Authors Note: This is a Songfic submission for the Twin Exchange forum! Please read and review!
The walls start breathing & my mind's unweaving. When darkness turns to light,
A weight is lifted on this evening,
& I give the final blow.
It ends tonight,
It ends tonight.
Astoria Greengrass was a Slytherin through and through, and some might say that was because she appeared to be the very stereotypical definition of the perfect Pureblood daughter. She was well educated, well groomed, and so very well behaved. She never stepped a toe out of line, only spoke when spoken to, and she readily agreed with every dark and twisted opinion in her house with a smile and a nod.
If anyone were to actually ask Astoria, however, she would quietly remind them that not all those placed in Slytherin are done so because their souls are tainted and their hearts dark. No, the members of the Slytherin House were cunning and intelligent, and the Sorting Hat saw just how resourceful they were. He saw that they were ambitious and that they bore leadership qualities. She was all of these things, of course, but mostly what the Sorting Hat had seen in Astoria on her first day at Hogwarts had been her honed skill for self-preservation. A skill she wouldn't have had without the help of her sister.
While Astoria had been blessed with the undeniably beautiful physical features that all of the Greengrass women seemed to have, she had rather unfortunately been overlooked when it came to their lack of backbone or moral compass. But where biology had failed, her older sister Daphne was only too happy to step in and teach. She could see, even early on, that Astoria housed a fire inside of her that was so very different than everyone else they knew. She could also see that it wasn't a good thing in their community, and she made sure that Astoria was aware of it too. Daphne made it a point to show her baby sister exactly what would happen to her if she so much as spoke out against their father or the values he attempted to instill in his daughters. Above all else, though, Daphne made sure that Astoria's spirit was kept alive, because she knew that if it were ever actually put out completely that Astoria would break, and despite the fact that she didn't agree with her younger sister's opinions, she loved her all the same. So, Daphne Greengrass did the only thing she could to keep her sister safe- she taught Astoria how to survive in the world they were born into. She taught her innocent, yet to be corrupt, sister how to lie.
By the time the Final Battle came around Astoria had built her entire life on a pile of lies. She had surrounded herself with them, protecting herself with a thousand tiny and well placed untruths- most of which were just assumptions made by those around her. Astoria appeared to be the quiet, reserved sixteen year old witch who was going to make the perfect wife for Draco Malfoy in less than two months time, an arrangement that she was just so thrilled to be a part of.
Until Hogwarts was overtaken, and Astoria and her sister found themselves in the halls, trying desperately to avoid actually killing anyone- or being killed. She and Daphne were scrambling around a corner, hands locked, when an explosion tore them apart. Astoria slammed into a wall, her vision going for a moment. When she came to she could hear laughter, something so out of place in a situation like this. Daphne pulled her to her feet and they came around a corner, coming face-to-face with Fred and Percy Weasley, the Golden Trio just steps behind them. Everyone stopped for a moment, and Astoria could see them taking in their drawn wands and their Slytherin robes.
Someone behind the group caught her attention, a Death Eater who thought he had the perfect opportunity to take out a few key members of the war. He raised his wand, spouting off a curse, and Astoria didn't even think- she just shouted a counter curse, deflecting his attack and sending it off course, causing an explosion that seemed to shake the entire castle. The intended victims were all sent to the ground, but it was nothing compared to the damage that would have occurred had someone not stepped in.
"You filthy blood traitor!" he screeched, his previous targets forgotten in his blind rage.
Clawing at her arm, Daphne screamed, but Astoria just shoved her older sister behind her. The Death Eater got half the killing curse out of his mouth before Astoria raised her wand and shouted, "Deprimo!"
The curse, which was traditionally used to blast holes through objects, did just that through the Death Eater's torso. He fell to the ground, blood gushing, with a thud. Astoria just stood there, along with everyone else, staring for a few beats. Her jaw had dropped slightly- she had never so much as said an unkind word to someone other than her sister before today, and she had just murdered someone in such a bloody manner without so much as batting an eye. And for what- people she had never even spoke to? It was Daphne who pulled her out of her stupor.
"Come on, Astoria, we have to go!" she jerked the younger Greengrass backwards, "If someone sees us- if they know that you did that- they'll kill you! We have to go!"
"Wait!" Fred called out, and Astoria looked over at him, "Come with us!"
"You just protected the Boy Who Lived and his friends!" Daphne gripped Astoria's pale cheeks in her hands harshly, once again making sure that her baby sister knew exactly what was going on, "If anyone finds out that you killed a Death Eater in defense of them he will tear you apart limb from limb- you know that! He will offer you up to the Dark Lord on a silver platter, Astoria! We have to go before anyone finds out. Please!"
Astoria couldn't tell you if it was the mention of her father or the absolute and pure fear in her sister's eyes that made her nod her head, agreeing to whatever it was that Daphne was asking of her in that moment. She glanced over at Fred again, but his brothers were dragging him away just as her sister was yanking her down the corridor as well.
It didn't matter, though, because both Daphne and Astoria knew that in that moment everything had changed. Astoria could no longer be the discreet and compliant little girl she had been able to pretend she was for the last sixteen plus years. The truth was out: Astoria Greengrass, Pureblood Slytherin, was an absolute, complete and utter blood traitor- and judging by the liberated smile on her face, she didn't mind one bit.