Chapter 4
The Wedding
She could not believe this. What sort of game was fate playing with her?
She stood on one end of the altar, staring coldly at the best-man. He even had the balls to smirk at her. She glanced at her sister, a vision of white and yellow, holding hands with the handsome, dashing and very much evil Blaise Zabini. They were reciting their vows, while she was vowing to make sure that Daphne will not be alive long enough to experience her wedding night.
She heard the other bridesmaids whispering.
"Why does she get to be his date?"
"What was Daph thinking?"
"He will never like her. Did you know she is working for Potter? The Potter? Oh the horror. I pity her family, they must be dying of shame."
The last comment was from Pansy Parkinson. Astoria's hate for Parkinson boiled even more. She had no right to butt her pointy nose into other people's business.
"Being a date entails you to actually interact with your partner, Tori," drawled Best Man, aka Mr. White Robe, aka Draco Malfoy.
"Not if the date happens to be you," mumbled Astoria.
"Really, Tori, I'm not that bad."
"Yes you are," replied she, getting riled up.
"And may I know why you hate me so much?" asked Draco, coldly.
Astoria turned and faced him. Looking straight into his eye, she said, "Because of what you were."
Shocked, Draco took a step back. Astoria took this time to run away.
December 1997
A 15-year-old Astoria was walking down the busy marketplace, in the town of Bardonecchia,Italy. It was the month of December and, already, the festivity of Christmas has started. Snow, covering the cobbled street, seemed to cushion the town-dweller's footsteps. Everything was quiet, yet busy. The marketplace was flocked with people bargaining for their goods.
Astoria, carrying two grocery bags, took a detour down a narrow alleyway and found herself at the edge of the town, away from the festivity. Glaring at her, were the naked branches of a thousand trees. She took a winding stone pathway through the woods and stopped at a clearing. She then raised her wand and, immediately, a bungalow appeared.
"I'm home!" she yelled as she entered through the front door, but there was no answer.
"Mammina! Where are you?" she tried again.
She raced down the corridor into the kitchen, and what she found made her skin go cold. A thin trail of blood led to the backyard.
She felt her heart shatter.
No! my Mammina can't die! , she thought.
She raced to the backyard and followed the blood trail. But the trail didn't stop there; it went all the way into the woods.
She ran like her life depended on it, and kept on shouting for her Mammina.
Then she heard it: a scream. After following the source of the scream, she found herself staring a spectacle that would forever be etched in her mind.
A group rogues circling her wounded and bloodied Mammina, and torturing her.
"Leave her alone!" she yelled.
The group turned. One of the men, who was clearly the leader, said, "Well, look what we have here! Abambina like you shouldn't be out here in the woods."
"I said LEAVE MY MAMMINA ALONE, YOU SWINES!"
"Ah this is mudblood's daughter!"said the leader, laughingly.
"Run Astoria!"shouted Mammina.
But Astoria would not listen. She could not let her Mammina get hurt!
Three of those men stepped towards her. She removed her wand and pointed at them. She sent Stunning Spell towards them, but they deflected it without hestation. Then all of then sent Disarming Spell towards her, and blasted her backwards.
She got up and stepped back, and found herself against a tree.
"Do you know who we are, bambina?" said one of them coming closer.
She spit on his face and said, "That's what you are."
The man did not like being spit. He grabbed her by her hair, and forced her into a kneeling position.
Then the leader came forward and pulled one of his arm sleeves up. Visible against the pale skin was the Dark Mark.
Astoria's blood turned cold. Vengeance soared through her body.
"And do you know who I am?" hissed she. "I am Astoria Greengrass."
The leader raised one of his eyebrows, "A Greengrass, eh? What are you doing here in Italy, living with a mudblood?"
"Because I'd rather die than associate with savages like you!"
That statement irked the leader, who raised his wand to, possibly, kill her. But one of his men stopped him by saying, "Boss, stop. If we kill her the Greengrass's may become angry."
"Fine then, We'll make her pay in some other way," sneered the leader.
Two men held her tightly and harshly.
"Look Greengrass! Pay for what you've done."
Whatever happened next would haunt her in her nightmares for ever…
She had to watch her Mammina being tortured with the Cruciatus Curse and controlled by the Imperius Curse, all the while trying to break free from the rogues. But she couldn't do anything at all. With no wand, no strength, she was helpless…..
"And now the GRAND FINALE!" yelled the leader, laughing with mirth. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Her piercing scream echoed through the dense forest and could be heard from miles, as birds flocked away in fear…
Present Day
Astoria felt a tear roll down her cheeks. She was sitting at the edge of a cliff, watching the sunset. Behind her, somewhere far, her sister's reception party was going on.
A handkerchief appeared in front of her.
"I now know why you hate us so much," murmured Draco's voice, by her ears.
Astoria jumped away from him.
"My presence brought back her memories, didn't it?" he asked, knowingly.
"H-how did you find out?" she asked, wiping away her tears.
"Daphne," replied he.
Astoria turned, and started to walk away, but he caught her arm.
"Look, I am sorry for your loss, but I didn't kill her, so you have no right to be angry," he said, defensively.
"But I do. You see, you joined the cause. And by doing so u completely agreed that what those rogues did was justified!"
"I joined because I thought I would get my family's glory back."
"But you didn't. He treated your family like dirt. He asked a sixteen-year-old to kill the most powerful wizard of his time! That sound glorious."
"I know. And I repented for it."
"You are a coward, you know Draco? You switched sides at the last minute when you realized that you were losing! You-"
But before Astoria could finish her sentence, Draco pulled her towards him and kissed her….. and It was the most delicious kiss she had ever had.
Her lips parted, invitingly. Her hands gripped his blond hair. His hands tightened around her waist. His lips devoured hers with hunger and need. And as the sun set behind them, their desire for each other grew, and they no longer cared for the world…
Then, slowly and gently, he released her from his grip. The rhythmic movement of his lips became more relaxed and less hungry.
Astoria felt his lips move against hers, as he whispered, "Astoria…"
This was the first time he called her by her full first name, and hearing it in his lazy drawl sent a thousand fireworks erupting inn her.
She nearly forgot that she hated him. Nearly.
Now that her head cleared a little, she realized what she was doing. She sprang away from him, like he was something dangerous and scary.
She turned and ran back towards reality, where he would not be able to take advantage of her, and her emotional barrier would be intact.
Draco watched her go, not fully being able to comprehend and justify his actions. He would never snog a girl who was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Hell, he wouldn't even go near such a girl.
So why did he seek her? The answer came to him: for some stupid reason, he felt the need to justify himself and his past to her. He felt the need to make her like him. At first he thought it was because she was the only girl who hated him. But he knew it was more than that. But he didn't know what….
He felt, somewhere inside him, a closed door begging to be opened.