Teacher Appreciation Week- Professor: Lexi (Book of Hope), Pairing: Draco/Astoria

Ye Old Renaissance Festival: Steamed Artichokes- Write about a "prickly" person's softer side and Incense- Prompt: Calming

He was rough. She was soft. He was cold and unimpressed. She was warm and welcoming to everyone. They were eternal soulmates, because these two fit together like a puzzle.

She was his tea, strong and calming. She was so beautiful, but in a subtle way. She boasted about nothing, even though she was as well-off as his family. She was pure and unbroken, her mind not sullied by the Dark side's values, choosing to remain neutral like her sister.

He, however, was arrogant and boisterous. He could be furtive whenever necessary, and looked down upon those who had less than him. He was a combination of both his parents. He was conflicted and shattered. He was fragile, like a glass swan.

Yet she countered every one of those characteristics. She balanced him out in every way. When he was furious, she would calmly endure his rants with a cool stare, and then when he was finished, she would suggest an alternative. The whole time, she would remain steady and poised.

And she, well she was just as imperfect as him. She lost her cool demeanor sometimes, and it took her a while to settle down and listen to reason. That was what he was best at.

And when their baby, Scorpius, was born... she was so frail and weak, and the doctors informed her regretfully that she had cursed blood from an ancestor, and she wouldn't be able to live for much longer. It was he who broke down, and she who provided him consolation.

What didn't help was that rumors surfaced after their beloved child's entrance into the world. They were absurd, so ridiculous, and untrue.

It was advertised that they had gotten ahold of a Time Turner, even though they were all destroyed during his fifth year. According to the media, they had sent her back to the Dark Lord's time, and she and the Dark Lord had conceived a baby, their precious Scorpius.

And when she passed away, he was heartbroken. She was his other half, the side of him that he would always need. He was incomplete without her.

When Scorpius and Potter's youngest son had gone missing, he grudgingly collaborated with the Ministry's efforts to find the two boys. He loved his son of course, but he feared that he was letting her down by losing their son. If he lost Scorpius, he would be nothing. Scorpius meant everything to him.

She glowed, even in death. She watched him from above as he valiantly defended her honor, risking his own dignity. He was so brave, even if he was rough and prickly around the edges.

They were complete as one. They brought out the worst in each other, but that was okay. What compromised for it was that they also brought out the best in each other. They were nothing without each other.

He was Draco, proud, detached, fractured, while she was Astoria, graceful, tranquil, and the one who lost everything. They were meant to be.