A/N: Just the first part of what will probably be a two or three shot about Astoria & Draco… I'm so fascinated by how conflicted Draco is. He's an incredible character and I love writing him… this is my first piece posted though, so please tell if I'm screwing it up. Also, I realize there is some dissention about Astoria vs. Asteria, and I've chosen the former. If you're on Team Asteria, though, power to you. Just please don't hate on my story because of it.

Xoxo

The day Astoria knew she was rightly and truly screwed was the day Amycus Carrow tried to attack Dennis Creevy.

Gryffindor and Slytherin still had their classes together, and Tori had begun to think it was a little bit of a joke, especially considering how they all hated each other. And they all would have attacked each other too had the Carrows not been in charge of detention. And no one—not even the Slytherins—wanted detention with the Carrows.

Astoria kind of reveled in the competition between the two houses—though a little poisonous at times, she really liked competing—she did well, almost every time. But she hated the parts where the Carrows got involved, making everything so serious and painful and making everyone so frightened that there wasn't a safe person in sight unless you were branded with the dark mark. And for all that Astoria's father was, Astoria herself was not. So she drifted along, keeping her head down. She didn't want to be bothered by those overgrown psychopaths anymore than a Gryffindor, as offensive as it was to be put in the same category as those foolhardy spell-happy dorks.

But when Amycus Carrow dragged a bloodied Dennis Creevy into the greenhouse, something snapped inside Astoria. Dennis Creevy was the epitome of harmless, a sweet kid who'd asked her to Hogsmeade their third year, and as close to a friend she got, amongst the Gryffindors. And while she knew—she had to know, she wasn't stupid by any stretch of the imagination—that interrupting would lead her astray from the path of don't-bother-and-don't-be-bothered, she did it anyway.

"Professor Sprout, you have a badly behaved student." Amycus had growled, dragging Dennis in, and Astoria had heard herself gasp a little as she spotted the boy. He had a cut on his temple and a bloodied nose that looked broken and painful. Beyond that, though, was the frightened, dazed expression on Dennis's face. He thought he was going to get himself killed by the Carrows—Astoria saw it written all over his face. And, she realized, he wasn't necessarily wrong. "He was skipping class, thought I'd just… drop him off," Amycus was full out sneering, now, and Tori's eyes darted to the Gryffindors, all of whom looked caught between outraged and panicked. Do something. Tori urged mentally. Do something so I don't have to. Please. "Maybe you'll allow me to do a little extra…" He continued, shoving Dennis against one of the tables and leveling his wand with his forehead, and Tori's heart shattered while Dennis scrambled for his wand, her gaze glancing over the paralyzed Gryffindors once more, realizing, startlingly, that most of them were either muggleborn or had one muggle parent. They couldn't defend a fellow muggleborn or risk their own hides.

Goddamnit they found the one minute they couldn't not be look-before-you-leap fools. Astoria realized.

"Protego!" The word tore from her mouth as she stood up, not even really sure of what she was doing, and the spell collided with Amycus Carrow's side, and he slid sideways into the glass wall of the greenhouse, making the structure groan. A panel of glass fell and shattered on the outside of the green house. A Gryffindor kid—Alexei Krestyanov, Tori wanted to say—finally managed to get his act together and helped Dennis away from Carrow, but, Tori had realized as Amycus Carrow moved from the wall to face her, his eyes narrowed lethally, Dennis wasn't really in danger anymore. "Oh, hell." She said softly. Carrow focused in on her, his gaze flicking first from her green-and-silver tie and Slytherin emblem on her robes before looking up to her face. There were no words as he pushed himself off the wall and stalked around the table towards her. "Expelliarmus," She tried, her fear audible in her voice, but he just made a slashing motion with his wand, a wordless shield spell that undid whatever minor charm she might have been able to summon. He shoved her down against the table, and she winced, turning her head away and gasping for air as his hand moved up to her throat, pressing the back of her neck back against the table and digging her lower back into the edge of the table. He brought his face closer to hers, and for one horrifying second Astoria thought the disgusting creature was going to kiss her.

And then he took her wand.

He threw it into the air and zapped it, leaning on her throat still, and Astoria cried out as much as she could, reaching a hand towards it until he grabbed her wrist—tightly! It would bruise, she already knew it—and pulled her up. He began to pull her out of the classroom after him, and she glanced around frantically at the other kids in the classroom, including Charlotte Avery, her best friend, who looked horrified but remained silent.

"No, Mr. Carrow, let me discipline Miss Greengrass." Professor Sprout had finally found her voice, and Astoria felt a frantic surge of irritation towards the old woman: why hadn't she acted before? Before Astoria had had to be the one to act.

"Sorry, this is a family matter. I'll just tell her father—" Astoria lashed out at this, hitting his arm, and he narrowed his eyes, and an invisible hand closed around her throat. She choked, but knew better than to try to grab the nonexistent hand on her throat: instead she attacked Carrow's face, scratching his cheek with her nails, and she coughed as he cursed, the wordless spell falling away.

"Scared Daddy'll kill you?" He asked her, sneering, after a moment.

"Scared Daddy'll kill you." Astoria elaborated, angry. She knew she sounded brave, though, and she would have felt worse about behaving like a freaking Gryffindor had this not been her displaying loyalty. She was good at being a Slytherin, and that meant loyalty. And Dennis trumped Carrow every day. "That'll take an awfully long time to sort out at the Ministry of Magic…" Astoria had barely even registered the almost silent word his lips had formed before the pain seized her, constricting her veins and making her head feel like it was about to crack open. She crumpled to the ground, screams tearing themselves from her throat, and she couldn't tell if anyone had bristled in her defense. Every painful thought she'd ever had flashed through her mind, every nerve ending in her body felt like someone was holding a match to them. For a few horrible seconds, she thought she would die in the Greenhouse. How incredibly pathetic would that be?

And then it was over, and she could vaguely discern laughter somewhere, though that soon faded.

"Hey, hey, Tors, wake up." Dennis was patting her face, suddenly, his large warm hand patting her cheek, and she turned her head to the side, towards his hand, her eyelids fluttering. She hurt. Good God, she hurt. "Good. Okay, come on, you need the hospital wing." He told her seriously, grabbing her hands and pulling her to her feet, and she tried to remain upright. Dennis lifted her arm around his shoulders, looking for once in his life serious, she noticed as he put an arm around her waist. "Mulciber, help me." He ordered.

"Don't even address me—"

"Not now, Eric." Astoria's friend, Charlotte Avery, fired off. "Help him with Tori and I'll go get Daphne or something." Through her half-open eyes, Astoria could tell that Professor Sprout looked beyond startled, sort of stark white and frightened. "Tori? Babe?" Charlotte asked her gently, and Astoria's head lolled forward, followed by a soft moan. "Damn Carrow." She murmured. "Professor, Eric and Dennis are taking Astoria to Madame Pomfrey, if that's alright."

Tori wasn't sure how it occurred, but before she knew it, she was being laid down on a bed in the infirmary, her sister hovering frantically over her, as well as some other people—Dennis Creevy and his brother, Collin, Eric Mulciber, Charlotte Avery, a few other people. "Hey, hey, Tori, sweetie," Daphne said softly to her, putting a hand on her face. Tori sort of liked that her sister called her sweetie, even thought it emphasized their age difference. "You gotta stay awake, okay?"

"What happened?" That was Draco Malfoy, and somewhere in her head, Astoria had enough complex thought going to ask what he was doing there. She and Malfoy had been friends at one point—oh, ten to eight years ago—but now Draco was running the destruction of their world from his dormitory. What in the name of God was he doing at her bedside when he was the one who'd brought the teacher that had attacked her into the school?

Astoria's sister evidently didn't respond quickly enough, because Draco's voice sounded again. "Daph! What happened to Tori?"

"That damned teacher of yours attacked my sister!" Daphne was practically shrieking, having turned on Malfoy, and Astoria just lay still, too pain-wrought to move. "Your family brought him here and he crucioed my fifteen-year-old sister! She's a fifth year, Draco, and a pureblood!" Daphne had grabbed fistfuls of Draco's cloak and was pushing him backwards, and Astoria's head rolled to one side as she tried to follow Draco's horrified face. She also saw the crazed shaking in the movement of Daphne's shove: Astoria's sister was pissed. "If she's pureblood, then where the hell does it stop, Draco?"

"What are you talking about?" Draco said after a moment, sounding shaken, and Collin Creevy looked solemnly up at Draco. Daphne didn't offer helpful information, just scoffing. "Oy, Creevy! What happened?"

"Professor Carrow attacked my brother and Astoria defended him." Collin admitted, a hint of defensiveness in his voice.

"YOUR DAMN PROFESSOR ATTACKED MY SISTER!" Daphne was screaming now, as Madame Pomfrey bustled up, and poured a cold potion down Tori's throat. It felt soothing, and a pleasant, relaxed feeling spread throughout her entire body, and it allowed her to concentrate on things other than pain—like the panic attack her sister was having. "SHE'S BLOODY FIFTEEN YEARS OLD, DRACO! WAS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED WHEN YOU BROUGHT IN THIS PSYCHOPATH?" Tori's eyes opened fully, now, and she saw Dennis Creevy first, smiling at her a little bit from his spot by her bed.

"Hey Tor." He said softly, and Daphne turned around, and Tori could see now she was crying.

"Oh, thank Merlin," Daphne's words spilled out of her mouth, as she rushed to hug her still lying-down sister, and Tori hugged her back, feeling a little sore. "Tori," Daphne murmured as she smoothed down the younger girl's hair.

"I'm okay, Daph, it's okay." Tori murmured embarrassedly, patting her sister's back. "Carrow's just…" She trailed off as she met Malfoy's horrified gaze with her own embarrassed one. Her sister released her and burst promptly into tears, and Collin Creevy caught her, looking alarmed.

"Um, Daphne, do you want to go get some water with me?" Collin Creevy tried softly, and Astoria's sister nodded frantically dragging the younger boy out of the eyeshot of Astoria, leaving Malfoy, Dennis and Astoria alone.

"Thank you so much." Dennis murmured quietly, and Tori nodded, her lips pressing tightly together, unsure of how to respond. "I'm pretty sure he would have killed me."

"That was what made me act." She acknowledged softly. Malfoy was watching her, and she turned to face the boy that had been such a large part of her childhood—as younger kids, Draco, Daphne and she had played together, but Daph and Draco went to Hogwarts together and left Astoria alone. She still talked to him, sometimes.

"Creevy, I need to talk to Tori." Draco said quietly. Dennis looked at Astoria, and she pursed her lips and nodded once.

"I'm okay." She told him with a tight smile, and he nodded, rising unsteadily to his feet and walking away from her. Astoria waited while Draco watched Dennis leave before turning to her, and leaning on the base of her bed.

"You okay?" He asked lowly, looking sincere.

"Had to have everyone leave before you showed emotion?" Astoria murmured, glaring up at him. "Come on, Draco. Everyone knows it was your father who brought in the Carrows, you who brought in the death—" Draco leapt forward to cover her mouth with his hand, and Astoria winced in pain at the rough handling, and he pulled away immediately, looking almost apologetic.

"Did he really crucio you?" Draco asked, his voice still low. Astoria nodded, and Draco cursed under his breath, his gaze on her face. "Merlin." Draco murmured after a moment. "Tor, I'm… you weren't supposed to get hurt." He murmured, almost to himself—and Astoria sighed. She saw Draco panicking. And she'd known him well enough that she knew he was about to start getting angry to defelct. "You defended that Creevy kid, though—why the hell—"

"He's a friend." Astoria said quietly, raising an eyebrow defiantly. Draco scoffed.

"Tori, he's a mudblood." Draco said emphatically.

"Draco." Astoria said with a whithering glare. "I've known Dennis for years." She paused. "I'm not a muggle-lover or anything, but Dennis is a friend."

"He's a mudblood, he's going to get his ass imprisoned before the end of the year—" Draco sounded angrier than I knew he felt.

"Oh shut up, I know your dad set something in motion and he doesn't care who it tramples, including you." Astoria retorted. Draco stared at Astoria, stunned into silence.

"Don't talk about my dad." Draco said finally after a moment, but the admonishment was half-hearted. Astoria sighed, studying the blond boy before her before she scooted over on the bed, making room for him but not beckoning him over. Draco took that upon himself, oozing that kind of fake confidence that Astoria saw right through.

Draco sank down on the bed beside her, his arm slipping around her shoulders, and she tried not to stiffen in surprise at how close they'd gotten. In fact, Astoria realized, Draco's warm presence was quite soothing to her aching limbs, and she leaned back against his chest, her head tucking beneath his chin easily. "Are you alright?" He murmured. "Because you know this was never supposed to happen."

Astoria sighed to herself. She did know that. She knew Draco hadn't meant for things to be this way; she knew that above all, Draco was scared rather than evil. She'd known him too long for him to be evil without her knowing that. But he'd let it slide too far out of control now—the Carrows, Snape. Harry Potter and company were on the run, kids Astoria knew had disappeared, Dumbledore had died. Things were falling apart and she knew that at the end—however this ended—the Malfoys would not come away scot free.

So Astoria just closed her eyes and leaned back against the boy who was responsible for the destruction of her entire school.

The battle was over.

It'd been long, and bloody, and more than once Astoria had had to pledge her nonallegiance to the Dark Lord to keep the Gryffindors from killing her. She had stayed behind—secretly, as so many in her year had—not out of bravery but of an overwhelming need to check on Draco, who she knew couldn't leave. She was reminded of something she'd heard of that had happened with muggles—when the Titanic, a ship with thousands of people on it, had gone down, the captain had stayed on board instead of pushing his way onto a lifeboat. He'd gone down with his disastrous creation.

And if Astoria knew Draco, she knew he'd play the same card.

She passed what seemed like an impossible amount of destruction, passing the Weasleys, mourning over an older, brunette man, and Fred Weasley, a boy who'd left school her third year. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were there as well, she knew, but she didn't care about or like either of them, so she just plowed forward, passing Dennis, who was kneeling beside the body of—oh, God, that was Collin. Astoria was still driven forward though, and finally was outside, in the main courtyard, where a temporary Auror Department Head Quarters had been set up, beside an infirmary. She saw Death Eaters, hoods thrown back and masks removed. She even saw her father across the yard, but the man was just weeping, too pathetic for words. Astoria couldn't see him in the condition so she continued to scan the courtyard. He wasn't here, either, so she swept back into the great hall, which had filled with yet more people.

And then she saw him.

He had a bandage on his arm and a budding bruise on his cheekbone that implied being punched, but he was wonderfully alive. He was sitting with his parents, silent and even awkward, had the word not been so totally out of place in this room full of grief and (final) celebration. She tore down the side of the Great Hall and practically leapt at him, wrapping her arms around him tightly, tears already springing from her eyes, partially of relief, partially of exhaustion. Draco pulled her flush against him, pressing his face into her hair, and Astoria just sobbed, shaking with her tears of exhaustion and fear unfounded.

"I thought…" She whispered fearfully into his shirt, her hands grabbing the cloth. "I thought the Ministry had you." She pulled back, swiping at her face, embarrassed at her tears. Draco was unusually pale-faced, his eyes wide, his sleeves rolled up—she saw the Dark Mark on his arm, and she forced herself not to recoil.

"They will." Draco said in a low voice, sounding resigned and miserable. "They will, Tor—I'm surprised they didn't just grab every Slytherin kid they saw, and they haven't even come for us yet even though—Potter knows enough to put us away for a while, Tori—"

Astoria didn't say anything, her gaze instead focusing on the large black man who had just entered the Great Hall. She knew he was an Auror—she'd seen him during the battle. She saw his gaze land on the Malfoys and herself, saw him began to approach, and she just wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and tugged him down for a kiss, steeling herself for what was about to happen. She lost herself, for just a moment, sheer electricity replacing her blood, and she pressed herself against Draco, his hands sliding to her back and holding her against him—until Draco released her glancing behind him with a vaguely irritated expression. It was replaced by a terrified one, though, for a moment, before he released Astoria, stepping back from her, and Draco held his hands behind his back obediently. The auror behind him tapped his wrists with his wand, turning Draco and pushing him in the vague direction of where his father and mother were both standing. Astoria wrapped her arms around herself as she watched her Draco be led away by the law enforcement officers, and she ran a miserable hand down the side of her face, heaving a deep breath.

Draco was reaping the consequences he'd set up for himself, Astoria knew.

She just wished they weren't quite so hard.