Astoria!" he called, "What are you doing at this time?"

Nothing. No response whatsoever. "Astoria!" He cried once again. The lack of attention he was getting by his own wife was annoying him.

The bedroom door opened and Astoria walked in, her hair was all wet and she was wearing a loose Puddlemere United shirt along with pajamas. She rolled her eyes comically when she saw Draco. She grinned, walking towards her side of the bed and climbing up before grabbing Draco's cheeks and pulling them affectionately. "You look like a dumpling. So cute!"

"What are you doing up so early in the morning?" he asked, grabbing her hand and pulling her close to himself.

She gaped at his oblivious attitude and spat, "What is that supposed to mean? It's Christmas, you idiot! I woke up, prepared the cookie batter, left it in the oven and then came up to take a nice, refreshing bath. Then I went downstairs again and had just taken the cookies out of the oven when…"

"When you realized its way too early to do all that?!"

"No!"

"Astoria, it's a holiday. And you know very well, what we both enjoy doing on holidays," Draco said, trying to charm her with his million-pound Malfoy smile.

"Sleep till noon," she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Exactly! Aren't you an intelligent little butterfly," he said, nodding.

"I am a bee and if you don't get up, I will sting you!" She snapped, pecking him on the lips.

"Wait," he said, pulling her back when she was about to get up. "Don't you feel cold? More than half the back of your shirt is wet because of your hair. By the way, it's gotten pretty long. Might just reach your hips in a few months."

"Oh," she said, "It's okay, I'll trim it."

"Yeah… Also, I had a nightmare," he mumbled more to himself but Astoria heard him.

She raised her eyebrows and looked at him curiously, "You're telling me as if it's a normal phenomenon! Although, that's odd. Do you want to start taking the dreamless potion again?"

"No. It was actually quite stupid. Don't worry… I may have died in it, though."

"What the hell is wrong with you?! How can you take this so lightly?"

"Everyone has them once in a while. Its not that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal?!" She almost screamed. "Don't you remember how much you suffered because of them…!"

"Its fine," he said, cutting her off. "By the way, Happy Christmas," he said kissing her.

"Happy Christmas... You really piss me off with that carefree attitude of yours regarding your nightmares!"

"You should be happy that I am this calm. Plus, stressing myself out over something so pathetic is a waste of my time."

"It won't be so pathetic once you find yourself crying in my arms again," she snapped, glaring angrily at him.

"I not that weak. Yes, I agree I did have a breakdown and you promised you won't ever mention that in front of my father because I have a reputation to uphold."

Astoria rolled her eyes and said, "Fine. By the way, I came up to tell you that Scorpius and Emily are waiting for us downstairs...!"

"Seriously?!" Draco asked, finally getting up from the bed.

"Now that's the enthusiasm I have been waiting for! Yay for Dragon! But what about the nightmare?!" she exclaimed, jumping down the bed as well.

"We'll take about that later. I want to meet Scorpius and Emily!"

"But… take a bath first, you stink."

"Astoria, a Malfoy doesn't stink," Draco stated proudly.

She glared at him with a don't-mess-with-me expression and said, "I didn't know that the Malfoy's were born with bad noses."

He stared at her with a blank expression before saying, "I will try to forget what you just said and am now going to take a bath. Wanna join?"

"What are you? A pervert?!" she spat, her cheek tinged red. "Go away before I stun you."

"Fine," he said, ruffling her hair before running away.

After having a quick bath, Draco ran downstairs to find his family of three laughing at something.

"This seems like a dream… probably because your mum changed out of that hideous shirt."

"Dad, Merry Christmas!" Scorpius and Emily cried upon seeing their father. He moved to hug them together.

"For your kind information, I really like that shirt," Astoria said, looking at Draco, Emily and Scorpius lovingly.

"Sure," all three of them said together before bursting into a five-minute long unstoppable laugh.

Breakfast was filled with laughter and discussion about future career planning. Each one was telling about the interesting or new things happening in their lives. After Hogwarts, Scorpius had decided to take up the offer at the Nimbus manufacturing unit. Not only was he supposed to learn about the initial steps of the preparation of a broomstick but had to work with the design department and study for exams as well. Though as it was his first year as an intern, he was merely there for observing. Emily, on the other hand, was scouted in her final year at Hogwarts and was now a trainee in the National Quidditch team of England. If she continued to play as fiercely as she did as a beater, she would be able to beat all of her competitors and qualify to play in the team, officially.

They all suddenly turned to look out of the kitchen window when they heard the screech of an owl. The beautiful owl flew inside and perched itself next to Astoria who immediately saw a letter attached to its leg. She untied it carefully, as Scorpius brought some treats and water for the little guy, and read the parchment.

"I have to go to the Ministry," she declared, standing up abruptly once she finished reading the letter, scaring the owl.

"What happened? Is there an attack somewhere?" Emily asked, panicking.

"Ah, no! I actually received a package and it got delivered at my desk in the Ministry. So I have to go retrieve it otherwise they'll throw it away."

"Can't they send someone?" Draco asked.

"No," she said, handing him the letter. "It's Christmas, everyone wants to go home. I have to do it on my own. Don't worry, I will be back in an hour," she said, running upstairs to get her snow boats and coat.

As she came down, breathlessly, she saw all three of them standing near the entrance waiting for her. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"We're obviously coming with you, mum. Its Christmas, we have to stay together," Emily said.

"She is right," Scorpius nodded.

"Yes. Listen to your children, Astoria," Draco said.

"No. If all three of you tag along, I won't be able to get any work done. You all need to sit here and enjoy. I will go, get the package and then take a quick detour to Diagon Alley. I forgot to buy some ingredients for the chicken and apple pie," she stated truthfully.

"You forgot to buy apples, didn't you!" Draco said, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Obviously!" she spat.

"But then, what will we do without you?" Scorpius questioned, scratching his head. "We can't do anything Christmassy."

She thought for a few seconds and said, "Talk to your father…"

"Eh?!" Scorpius said. "About what?"

"Well… Oh, Draco had a nightmare... A bad one."

"Astoria, it wasn't that bad. I am completely fine," he said, shaking his head.

"Shush...! Your father, from the time he was in his late teens to his late twenties, suffered due to the constant nightmares. Basically they evolved about the time when the second Wizarding took place. Even I went through that. It took a lot of effort from either of us to stop them but now… I don't want your father to be traumatized by them again. Why don't you both help him? Our nightmares tend to become much more nerve wrecking when we are stressed. Maybe sharing his feelings will lessen it. That'll make you feel better."

"What?! No, Astoria. They are kids. They won't understand anything," Draco snapped. "It's related to things from our past. You both don't have any idea about how difficult it was. Nightmares like this… they used to be an everyday affair for me. Yes, they have lessened now but…"

"Don't you trust us?" Emily asked, followed by Scorpius who nodded.

"We are here to help. And you never told us about the war. Maybe its time we understand you more and know more about your role in the war. The reason why you were a certain way and held certain tabooed views. We'll respect you even more if you confide in us," Scorpius stated.

"Oh, I raised such cool kids. I think I am going to cry," Astoria said, fanning her face.

Draco ran his fingers through his hair a few times before sighing and nodding in defeat. "I trust both of you. Promise me that you won't hate me," Draco said, taking his right hand pinky finger and extending it towards them to make the pinky promise.

"Promise," they said, making the vow by entwining their pinky fingers together.

"I have a cute family, I can just sit and watch you all, all day long," Astoria exclaimed.

Draco sighed, happily and said, "Get out Astoria."

"You are throwing me out of my own house?!" she exclaimed.

"Just go, get the work done and return home. Then you can sit and watch us or whatever else you want to do," Draco stated.

"Fine. I am only going to listen to you this time. But always remember Draco Lucius Malfoy, I am make you pay if you utter some kind of pathetic nonsense about me, got it," she said in her singing voice.

"Yeah-yeah. You know, saying it like that doesn't scare me one bit?... Have a safe trip," he said, opening the door for her.

"I will… also, no matter what you do, don't tell them anything too gruesome," she whispered, glancing at Scorpius and Emily.

"I won't." He kissed her once before she apparated away. He closed the door and walked towards the sofas, which were now occupied by Scorpius and Emily. They were looking at him eagerly, waiting to hear the truth after so long.

He sat down on the chair opposite to them hid his face with his hands. He took a few long, deep breaths before looking up and saying, "Okay. Lets get this over with. So where should I begin from?"

"The very beginning," Scorpius said.

"The very beginning you say. Alright then," Draco said.

Please do leave a review and tell me what you think of the first chapter. (^_^)