The beginning of the end of the world takes place on a Thursday.
...
Draco Malfoy has shadowed eyes and angry purple bags under his eyes. That's the first thing Astoria observes as they all crowd into their compartment—Blaise, Pansy, Daphne, Theo, Tracey, Vincent, and Gregory.
They flit around aimlessly, those grey eyes, until they catch her staring. "What are you looking at, Greengrass?" Draco hisses quietly, and Astoria doesn't miss the way he tugs at his sleeves while he glares at her in disgust.
Behind them, Daphne is sitting on Theo's lap, giggling at Pansy's latest comment while exchanging exasperated looks with Tracey. Blaise and Theo are whispering, shoulder-to-shoulder, while Vincent and Greg are arm wrestling, more bulk than brains.
Astoria does not look away, does not get distracted by the noise of the busy compartment. Those are all childish moments, but this is something far darker bubbling in the background. "Your eyes. You look tired."
"Leave me alone and look away, Greengrass," Draco snaps, turning to join the boys pointedly. "I'm perfectly fine without your damn help."
Astoria shrugs, turning to press herself against the glass of the compartment and this time, her eyes land on Lovegood, Longbottom, and the female Weasley, wands in hand and eyes glowing, already fighting with some people with curved smirks and soon to be hidden and marked inner arms.
She can't tear her eyes away this time either. To watch the beginning of a tragedy bloom is a grotesque thing.
...
Once upon a time, years ago on the first train ride to Hogwarts, the sisters had fought about something now lost to history and Daphne had pulled herself up to her full height, sneering, and said, "You're no Slytherin and no sister of mine."
The punchline is, Daphne had been wrong on both accounts. Astoria is both, a Greengrass and a snake in waiting, striking only when she decides the risk and the consequences will be worthwhile.
...
There is no light in Hogwarts anymore. The Carrows have made sure of it and as Astoria sits at the Slytherin table for the Welcome Feast, it only gets worse. Silence hangs in the air like a haunting last note of a death march, and Slytherin is the only table where smiles still stay on faces, no matter how fake they are. If there is one thing a Slytherin knows how to do, it is lying and pretending. When you keep a mask on for long enough, it becomes real.
If the past years have been bad, and they have—possessed teachers with dark desires, Death Eaters walking the sacred halls meant for learning, prejudice rampant in the sneers and whispers turned into threats—then this year is the climax.
When Astoria flinches at the Carrow's speech — no matter how many mannerism lessons she attends, it is impossible to beat humanity out of yourself — Daphne mouths, "Stop embarrassing yourself."
Say what you want, but Astoria does not believe having honour is embarrassing. She doubts her sister believes it either, but there is only room for one traitor in a family and Astoria will protect her sister, regardless of what it takes.
...
In the Slytherin common room, where light never reaches and kids are known for the empires they want to create, Astoria watches. She watches Daphne flirt with Theo about their upcoming engagement, the way Pansy breaks apart at the seams as she gets louder and louder, trying to fill up the empty space, the way Vincent and Gregory fall slowly in love, the way Draco begins to flinch even more at even thquietestet of noises noise. Blaise and Tracey go upstairs one night and don't come back till the morning, tired but glowing with barely-suppressed happiness.
Life is going on, regardless of how dark the world is, and Astoria knows that she cannot watch this her entire life. Nobody can save the world; Astoria isn't enough of an idealist to deny that, but there is an ever-growing part of her that is willing to become a vigilante if it means protecting people more naive from this, and a Slytherin rarely ignores their ambitions.
…
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
...
In the end, it is Ginevra Weasley that Astoria looks for, with her fiery red hair and wild eyes. Ginevra, unlike the rest of the Gryffindors, has dark magic hanging around her like a shield, like a sword, like a puzzle no one can solve. Astoria does not know what caused a Weasley to turn to the darkest of powers but there is desperation hanging in the air and Astoria thinks she will learn sooner than later, and she doesn't think she will judge her for it. In a world this dark, it falls to every person to make use of what and who they are capable of being.
"Ginerva." Astoria drops all her books in the Charms corridor near the girl, pretending to be engrossed in the action of picking them back up. It is an old play, an uncreative one, but it was like a charm every time.
The other girl, for her part, does not flinch at her name being called by a child of two Death Eaters. She sits proud, pretending to be busy reading her book, and while a confused look hints at the edge of her brows, it is gone almost as soon as Astoria spots it.
"Yes?" The whisper is almost a hiss. Astoria is reminded inexplicably of Daphne and shakes her head to clear the thought. Daphne would never put her life at stake for anyone but herself or Theo, while Ginevra beats herself dry for a rebellion most do not dare believe in. There are many ways here to be brave.
Astoria stops pretending to collect the books for a second, does not move. There is a finality in this, in choosing a side and knowing you will bear the weight of your decisions regardless. "How would you feel about having a spy on the inside?"
Ginevra does not pause in her movements, flipping a page idly. "Are you offering? Because there's no going back if you become one. The Carrows will kill you on the spot in they catch you, and if you betray me, I promise I'll do the same."
"Yes." Astoria waits a beat before continuing. "But I have conditions that are non-negotiable. I can only be as valuable as you let me be."
And Ginevra—a dirt-poor Weasley, a rising hero, Harry Potter's girlfriend—smirks down at Astoria, a future heiress and member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, like she is not offering a deal that could change the tides of the revolution her fellow students are planning. "I'm listening, Greengrass. You have the next minute to convince me."
There are a lot of things Astoria can say, so many excuses on her tongue. Grabbing the rest of her books, she slides into the spot next to Ginevra, her mouth barely moving as she too pretends to read. "I'm a Slytherin. If the Dark Lord wins, I will get to live. I'm a pureblood, a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, and I would most likely be forced into a loveless marriage with a person I barely know to ensure the next generation of pureblood children."
Ginevra doesn't even lift an eyebrow in pity. "You'll live," she says carelessly, flipping her hair back on her shoulder so it hits Astoria on the way. "Give me a reason why I should trust you enough to let you spy for me."
There is the route of reminding Ginevra that this isn't a choice, but Astoria knows pride. Gryffindors die for their morals and they die fighting, with or without spies. Ginny and all those behind her would burn the world before betraying their cause.
Instead, Astoria thinks about her family and the way their prejudice tastes like vile on her tongue. She thinks of stolen sunsets and Hogwarts illuminated by the stars as she sits on the ledge of the Astronomy tower. The Dark Lord wants to steal all the light from her world but she won't let him.
"I will live both ways, regardless of who get better, or worse, depending on your point of view, " Astoria counters softly, her voice passionate with all the things she cannot lose and all the things she wants to live long enough to see. There is nothing she needs more than for Ginevra to believe her, to know this is no catfish. "But it doesn't mean I can't have my preference. Some people care too much. I think it's called love, and I'm one of them. I'm willing to offer my life for the sake of this world."
And for the first time since the conversation started, Ginevra looks her in the eyes. Astoria wonders if her eyes look haunted like that too, if she looks too old for this world. Is that what this world does to people like them, to lost girls and wild ones.
"Welcome to the rebellion." Ginevra tears off a paper and scribbles something on the edges, her handwriting scribbled but legible. "I have an oath for you to say and you can list me your conditions, Astoria Greengrass. See you tonight."
The paper has a location on it and something like hope blossoms in Astoria's stomach. Maybe, just maybe, she stands a chance to help save the world before it becomes unworthy of saving at all.
...
Written for:
Careers Advice Assignment: 1: Write about a protector
Film Festival: Character - Princess
TV Addicts: Reasons Why -(dialogue) "Things get better, or worse, depending on your point of view," (word) disturbed, (word) confessions
Gobstones: Pink - Sacrifice, (trait) Kind, (trait) Paranoid, (word) Exile
Scavenger Hunt: Write a gift fic for one of the following people: Shay (ipsa dixit of Gryffindor)
Character Appreciation: Organisation: Dumbledore's Army
Disney Challenge: Kanga - Use the dialogue, "Some people care too much. I think it's called love."
Amber's Attic: 9. I suppose I love this life, in spite of my clenched fist. (5 bonus points)
Book Club: Chad Mulligan: (trait) kind, (plot point) performing a good deed, (action) searching for someone
Showtime: Bright New Day - write about being hopeful for the future
Days of the Month: Unicorn Day - Write about something rare
Count Your Buttons: (character) Astoria Greengrass, (word) catfish
Lyric Alley: A phantom limb is all that I am hanging on
Ami's Audio Admirations: 9. The Dark - Word: Vigilante
Sophie's Shelf: The Ingenue - Write about an innocent female.
Lo's Lowdown: Theme: Heroes
Easter Bingo: Word: Flawed
Make An Easter Basket: Crayons: (plot point) someone showing their true colors
Guess the name: Sherlock - Draco
Medium Pinata: Angst
Auction Challenge: (dialogue) "Leave me alone."