Neither of them were quite sure how it had started anymore. One day they'd not have known the other even if they'd been staring right at them; the next, they simply couldn't bear to be apart.
They were fire and ice, in the simplest of terms. His bright orange hair contrasted greatly against her own platinum locks, and her icy blue orbs were reflected in the warm brown of his own. If anyone were to look upon them together, they would see nothing but the truest kind of love, and the most ardent of all passions.
No one looked upon them together, though. Not a soul knew, in fact. If word were to get to her parents, all Hell would break loose. Not that it hadn't already. The Second Wizarding War was in full swing, and with the Weasleys marked as blood-traitors, and the Greengrasses following the Dark Lord, a love like theirs would only bring destruction. Like Romeo and Juliet, they were destined to be apart.
None of this mattered to them, though. When the fighting between the warring sides lulled, Fred and Astoria would meet, under the cover of night, and always someplace new. Some nights they would rush into the other's embrace, showing their love with their bodies when words were not enough. On other, more solemn nights, they would simply hold each other, and dream of a future where the war was over; where Astoria was free to be with whomever she chose; where they could finally show their love to the world, no longer having to hide it from prying eyes.
Tonight was one such night. Lying in the ruins of the flat Fred had once lived in with his twin, above the remains of their once thriving joke shop, Astoria buried her face into her lover's chest, breathing in the scent she had come to adore as she whispered against his skin.
"I wish it didn't have to be like this."
Sighing, Fred tightened his arms around her waist, pulling Astoria's warm body closer to him as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I know, Tori. I do too."
They lay still for a few moments more. Chewing her lip, as she often did when worried, Astoria sat up, the blanket they were under falling away. Concerned, Fred propped himself up on one elbow, allowing himself a moment to admire the moonlight on her skin before he spoke.
"Astoria? What's wrong?"
The blonde shook her head almost imperceptibly, the only hint of movement being the shift of her shadow. Confused by her silence, Fred sat up next to her, and was about to take her into his arms before she responded, so quiet that he almost had to ask her to repeat herself.
"... I'm going to break off my engagement with Draco and turn to the Order." She said it in a rather finite tone, as if she'd been thinking it over for months already. Turning her gaze to Fred, her expression read of nothing but determination – a touch of fear, however, lingered in her eyes.
Her statement made Fred pause, surprise evident in the look he gave her. Clearly, he'd not been expecting anything of the sort.
"But... Tori, I thought you couldn't. You went through the contract and said there were no loopho-"
"I lied."
"... What?"
Sighing through her nose, Astoria turned away from Fred, drawing her knees up to her chest and resting her head upon them. "There was one. But I... I didn't tell you because it seemed like the stupidest loophole to ever be put in a marriage contract."
"... W-well. What's the catch, then?" Fred asked after a moment, one eyebrow raised almost incredulously. Honestly, why hadn't the witch told him? It couldn't be that bad, could it?
"It's... proof of adultery. Which seems simple in and of itself, but the proof it wants is that of an illegitimate child."
After she spoke, Astoria closed her eyes and pressed her face into her knees, allowing the silence to speak for itself. Fred, it seemed, had yet to clue in. He sat there, rather stupefied by her meaning, for several minutes until the proverbial gears in his head clicked and he sucked in a sharp breath.
"Y-you mean you're...?"
She gave no verbal response to the inquisition; a simple nod was all she made to affirm his guess.
As if he'd been struck by a stunning spell, all the air in Fred's lungs whooshed out, and he fell back onto the bed with a thump. He lay there, staring at the ceiling, as he slowly absorbed the information.
"... I'm going to be a father."
With a sudden burst of energy from who-knows-where, Fred launched himself to his feet, pulled Astoria up to her own, and swung her around in his arms with an excited whoop of joy. Astoria let out a small shriek of surprise before he planted her back on the ground and covered her lips with his own, and she pulled away with a breathless smile, one eyebrow arched delicately.
"What in Merlin's name was that for?"
"Astoria, you've just made me the happiest man on Earth. What else was I supposed to do?"
Racing down the near-empty halls of Malfoy Manor, the sound of Astoria's heels echoed off the walls and in her ears. Her heart pounding hard enough to leap out of her chest, she skidded to a stop in front of the room where her parents were meeting with Lucius and Narcissa, took a moment to catch her breath, and then knocked sharply on the oaken doors, her face set as steel.
Hearing a quiet "enter" from within, she turned the iron handle and stepped inside. Where she'd expected to see her parents and the Malfoys sipping tea, she was instead confronted with them donning their Death Eater robes and masks, evidently shocked that their sudden visitor was not where she was supposed to be.
Frowning, Mrs. Greengrass shot her husband a look before ushering Astoria out of the room, pulling the door shut behind them.
"Toria, what on earth are you doing here? I told you to stay in the pavilion outside; Salazar knows you could use the fresh air, you've been so peaky lately," the older woman chided her youngest daughter gently, grasping her firmly by the elbow and fully intent on returning her to where she spoke of.
Irritated at being treated like a child, Astoria wrenched her arm out of her mother's and turned to face her.
"I need to speak with you, mother. Please, it's important!"
"Oh, please, not now, Toria. Can't you see we're getting ready to go out? It's finally happening, all tonight!" Mrs. Greengrass spoke with quiet enthusiasm, her usual decorum slipping away in her excitement. Suddenly very afraid, Astoria froze, her facade cracking the slightest bit as she whispered.
"What's happening?"
Confused by her daughter's sudden change in demeanour, Mrs. Greengrass tilted her head.
"Why, the final battle, darling. The Dark Lord has heard news of Potter being spotted in Hogsmeade; we're readying to attack Hogwarts. That's why you and Daphne are to stay here, where it will be safe."
No. No, not tonight!
Without any warning, Astoria turned on her heel and ran, ignoring her mother's shocked cries as she made her way to the nearest fireplace. Pinching a handful of green powder out of the pot on the mantle, she stepped inside and shouted a destination before vanishing in a pillar of green flames.
"Slytherin Common Room!"
Merlin's pants, but Hogwarts was huge! How was it she'd never noticed before how tremendously enormous the place was? Cursing the founders for building such a labyrinthine school, Astoria ran up a set of stairs from the dungeon, wand in hand as she made her way to the Great Hall. She'd heard from other students who'd been fleeing that most of the fighting was located there, and so it was there she was headed.
Surely that was where Fred would be. Back to back with his one-eared twin, firing off spell after spell and keeping himself alive.
With that thought firmly in her mind, she rounded a corner, only to stop suddenly as she spotted him. Surrounded by Order members and Death Eaters alike and holding his own. Astoria breathed a sigh of relief, as she watched him laugh, turning to one of his flame-haired brothers with a smile. He caught sight of her as his head turned, and they locked eyes for a moment that seemed to stop time...
And then the world around them exploded, and Astoria's consciousness went black.
Saint Mungo's was suffocating. All white-washed walls and the smell of antiseptic. The sounds of patients dying and getting while, of their families in tears and joyful.
It was too much for her.
As soon as she was allowed to leave her bed, she took to sitting out in the patient's garden, refusing to be in her room unless absolutely necessary.
Really, it was no longer necessary for her to be at St. Mungo's at all. The mediwizards only kept her there because they feared her threat to herself. And for good reason, too. Some days, it seemed that the promise of being surrounded by the lush greenery in the garden was all that kept her going.
"Miss Greengrass, were you aware that you were eight weeks pregnant?"
"...I'm sorry, were? I am aware, yes, but... why are you speaking in past-tense?"
"... I'm afraid I only have bad news for you, Miss Greengrass." the mediwitch stated, her voice maintaining it's professional tone, yet still with a hint of solemnity. "But the explosion in which you were caught... it was a miracle you survived, let alone as uninjured as you are. An eight-week old fetus, however... well, they're just not cut out for that kind of severe trauma. You've..." the older woman cut off with a sigh, turning to stare instead at Astoria's charts.
"You should notify the father, if you know who and where he is. Could you give me his name? I could help you find him, take some of the burden off your shoulders."
Astoria was silent, and remained so for so long that the mediwitch had to turn to her to make sure she was still alive. The young girl was staring blankly at the wall across from her, a broken look in her mint-coloured orbs.
Registering what the mediwitch had asked, she cleared her throat, and as she spoke, her voice cracked with unshed tears.
"... Fred Weasley."
Blinking back tears, Astoria shook her head, as if to rid herself of the horrid memory. It had been almost a month since the war had ended, and still she was cooped up in the hospital. Every day, a mediwitch and a psychiatrist would visit, for an hour each, making stupid smalltalk and judging her mental stability, deciding for her if she was well enough to be released or not.
Not only had she lost both her unborn child and the man she'd loved, but she'd lost both her parents as well. Daphne was under house arrest for another six months, and until then, Astoria had no one to turn to. She was utterly alone in the world now.
She didn't blame them for keeping her there. But she resented it. She wanted to be let out from this proverbial cage she'd been put in, free to choose whether she was well enough to go or not. Free to choose if she was to meet death or not. It was maddening.
Ripping a daffodil up from the ground and tearing at it's petals, Astoria was completely oblivious to the presence behind her.
"Astoria, darling, you shouldn't pent up all your anger like this. It's bad for your health."
Flinching in surprise, the younger witch snapped her head around, only to see Narcissa Malfoy calmly approaching the stone bench on which she sat. Frowning, Astoria turned back to the flower in her hands, then crushed the remnants and let them fall to the grass.
"Pardon my rudeness, Mrs. Malfoy, but why are you here? The contract with your son was broken off, and I fail to see what else I could offer you."
Narcissa said nothing, simply sitting next to Astoria as demure and poised as usual. She watched her with her head tilted curiously for several moments, then spoke in a soft, comforting tone.
"I want nothing from you, Astoria. I only wish to help you."
At this, Astoria snorted in derision, refusing to look at her companion. "Help me? Why would you want to do that?"
"Astoria, not everyone is out to hurt you. I care for you very deeply. So does Draco. We've both been rather concerned for you these past weeks."
"If that's so, then why haven't you said anything until now?"
"I was... unsure of how to approach you, Astoria," the elder witch murmured, turning to gaze instead at a nearby rosebush. "The staff of St. Mungo's has told me that you've been irritable and moody; of course, you have every reason to be, with all that you've lost."
A sharp intake of breath was Astoria's only response, her shoulders stiffening as Narcissa touched a rather sensitive nerve in her heart. Keeping herself turned away, she refused to speak, instead allowing Narcissa to talk as she liked. Seeing that she would be holding a one-sided conversation, the Malfoy matriarch resigned herself.
"Astoria, I want you to know that no matter your previous transgressions, Lucius, Draco and I would welcome you into our family with open arms. We... well, simply put, we've come to think of you as a part of it already.
"As your parents are no longer with us, however, the decision is completely up to you. There is no longer any need for a contract. You can choose to marry Draco, or... you can choose to find your own path."
Standing from the bench with a sigh, Narcissa brushed off her robes and turned to leave. She paused at the edge of the garden, and although she did not face Astoria, her soft voice carried over to the girl's ears.
"You are not alone in this, Astoria. Even should you choose not to be with my son, I will assist you in any way I can."
Several hours later, still sitting on the same bench that she had been earlier, Astoria finally allowed herself to break. The tears she'd been holding back for so long spilled forth in unending streams, and the silence of the garden was broken only by her anguished cries.