Book 4: Astoria Greengrass and the Curse of Quennell Park
Song rec: "Ode to My Family" by The Cranberries
On the edge of the Bromyard Downs sat a big white farmhouse without a single enchantment left on it. It stood in the cooling sky with a shattered window and the dead dreams of a family yet to grow. The Dark Mark floated faintly over the roof, sure to stand out at night to those who could see it. Theodore took it down with Professor Sinistra's spell without being asked to.
Astoria hoped that she and Theodore's haste would not diminish the sanctity of a scene of so much loss. Gracie's grandfather, Bob, lay maimed and purple next to a television still playing loud. Renshaw was broken all wrong at the foot of the stairs, Gracie not far from him. It was not the same as when Stretton had been there like Astoria had seen through her mind. It was seventeen hours worse.
Astoria wondered about the lives of people who had to clean up scenes like this daily, because she crumbled, unable to look away from their ugly clay skin and grotesque positions. Theodore certainly wasn't fond of it, but he had at least never met these people alive.
"Would it be all right to Transfigure them?" he asked.
"Please," Astoria cried.
His choice to Transfigure them into soft, red poppies was at once beautiful and cutting. They were disturbingly larger than the normal plant and quickly became difficult to differentiate from one another. Astoria prayed silently before her fingers touched the flowers; she held Renshaw and Gracie in one hand and Mr Bob Page in the other. The television sang something about chewing gum until Theodore turned it off with a blast from his wand. He flung the Death Eaters that Gracie had shot into the brambles behind the property to rot alone. Theodore Apparated Astoria to Penhurst, the resting place of all Greengrasses.
The sun cast its last rays into the remaining shards of broken stained glass at Astoria's church. She and Theodore stepped on the lonely grass toward the sleep of a great uncle neither she nor Renshaw had ever known. The tombstone of Squib's rights activist, Calhoun Greengrass, read November 1968. It had been some time, but he would welcome Renshaw home. Theodore opened three small beds down from the plot, where Astoria buried the flowers in silence. Theodore conjured a stone. Astoria asked him not to put their names on it lest the Lestranges return to the site and discover that they had been there.
"What do you want me to engrave?"
Astoria followed the pace of Theodore's spell, saying, "'They cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents; but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.'"
Theodore did a lovely job with the engraving. He was Wizarding Pagan and had his own customs, so Astoria invited him to make tribute, too, since he had helped so much. Into the stone he etched runes of a divine protectress. Astoria had no idea what they meant but knew they were respectful.
"My family always cremates," he then said bluntly over the site. "I guess not everyone does since the Muggles burned witches. I thought some Wizarding Christians started cremating because of the threat of necromancers, so it's a little surprising for me to see a graveyard of this size."
Astoria was beyond flabbergasted at his choice of a topic.
"My family buries out of humility to the Earth."
"Right. Sorry."
Theodore seemed confused at her strong reaction. Astoria didn't hold it against him. How could she? He had been more than willing to bring her here; he was just socially incompetent. But he was perfectly Theodore-ish, her true friend and consolation. It was a rather pitiful funeral, but they had to Apparate back to his house as soon as possible. Theodore had placed so many barriers and shields on the place that they arrived outside in spite of them being the only two at the house. As he was unweaving the spells, Astoria could not help but step to the side of the house to see the ocean. Putting its gentle sounds with a beautiful view briefly distracted her from the impact of her sorrow.
"Is it nautical twilight yet?" Theodore asked to further divert her.
He ensured access to the house and arrived at her side.
"Look to the horizon. What do you see?" she asked.
"Nothing."
"Then, yes, it's approximately nautical dusk. Speaking of twilight, did you enjoy the light skies at the solstice?"
"I have no especial feeling about it, but I take it you don't like it when you can't see as many stars up there."
"I'm pretty predictable in that respect."
What was not predictable was a rogue pair of seagulls who had decided they would prefer terrorising the civilians of Falmouth than gracefully dipping the waters for fish before an appropriate diurnal lull. Coming from the edge of the cliff in what looked more to be hostile levitation than flight, the gulls dived for Astoria. A wing touched her ear in more aggressive ways than an insect avoiding a swat.
"Oh no!" she cried, flailing her wand out, and it fired a dazzling gold light into the air which frightened the birds enough to send them seaward.
Theodore, who had also been within range of the birds, panicked more upon seeing her wand discharge than the seagull attack itself. He started casting rather loud magic and cast a Shield down over the property like a waterfall.
"…What is it? What's wrong?" Astoria gasped.
"Well, we weren't in the house, and there was no magic at the moment to cover you!" he exclaimed. "The Ministry might have Traced you!"
"But… but… I didn't really cast any spell in particular. It was impulse! It — It was an accident! The seagulls!"
"Well, I know that, don't I?" Theodore barked. "Come in the house. We can hope it's trivial with everything else going on."
"I — I don't know what to do. Should I cast something else once I'm in the house?"
"No! No more magic! You've done enough as it is," Theodore insisted.
He lit the lamps in the living room and secured the house for night-time.
"I'm sorry, Theodore."
"Don't be sorry for my sake," he said. "Ah, bollocks, there's the owl."
"The owl? From the Ministry? They really picked up on that little spell?"
"It's a wonder they didn't send the letter on a seagull," Theodore answered, watching the owl struggle with the barriers. "Oh, you just wait a moment, little guy."
Theodore let the owl through. It ruffled its feathers indignantly for having encountered so much resistance and dropped a semi-gloss envelope on Astoria's lap. Without waiting for any written reply, the owl departed. Theodore was now substantially more amused than he ought to have been and hovered over Astoria as she opened the letter.
Dear Miss Greengrass,
We have received intelligence that you performed an unidentified spell at thirty-one minutes past nine this evening. As you know, underage witches are not permitted to perform spells outside of school, and further spellwork on your part may lead to expulsion from said school (Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, Paragraph C).
Under normal circumstances, the Improper Use of Magic Office would consider this your first official warning. Regrettably, because we are unable to determine the nature and results of the spell you used, your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 8 A.M. on the fourth of August per the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, Paragraph H. Please do not hesitate to send me an owl if you have any questions or concerns.
Hoping you and your family are well,
Yours sincerely,
Mafalda Hopkirk
Improper Use of Magic Office
Ministry of Magic
"Hm. Hopkirk never invited me to contact the office. Must be because you're a Greengrass," Theodore commented.
Astoria was so struck by the irony of the Ministry wishing her family well that she couldn't even glare at Theodore. The Improper Use of Magic Office had not detected a thing about Quennell Park, but a wand misfire at a seagull had given Astoria a brush with the law. Theodore was tired of hovering and grabbed the letter from her limp hands.
"'Unidentified spell!' That's what you're in for? What spell did you even use?"
"How am I to know‽ I grabbed my wand on instinct when the seagulls touched me. All I said was 'oh' or 'oh no' or something, and my wand fired!" Astoria recounted.
"What kind of spell is 'oh no,' Astoria? How are they going to get you on 'oh no' charges‽"
"YOU TELL ME!"
With her nerves once more on edge, Astoria was thankful for the unspoken permission to stay the night. She had no idea whom she would bother with her presence in the morning. With Ministry attention, the news could break out of the attack on her family and make her an even bigger target for Death Eaters. That was the only reality — she had absolutely no faith in the government's ability to help her. Theodore's monologue did not help, either.
"You're in a real bind because the Ministry is probably going to use Priori Incantato on your wand to identify spells you cast," he said. "My understanding is that you used the Killing Curse last night, and that could show up, too. But maybe you won't get Azkaban! If you do, the security there is deplorable. I bet Draco would vouch for you to the Dark Lord. You'll have to play the part, though, if you want that to work."
"Do you hear yourself, Theodore‽ Even if I did stoop so low as to 'play the part,' it wouldn't be believable! Need I remind you that Death Eaters attacked and killed my family? I couldn't pretend to be on your side to save my life!"
"Okay, first of all, it's not my side, Astoria. And second of all, I bet that yes, to save your life, you could fake it till you make it! Your options are dwindling. In fact, the Ministry will be completely taken over by the Dark Lord by the time of your court date! You're going to have to make up a story and stick the hell to it if you want to live!"
"We're talking life and death over a pair of seagulls!"
"Can't be helped."
Although eternally grateful for all of his help, Astoria didn't think she could take another minute with Theodore and got ready for bed with what was in her suitcase. Both Astoria and Theodore were viciously prone to overreacting, and realising this, Astoria decided not to talk about her court date anymore. She would leave first thing in the morning. She checked Rhiannon's Foe-Shard, which was hers now, and there wasn't a seagull or Death Eater in sight. She would have Theodore Apparate her to Hogsmeade in the morning and beg Professor Sinistra for both shelter and legal advice. Regardless of whether the Ministry was run by politicians or Death Eaters, someone like Professor Sinistra could surely navigate it.
Theodore offered to wash Astoria's pyjamas, which were covered in blood, grass stains, and sweat. He then put her up in his loft so that she wouldn't have to sleep in the room of someone who had attacked her family. It was sort of nice up there. Then she put her head on Theodore's pillow and got a long black hair in her nose.
"You shed like a cat, Theodore," she called sleepily.
"Don't wanna hear it. You do, too."
"Goodnight."
"Night, Astoria."
But it was morning so quickly. Astoria and Theodore ate sweets for breakfast and got dressed. Professor Sinistra was going to be so upset to see them under these circumstances that Astoria almost couldn't bring it upon her. But Astoria was a danger to so many other people, and Professor Sinistra was the only one who could protect her now. She clicked the lock on her suitcase. Theodore laced his shoes. Then there were two loud knocks at the door.
"Oh, no, no, no," Theodore said.
"What?" Astoria whispered.
"Out. Go out the kitchen window. Out the back," Theodore said.
What now?
He cast another Disillusionment Charm on her and her suitcase and gently commanded the window open. It was hardly large enough, but Astoria managed with a chair and determination. Theodore was at her side, but she was unable to see him.
"Don't say a word. Don't come looking for me. Go down to the cliff and stay hidden. If I don't come back in one hour, place your wand straight up at the nearest street, and take the Knight Bus to Hogsmeade. Do not talk to anyone on the Knight Bus. Do not give your name."
That was all she heard from Theodore. Once her feet hit the ground, the window shut, and Astoria scrambled for the edge of the cliff, where it dropped off suddenly into a pool of blue-green water. Although there were plenty of lower slopes along the coast, they were not in line with his house, and she did not want whoever was in front of the house to see her footsteps depress on the grass. When the dull sound of Theodore's front door slamming reached her, she took one last look at the depths below her and jumped.
She had taken too great a chance that the water had not been rocky, but dying on the rocks below might have been preferable to facing the threat at the door. Having encountered no rocks, Astoria still remained a threat to herself. She was a fully clothed doggie-paddler trying to hold on to a suitcase and a wand. The water itself was not cold, but the Disillusionment Charm on her was, and she grew dreadfully shivery in the water's foam.
Who's in his house?
Kicking frantically to stay above the water, she put her wand in her mouth and inched toward a leveller part of the rocky coastline across the pool.
Is it Voldemort?
She shoved her suitcase ashore and suffered her way up, her wet clothes pulling her with unanticipated force. It was so, so cold to come up into the breeze, however gentle it was.
Is Theodore going to die?
Astoria curled up and put her nose in her knees, helpless once again. One hour is the time Theodore had given her to wait. It would be excruciating. That was more than enough time for him to get killed. She cursed Nott Sr for forcing Theodore into this culture, and she held her wand at the ready. She used the sun and shadows to estimate the time, but she didn't care what time it was, only the time that had passed. Counting minutes was the only thing demanding enough to tame her thoughts.
Nineteen minutes and one, nineteen minutes and two…
A wave of warmth came over Astoria, and she saw her wet arms rather than the scratchy sand beneath her. Had Theodore been the one to lift the Disillusionment Charm? Had everything blown over?
"Well, if it isn't our little songbird."
Alecto Carrow, the source of Flora's insomnia, jumped down to Astoria soundlessly from the cliffs above. She was walking towards her, not on ground, but on top of the water, whilst currents broke against her feet. In her hand, Alecto showed the letter from the Ministry, which had been mistakenly left behind on Theodore's couch.