Book 4: Astoria Greengrass and the Curse of Quennell Park
Song rec: "Crucify" by Tori Amos
Notes: Bits of Voldy's convos from DH are woven in.
Astoria held her cherry wand over the still-warm silver lime and cut the leather cord away. When the attachment piece of the whip remained lodged in the handle, she tore it out with her teeth. The transmission of magic through the leather had left scars along the wand in the pattern of the braid. However, with the extremely obvious whip gone, Astoria could now use either wand as she pleased without becoming a certain target. She didn't have time to play with her new toy, but it was already no longer as clumsy, since magic left it from the top rather than from four feet down a twisting cord. It still had a very whiplike quality to it and preferred large, sweeping motions and quick flicks compared to the scrupulous, by-the-book requirements of the cherry. It would be good to have two wands on her in case she was disarmed. Their presence on her person did not conflict with one another, so she stopped demonising herself for being able to master the wand of someone so evil. The wand chooses the wizard, and it had chosen her magic over his long before his death.
The shocking information from Rabastan had not yet sunk in. Professor Snape's death had no time to be mourned, and Astoria Occluded the information far, far down so that Professor Sinistra might not lose herself at a time when any faltering would cost her.
Astoria was allowed to accompany Professor Sinistra back to Hogwarts for one reason only: she could cast a Patronus, and the professor could not. She did this with her cherry wand, not because she worried she would meet Rabastan's end if she used the silver lime, but because her first wand was already used to the spell.
The hour allotted for ceasefire was already well over, and yet, incredibly, the sounds of battle were not carrying along the mountains. The skies were dark but approaching astronomical morning twilight. Dementors no longer guarded the forest but soared everywhere above. However, they did not descend. What was going on? Did Voldemort forget how to tell time?
There were two people running round, pounding on all the doors of Hogsmeade, Professor Slughorn and one of the Weasleys. A rather large crowd of adults were bunched in front of the Three Broomsticks, and they looked like they were ready for a fight. More continued to join them upon Slughorn and Weasley's entreaties.
"Reinforcements, very nice," Professor Sinistra said.
Astoria recognised several graduates from her own House and even a few people from Draco's notorious class had come to help the right cause. Heather Thatcham from Daphne's dorm waved at Astoria as she passed. Astoria wished her safe keeping.
"Aurora, m'dear!" Slughorn called once he spotted them along the road. "We are—"
"Yes, Professor, I am a bit faster than you," Professor Sinistra said with a little bow, and they sped to Hogwarts under the swirling dementors.
They followed the road to the front of the castle and saw a large crowd emerging from the edge of the woods. Though it was much later than they had announced, the Death Eaters were coming back to Hogwarts. It looked like Professor Hagrid had been taken prisoner. How anyone had managed that was unknown.
"Professor Sinistra, er…"
"Yes, dear, I know. I'm going to make us run faster with a charm. Remember to breathe and to watch where you're going. We're going into the castle. Prestissimo con moto."
Professor Sinistra cast the charm on Astoria first. Astoria started running uncontrollably, and her Patronus fanned out into a flag behind her. She tried to turn her body to see when Professor Sinistra would catch up, but she was moving so fast she really did have to watch where she was going. She missed collision with the wild boar statues by the gates of the school and drew her breath in large huffs as she sped up to the closed doors. The charm halted before she hit the entrance. She couldn't see Professor Sinistra, but since the Death Eaters were marching, she was too afraid to call for her. She should be coming right behind her any moment.
"Mobilicorpus," Professor Sinistra's voice rang from some distance off, and Astoria rose into the air.
"Professor! What are you doing?" Astoria panicked, twisting against the spell as she came in line with a broken window to the Great Hall.
"I am getting you to safety," Professor Sinistra called. "Tell everyone inside that the Death Eaters are returning. I don't know why they're late — it was probably a tactic to put everyone off guard. Either that or they have Harry Potter. Alert everyone, Astoria!"
"Okay, I'll come open the door for you, Professor," Astoria said as she approached the broken window.
"Don't," she responded sternly. "I have a job to do amongst them."
"What? No! That's too dangerous!" Astoria tried to call, but she was no longer under the cloudy night sky. Rather, the enchanted ceiling sparkled above her, and she saw her new situation. The injured and deceased were gone, apparently placed somewhere safer beyond the Great Hall. Everyone was milling about the area in a state of uncertainty until they all became very certain about staring at Astoria. As she floated in, her flailing and protests exposed her wand arm from her sleeve, and many glimpsed the marks of blood magic upon her. More than a few unfamiliar people raised their wands at her, unsure of whom she represented. For a moment, she could not think.
"The Death Eaters are coming back!" she remembered, and many who were sitting rose to their feet. "They're coming back now, from the forest! And they're almost here!"
Professor Vector, her Arithmancy teacher, pushed her way forward.
"How do you know, Astoria? What were you doing out there?"
Professor Vector's familiar use of her name saved Astoria from being at wandpoint any longer. The Hogwarts force finally recognised her as someone who had spent the whole night fighting for their side.
"Rabastan Lestrange attacked me in Hogsmeade," Astoria said without elaboration. "Where are the injured?"
"They're in the chamber off the Hall," Professor Vector said. "We've added every possible protection we could."
Astoria's heart ached to be at Draco's side, but she could not go to him. Everyone armed themselves, and the best amongst them went to stand behind the doors. Astoria tried to remain in the front too, no matter how much she was pushed back by the crowd and the occasional teacher who knew that she was not of age. She heard a small commotion outside from the attackers, and it was eerie that no one had yet tried to curse the door. It was like the Death Eaters were simply standing out there, knowing that everyone on the inside was aware of them.
Less unsurprising than the silence was Voldemort's sudden break of it. His voice Amplified through every crack of the door and even in through the broken windows of the other room. He said, quite happily, that Harry Potter was dead. It was so strange to hear a seventy-some year old man announce the death of a teenager with such pride and relish, as though Harry had somehow been a preternatural foe instead of a boy trying to survive. Astoria had no idea how Harry Potter had survived a direct Killing Curse from Voldemort in infancy nor why Voldemort had been hell-bent on killing a baby in the first place. She only wished Harry Potter could have done that trick one more time. Everyone round her was heartbroken.
"My Death Eaters outnumber you, and the Boy Who Lived is finished," Voldemort called, but he didn't make any sense. The only reason he had more fighters was because he was utilising untrained, unranked Snatchers, werewolves whom he called half-breeds anyway, and dementors. The actual number of capable Death Eaters was not so impressive. He was speaking nonsense to capitalise on the effect of Harry Potter's death. But Harry's death didn't mean the fight was over. A whole country could not rely on one Hogwarts seventh-year!
"There must be no more war," Voldemort said even though he perpetuated it. "Come out of the castle now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together."
Astoria cringed to hear the words 'build together' coming from the wizard who was rumoured to be her illicit, time-travelling mate. It made sense now how Rabastan had come up with such a terrible idea to humiliate Astoria: Bellatrix was the one who birthed Voldemort's child. And both of the baby's parents had left her to come kill a bunch of teenagers in pyjamas. Pathetic.
Professor McGonagall had reserved her spot at the very front in spite of the scrambling, and she was their commander.
"If what he says is true, we must still fight, so that future generations may not experience what we have," she said painfully. "Prepare yourselves."
Tears and shivers had already fallen across the crowd before Professor McGonagall opened the castle doors and beheld perhaps the only occasion Voldemort had spoken honest words. Harry Potter was, in fact, dead. Those closest to him screamed in pain, and Astoria swallowed a lump. She was short, and so she scanned what she could of the crowd of Death Eaters without seeing Professor Sinistra or what she was up to…
Harry Potter's body was placed on the ground by the captive Professor Hagrid, who cried bitterly over him. Bold arguments were breaking out between Harry's friends and Voldemort himself, whose veined, white face was even less human than Astoria imagined. Bellatrix, unmasked, clung to his right side, and Rodolphus stood ceremoniously to his left. Astoria had never had a personal run-in with Rodolphus unlike she had with the other two, but she despised his facial resemblance to Rabastan. Voldemort and the Lestranges knew Rabastan was missing, so why had Professor Sinistra dared to get so close to more Legilimens?
A loud noise sounded in the midst of the arguments. Astoria craned her neck to see who had cast the first spell.
"It is Neville Longbottom, my Lord!" Bellatrix exclaimed with laughter. "The boy who has been giving the Carrows so much trouble! The son of the Aurors, remember?"
"Ah, yes, I remember," Voldemort said cruelly.
Astoria clenched her jaw. Bellatrix saw the Longbottoms' permanent disability as one of her crowning achievements. Horribly, without any regard to Neville's love for his parents, Voldemort addressed Neville beseechingly:-
"But you are a pure-blood, aren't you, my brave boy?"
Astoria broke into goose pimples at the comment.
"So what if I am?" Neville responded, daring Voldemort to describe his ugly interest.
Voldemort folded his bony white hands and studied the whole of Neville, whilst Astoria could only see the top of his head from her angle.
"You show spirit and bravery, and you come of noble stock. You will make a very valuable Death Eater. We need your kind, Neville Longbottom."
Noble stock? Valuable Death Eater? Astoria suddenly wished to go to the back of the crowd — way, way back. She didn't want to seem cowardly, since people were aware of her presence after she had flown in through the window, but she tried to scoot back. Alecto might have considered Astoria a failed experiment after interacting so closely with her, but if Voldemort himself was giving even Neville Longbottom a chance at the Dark Mark, a Greengrass who practised Dark magic would be priceless. Neville's response summed up the feeling quite nicely:-
"I'll join you when hell freezes over. Dumbledore's Army!"
Those who cheered beside Neville were hit with the Death Eaters' Silencing Charms so that their precious Voldemort might have the last word.
"On your head, be it."
Voldemort Summoned something out of the same window Astoria had been sent through, and he barraged Neville with dangerous taunts.
"There will be no more Sorting at Hogwarts School. There will be no more Houses. The emblem, shield, and colours of my noble ancestor, Salazar Slytherin, will suffice for everyone. Won't they, Neville Longbottom? Neville here is now going to demonstrate what happens to anyone foolish enough to continue to oppose me."
Voldemort cast an effortless Body-Bind on Neville and rendered him motionless. And then the most terrible thing occurred. He set the Sorting Hat upon Neville's helpless head and ignited it. He would burn Neville alive as the Muggles had burned countless witches. Did Voldemort not realise how, with this action, he betrayed the very heritage he sought to deify? Everyone began to scream, and people poured towards Neville all whilst Professor Slughorn finally arrived with the Hogsmeade reinforcements.
Ginny's brother cast left and right, and the same giant that had helped Professor Hagrid escape on the night before Easter holidays came to fight the giants who had chosen Voldemort. Şebnem, her son, and her daughter Glenda Chittock suddenly descended from the cloud cover in independent flight. They moved lithely through the werewolves, werewolves who had been taking down dozens at a time with physical prowess that only the vampires could match.
Astoria lost sight of Neville for many moments, as he had thankfully begun to move, and so did the crowd surrounding her. Astoria at long last beheld Professor Sinistra, who had exploited her husband's betrayal and used it for a good purpose at last. She had blended in amongst the Death Eaters, no doubt with miles-deep Occlumency, and now began to stab them in the backs. A small area cleared where she battled her way through, and Astoria regained a perfect view of Neville. From whereabouts unknown, he had acquired the Sword of Gryffindor that he, Ginny, and Luna had tried to steal back in autumn. And he took the sword to the neck of Voldemort's familiar snake. The head of the creature eclipsed the light of curses, and at its death, Voldemort cried more than he ever would have for his own neglected child.
A Shield came from the crowd to try to protect Neville from Voldemort's booming curses. Astoria had to get closer — a simple Shield would not stop Voldemort forever, especially now that the fight between him and Neville was so personal. It was difficult, though, with the ground shaking and a whole army of centaurs coming from the woods, shooting arrows… and then Astoria saw him. As Voldemort was forced to contend with the onslaught of the Hogwarts faculty, Rodolphus Lestrange took up the task of murdering the child of the Aurors he had destroyed. The Shield over Neville had been jostled away, but regardless, no Shield would protect Neville from the curse Rodolphus planned. Astoria aimed her wand at the elder Lestrange brother, but too many innocent people were near him for her skill level, and then…
"Æfnenne beċeorfenne!"
Astoria screamed, and in spite of how unwise it was to do on the battlefield, shut her eyes for one hideous moment. For just as the snake had died, so too went Rodolphus Lestrange. Professor Sinistra stepped in the abundant space between his curly, black-haired head and his fallen body and dared the Death Eaters to try to fight her.
Astoria felt sick at the sight, but there was no time to feel sick, and she cursed her way through Snatchers and Death Eaters, who were moving into the castle on account of the giants fighting outside. Professor Vector's comment about the protections over the injured seemed not enough. Curses blew parts of the castle to bits, and chunks went flying over the heads of house-elves, who were throwing magic-laden knives at Death Eaters. Doors, stairs, windows, and statues were all being destroyed and taking more injuries with them. The Great Hall, only one room away from Draco, had Voldemort himself.
Voldemort was going undefeated, but his followers were not. Professor Sinistra had taken up the task of using dimensional magic to encapsulate any dementor that managed to make it into the building, and her vampire allies proceeded to rip the creatures apart with their long-nailed fingers, turning them back into mist. The Great Hall was like a rough sea, and Astoria could not hope to make it through with only a paddleboat. Her body had long been tired from fighting, and Dark magic was draining her further. She resorted to Stunning Spells as she ran along the wall, trying to stay out of Voldemort's sight, for to be seen was to be slain. Voldemort did not pay any mind to her, fortunately, but what he did see was that Draco's parents had defected from his side.
Narcissa and Lucius were desperately screaming for Draco as they ran, but they would never find him where they looked, since he was hidden amongst the injured. The only thing the Malfoys succeeded in was drawing attention to themselves, and even over the heads of two powerful teachers, Voldemort's ire was about to reach them. Between his current duel, he managed to sling a sparking curse at the Malfoys' heads. Her pale face gone red, Narcissa shouted, and she caught the curse with a single, bare hand and flung it into the floor, where it cracked it so hard it made a funnel of wood. Astoria Banished her way through people, trying to get to the couple, knowing that Lucius was useless without his wand, and that Voldemort would have no trouble hitting them on the second try.
After a final shove through the crowd, Astoria made it to the Malfoys without them realising who she was. But Voldemort saw her between the heads of his opponents and knew by the way she ran in line with the Malfoys that she was trying to intercept him. It made it all the more interesting for him when his red eyes traced the blemishes of blood magic upon her arm. Astoria hated the bemused hitch she saw in his breath.
"Protego Nidhogg!"
Narcissa and Lucius startled terribly behind her at the sound of the Dark incantation, and Lucius grabbed her shoulder, thinking she was an enemy. But when the Malfoys realised that they were on the inside of the Shield, they went quiet. Now chillingly engrossed, Voldemort sent curses that managed to crack even this spell's dome. Astoria was not having it. She screamed out all of her energy, and not one, but three dragons unfurled from her Shield. They arched over the crowd, gnawing chunks of the stone wall out to block a Killing Curse inbound for the Malfoys just in time. It felt somewhat good, and if her magic were not so exhausted, Astoria would have liked to see Voldemort's distorted facial expression again. A member of the Order had stepped in to fight Voldemort, and it gave Astoria the diversion she needed to get away. The Malfoys, a bit stupidly, were trying to get out of the Shield to look for Draco independently. She shrunk the Shield's expanse to make the idiots realise they had to follow her. She broke the Shield shortly before making it to the door at the far side of the Hall.
"He's back there!" she shouted, but it was muffled by the chaos.
The Malfoys had at least read her lips, because they barrelled through the door and into the corridor, from where they entered the very same room the Triwizard Champions had first convened all those years before.
"He's there — that's him," Astoria said breathlessly, and the Malfoys bolted over to the general direction in which she waved. "I put charms on him so he wouldn't be recognised. He's unconscious. That's him."
This entire time, the Malfoys had said nothing to her. Not a word of thanks, not even a word of acknowledgement of who she was. Quite frankly, Astoria was tired of the sight of them already. Impressed with herself, though not recklessly so, she ran back to the Great Hall. Draco would be safe there with Narcissa's ability to volleyball curses. Astoria wasn't able to use wandless magic like the powerful witches she knew, but she could channel her anger well, and the sight of the fiend Bellatrix attacking Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Luna Lovegood outside the corridor really did the trick. Marco Amaya, from Ginny's class, Theodore Nott, who sought revenge, and Tracey Davis, who had enough of this nonsense, joined Astoria in casting at Bellatrix, but Ginny's mother was at the forefront, and she forcibly pushed all seven of them out of the way of her duel.
"No! Get back! Get back! She is mine!"
The crowds were beginning to dissipate from deaths and injuries, and frightened spectators huddled by the walls. Mrs Weasley's and Bellatrix's spells ravaged the Great Hall all whilst Voldemort continued to fight the professors and the Order member. Having been pushed back, Ginny stood with her eyes alight and her mouth open in terror, with only her mother's safety on her mind.
Bellatrix laughed even whilst thick in a duel, "What will happen to your children when I've killed you? When Mummy's gone the same way as Freddie?"
"You will never touch our children again!" Mrs Weasley screamed through each slash of her wand.
Astoria inhaled and held her breath. A black curse from Bellatrix had snagged like fabric upon Mrs Weasley's wand, and from beneath it came a glowing cerise curse Mrs Weasley had conjured for one purpose. At her motion, the whole disc of magic flew cleanly under Bellatrix's arm and broke like glass upon her upper breast. Bellatrix had been smiling because she had never, never counted on this. Her eyes bulged from her heavy lids and she gagged for air, one last time, before falling.
What will happen to your child, Bellatrix? Astoria wondered quietly, staring in cold silence at the form of the last Lestrange's body whilst the crowd erupted in cheers. Their cheering was stupidly premature. Astoria felt Voldemort's own Occlumency break just like the curse upon Bellatrix's chest, and his rage howled through every body.
Professor McGonagall, Professor Slughorn, and even the powerful Order wizard flew through the air all at once, and Voldemort locked on Mrs Weasley. Ginny screamed, and a Shield whisked through the space, drawing Voldemort's eye just enough for Mrs Weasley to grab her daughter and fall into the crowd alongside the wall.
Harry Potter appeared out of thin air, causing great joy and confusion. Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood jumped up at the sight of the miracle.
"What in the world…?" Tracey Davis beamed. "He's alive! He wasn't killed!"
Harry and Voldemort were taking up quite a bit of space with their encounter, and everyone remaining in the Great Hall scooted as far away as possible. Astoria first saw the back of Harry's head, then Voldemort's popping veins, then Harry's, then Voldemort's. She felt the whole thing was utterly silly. There were a thousand people simply watching Harry and Voldemort contredanse. Pansy Parkinson had said, "But Potter's there, right there," and Astoria thought the very same thing of Voldemort. With her eyes on his white head, her wand began to lift…
"I don't want anyone else to try to help!" Harry said as though he had caught her sentiment, and it startled her.
Just who does he think he is?
Astoria said a very foul word in her head that she hoped Potter would pick up on, too. They had slinked away from her perfect shot… Nobody was doing anything! Voldemort was right there!
"Who are you going to use as a Shield today, Potter?" Voldemort taunted.
"Nobody. There are no more Horcruxes. It's just you and me," said Harry, and Astoria startled at the word.
Horcruxes! So Voldemort had been a Horcrux user like Astoria's own haunt, Quennell. Harry's words barely made sense, as he implied that Voldemort had managed to make more than one! Had Voldemort come back to life by way of a Horcrux? Is that why he was alive and could travel as he pleased, whilst Quennell remained trapped in an ethereal state, confined to the forest? None of it was clear to Astoria, but it thrilled her. If Harry bothered to fight Voldemort, that meant that Horcruxes could be destroyed, and Astoria doubted Harry had managed to procure the needed dose of basilisk venom to do the deed. This was incredible news. Astoria was rife with so many ideas of how to save her family from the Horcrux's influence in their bloodline that she mentally left the room. She had to get back to Quennell Park, and tell Quennell… She could see the memory of his eyeless face so clearly, but she had no idea what he would say. Oh, Quennell, would he accept his fate? Would he really forego resurrection to pass on?
"What childish dream is this?" Voldemort snarled, and Astoria felt the words quite closely even though they did not pertain to her. Quennell might have put on a show of tears just to trap Astoria in the same curse that had taken her ancestors in the generations between them. Her fantasy fell away, and she once more became audience to Voldemort and Harry's confrontation. Astoria had no idea how the conversation had got to this point, but Harry spoke up about Professor Snape:-
"Snape was Dumbledore's, Dumbledore's from the moment you started hunting down my mother. And you never realised it because of the thing you can't understand. You never saw Snape cast a Patronus, did you Riddle? Snape's Patronus was a doe, the same as my mother's, because he loved her for nearly all of his life, from the time when they were children. You should have realised; he asked you to spare her life, didn't he?"
Astoria was gobsmacked with the information. The doe that had followed Professor Sinistra as the dementors descended upon Hogwarts had been her dear friend Snape's. If she heard Harry correctly, Snape was not only a dear friend to Professor Sinistra but a double-agent for the Order.
"He desired her, that was all. But when she had gone, he agreed that there were other women, and of purer blood, worthier than him," Voldemort answered, seeming to search for another betrayer, Professor Sinistra, as he said this. However, he was unable to find her in his face-to-face apprehension with Harry Potter, who continued to mock him.
The two foes then began to argue about wand ownership. It seemed such a strange topic to discuss when they were on the cusp of a duel, but Astoria supposed wand ownership was important, considering that the silver lime wand clung forlornly to her side, hoping to be used for powerful, but not sadistic, magic.
"I killed Severus Snape three hours ago, and the Elder Wand, the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny is truly mine! Dumbledore's last plan went wrong, Harry Potter!"
Three hours ago. If Professor Sinistra was anywhere near, Astoria hoped she would be able to take the news steadily. Astoria wished she was by her side, but there was no way to move to go look for her. She scanned the crowd unsuccessfully, worrying, and at the same time wondering why Voldemort was under the impression the Elder Wand was a real thing. Harry Potter validated the idea, but it was so fanciful! Astoria stood on tiptoes to study their wands. Voldemort wielded Professor Dumbledore's wand, recognisable by spherical adornments but otherwise not so imposing. Anyone could hew a wand out of elder, but that didn't make it the "Elder Wand." After all, the Carrows had bragged of a Thestral tail core, but theirs had been homemade. Astoria's confusion troughed even deeper when she identified Draco's wand in Potter's hand. Dozens of scenarios fell upon her wrinkled brow: Was Potter the one who had knocked Draco unconscious? No — Draco had lost his wand before that in some terrible incident at his house. So that fateful Easter holiday was one of the times Harry Potter had got away from the Death Eaters, then. If Potter had been Disarmed, and Draco had been forced to follow orders, he had every right to Disarm Draco in turn. But because Draco's life had been put at risk over multiple Disarmings, it became a bit hard for Astoria to root for Potter as he continued to draw out the conversation with Voldemort. That was not to say she was rooting for Voldemort. She was simply tired of hearing them nag each other and hold everyone else at a standstill.
"Dumbledore's last plan hasn't backfired on me at all. It's backfired on you, Riddle," said Potter. "That wand still isn't working properly for you because you murdered the wrong person. Severus Snape was never the true master of the Elder Wand. He never defeated Dumbledore."
"He killed—"
"Aren't you listening? Snape never beat Dumbledore! Dumbledore's death was planned between them!" Potter announced not only to Voldemort, but to the amazed crowd surrounding them. "Dumbledore intended to die undefeated, the wand's last true master! If all had gone as planned, the wand's power would have died with him, because it had never been won from him!"
"But then, Potter, Dumbledore as good as gave me the wand!" Voldemort said with amusement. "I stole the wand from its last master's tomb!"
"You still don't get it, Riddle, do you? Possessing the wand isn't enough! Holding it, using it, doesn't make it really yours. Didn't you listen to Ollivander? 'The wand chooses the wizard.' The Elder Wand recognised a new master before Dumbledore died, someone who never even laid a hand on it. The new master removed the wand from Dumbledore against his will, never realising exactly what he had done, or that the world's most dangerous wand had given him its allegiance… The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy."
Astoria fell cold, and her eyes hardened. She did not care about the wizards' fight any longer. "You murdered the wrong person," Harry had said. "You murdered the wrong person." Harry Potter had practically handed Voldemort a reason to murder Draco, complete with a vivid explanation.
Some war hero Potter is.
Astoria quietly and carefully fell away from the crowd of spectators. She inched her way back into the corridor from where she had come. Behind her she heard Voldemort say, "After I have killed you, I can attend to Draco Malfoy."
Over my dead body. Over my cold, dead body. You have used him for the last time.
Astoria entered the room of the injured, and her eyes were aflame over the form of her wizard. Draco, through Narcissa's magic, was awake, but still under the hasty disguise. There was no time for a reunion. They had no seconds to spare.
"You must leave out the back," Astoria said firmly to the family before Draco could even greet her. "Riddle thinks Draco owns his wand and plans to kill him. You have to go now. Use the prefects' curfew route."
"I wha—?" Draco started, but his mother yanked him with extreme force.
The Malfoys ran past the other injured, who had all been glaring at them. Draco's parents were too desperate to need further explanation from Astoria and reached top speed in a matter of seconds, but the moment they were out of sight, Draco started screaming.
"SHE HAS TO COME WITH US! SHE HAS TO! NO — I WON'T GO WITHOUT HER! DON'T YOU HEAR ME‽I WON'T GO!"
Astoria ran to follow them, to follow his voice. The Malfoys neither shunned nor encouraged her but kept their eyes out for danger in the corridor. Even though both arms of both parents were on him, Draco shoved through, and grabbed Astoria's dirty hands, welcoming her with a look she had needed this whole accursed night. They ran, together, as a loud blast sounded from back in the Great Hall. Astoria expected full commotion to break loose, so when there wasn't one, she and Draco shared a curious look. Before they knew it, there were cheers louder than the entire battle had been.
Narcissa slowed, and looked at her son, then her husband. Then, for the first time, she acted like Astoria was actually there. They all slowed, for the noise was too loud to have come from Voldemort's side — which had largely consisted of magical creatures and humans who hardly knew him. This was a noise of elation, not of brutality.
"I'll go see," Astoria announced resolutely.
"Astoria!" Draco gasped, but his worries were unfounded. He was looking at the Foe-Shard she had lent him on his wrist. Voldemort was not there. They already knew. It was just that it seemed too good to be true.
"I will go see. I'll be right back," she insisted.
The Malfoys, of course, let her be the one to check without protest. Draco followed her about halfway down the corridor, at which point she gave him a look and he stopped, since he was unarmed. At the last corner, Astoria peeked her nose. The first thing she saw was the most welcome sight of all. Professor Aurora Sinistra stepped up to Voldemort's body, now a corpse, and wiped off her muddy shoes against his face, leaving the ridges of her boots in a pattern against his scaly skin.
Immediately thereafter, the professor started prancing all over the place, binding up remaining Death Eaters with tight curses. Dawn had arrived, and it cast brilliant colours across her robes, even through the stains. She weaved her way through all of the people who had forgotten that there were still Dark wizards amongst them, all trying to escape in the hubbub. Professor Sinistra would not let them go. She already had a pile of prisoners-to-be. Astoria was uncertain as to what she should tell the Malfoys when she turned back round… "Voldemort's dead, but stay clear of Professor Sinistra?"
All she came up with was, "He's gone for good this time." They all three knew which 'he' she meant. Lucius suddenly broke with a noise, and he swooped Narcissa into his arms and kissed her deeply. It wasn't the loveliest sight to see, but it meant their family was free at last. Draco ran up to Astoria with the brightest smile. She reached her arms to him and wrapped herself all up.
"I would like to change your hair back, Draco."
"What, auburn doesn't suit me?" he said, nuzzling above her ear.
"Not at all, and I forgot your eyebrows in the first place, so they're still blond!"
She drew back a little and poked the mole off of his nose playfully, then removed the Colour-Changing Charm from his hair. It went back to the platinum blond that had drawn her eye four years ago. His clothes could stay charmed; they were irrelevant to his familiarity and torn anyway. He was sweaty in them, but so was she, and she didn't mind playing with his hair. The feelings of relief were more than happiness. Up to this point, their entire relationship had been stalked by Voldemort, the Death Eaters, and blood purity. That was gone, never to come back. Draco drew Astoria back at arm's length, with his hands on her shoulders, just to get a good look at her. She renewed the smile that had never even left her face. He was so happy. With his arms out, he beheld something new about himself. Astoria watched closely, relishing every miniscule change on his face when he realised that the Dark Mark was gone from his skin. He gawked at her, at the small scar left by the spell, and at his parents.
"Mother! Mother, look! It's not there anymore!" he exclaimed, holding out his arm for her to see.
Narcissa, for once, showed her teeth when she smiled. Lucius gave Draco a serious nod, and quietly looked at his own arm. Astoria peeked at it, too. Where Lucius's Mark had once been tinged black, it was now red and pink. It was distorted, but the image was still present. A skull and snake. However, Draco's, Astoria thought proudly, was unrecognisable. It might have been a mere cauldron burn. He would not carry the symbol that ruined his adolescence into adulthood. Lucius and Narcissa pondered the discrepancy together, with Lucius first worrying that Voldemort would return again, but the notion was dismissed when they saw old Aurors moving the cold corpse of Voldemort into another room in the corridor.
"It must be that yours was there longer," Narcissa surmised, and Lucius was also satisfied with that explanation, but Draco grinned and hugged Astoria again.
"You did this, didn't you?"
"Well, scribbling on it with ink only did so much," she shrugged.
"Oh, we can still play that game without the Mark, Astoria," he whispered in her ear, and she turned very, very red. Draco scooped her up into his arms.
"Where are you going, Draco?" Lucius demanded, making an enormous deal of ignoring Astoria's displays of affection all over his son.
"Great Hall. I smell food," Draco said. "Figure we'd have a hot meal before we get arrested by Sinistra."
"Draco, really," Astoria said.
She also smelled a delicious trail of food, but the pleasantness was interrupted by more people barrelling through, with the Mobilised corpse of Bellatrix Lestrange in the midst of them. Narcissa hid her face in her husband's shoulder at the sight of her sister. Lucius ran his hands through her hair and said something gently to her. Like Flora and Hestia had not mourned Amycus and Alecto, Draco wasn't sad for his aunt. However, he was sad because his mother was so full of bitterly mixed emotions. Narcissa took a deep breath, coming to peace with what she had seen, and they ultimately entered the Great Hall.
The food being served was apparently what had been scheduled for breakfast, and there was no better time to serve it than now. Draco set Astoria back down on her feet. The tables were back in the Hall, and everyone sat wherever they pleased. The Malfoys took in the sight but seemed unsure of what to do. Narcissa spotted an empty spot towards the end of the nearest table and waved her son on to go eat. Astoria plopped into the seat next to him, and plates slowly started to appear with food. Draco's parents looked over their shoulders, afraid to be there, but Narcissa took a seat on the other side of Draco, and Lucius huddled next to her. They did not take breakfast.
Astoria nibbled some jamless toast, thankful for anything, and she saw everyone crying with tears of joy and tears of loss. Things started to settle in for her, too. Voldemort and the Lestranges were dead, but they had taken a lot of people with them first. Uncle Faunus, Renshaw, Gracie, and Bob Page. Ted Tonks, Nymphadora, and Remus Lupin. Bathsheba Babbling, Charity Burbage, Severus Snape, Dumbledore. Fred Weasley and Cedric Diggory, too. Those were just the ones Astoria knew. She didn't want any more news, but the swell of emotion was making it hard to simply sit and eat. Professor Sinistra had warned her to control this, and she tried very hard to. There was so much loss. Draco touched her hand.
"Legilimency, isn't it?" he said knowingly. "You're picking up on something."
Astoria nodded, "I think so. There's… a lot."
"It is a lot," Draco said, looking at the crowd, apart from them and yet aware. Then his eyes were on her again, and he spoke in a brighter tone. "The news will reach your family, wherever they are. They'll come back. Wait till they find out you're alive!"
Amazingly, Astoria hadn't even thought about that yet. There was so much going on throughout the night that she hadn't thought of her overarching situation with her family. She had never been more independent in her life, but she had also never felt lonelier without them. Her family, though, would look at the blood magic set upon her arm the same way the Malfoys scrunched their nose at it as she ate, and those two liked the Dark arts. Everyone was quick to make judgements without bothering to care how her arm had got that way in the first place. How would she ever explain Rabastan to her family? How would she relate any of this? Her eyes kept tracing the parts of Draco's sleeves that had been singed off. He had the smell of smoke on him, and first-aid ointments.
He'll understand.
He caught her staring at him. Even with thousands of things to look at in the celebration, she kept returning to Draco's face. Given the circumstances, they were both eating unlike how they had been raised, and Draco had some crumbs on his mouth. He grinned and wiped them off with his sleeve. She had never seen him like this. It was somehow special.
"You didn't have a full dinner last night after attacking Amycus in class, did you?" he said. "Eat some more."
Astoria gobbled up strawberry oatmeal. Sleep pressed her eyes, but she wanted to identify all her friends amongst the standing, and suddenly the oatmeal did not taste as good. Mercifully, she saw Tracey and Montel Davis hugging their parents, with Maxwell and the rest of the Lazenby clan close by.
"There's Theodore," Draco pointed out with relief in his voice. "Sheesh, I know I said he needed a haircut, but that wasn't what I meant."
"He'll charm a whole terrier back on his head," Astoria smiled at the sight of his buzzed head nodding in conversation with Heather Thatcham, Millicent Bulstrode, and Michael Corner, the D.A. Ravenclaw.
Anthony Goldstein and Swati Pevekar from Astronomy were talking to Ernie Macmillan and his parents. Hannah Abbott was holding both hands with Luna Lovegood, who comforted her. Ginny Weasley had reunited with Harry Potter, who was in the midst of a swarm of people. Astoria wondered if he was going to return Draco's wand, and why he had announced Draco's ownership of the so-called Elder Wand so quickly. It was great that Potter had killed Voldemort, but it still sat wrong that he had said "You murdered the wrong person."
Draco followed Astoria's gaze with a dash of insecurity. She nearly chuckled at how transparent he was. He didn't want her to swoon over the hero, Harry Potter. In fact, the sight of Harry ruined Draco's hitherto pleasant attitude.
"He's not so great, I've found," said Astoria, having made the opinion herself without Draco's bias influencing her. She wasn't going to go into detail about the "wrong person" comment, though. Any show of animosity towards Potter would be an easy trip to Azkaban.
"Yeah. And he still has my wand," Draco said fractiously. "I wonder what he's thinking now, knowing that my wand's the one that killed the Dark Lord instead of his. Makes you wonder. What was that you were saying about the Dark Lord coming to kill me, anyway? When we all panicked? Something about me owning the Dark Lord's wand? That doesn't make much sense…"
"It didn't make much sense," Astoria agreed with a sigh. "Gosh, let me think. Er, well, the night with Dumbledore…"
Draco nodded gravely and looked at the table.
"Well, he said something about you Disarming Professor Dumbledore, so even though the wand was buried with him, it technically belonged to you. I suppose Riddle stole Dumbledore's wand, and it didn't work for him the way he felt it should because it was yours," Astoria said, though she felt even more confused saying it aloud.
The Malfoys had been eavesdropping on their conversation the whole time, but now they outright stuck their noses in. Narcissa asked with wide eyes, "Is that why he was going to come for Draco? Is that what you had been trying to say when you ran in?"
I didn't exactly have time to tell the whole story, Narcissa.
"Yes, he said something to Harry like 'after I kill you, I'll attend to Draco,' so I came in, but thank goodness it's all over," Astoria answered.
"Yes, thank goodness," Narcissa said.
Lucius stroked the stubble on his usually clean face. The war had just ended, and he was already scheming something.
"Draco," he said, "Potter therefore has not one, but two of your wands…"
Draco's eyebrows raised, and there was something set in his jaw, but Astoria rolled her eyes. None of the Malfoys had wands, and it was going to take more time than money to convince Harry Potter to give his rival a single wand at all.
"Draco no longer owns Professor Dumbledore's wand, so you will not need to try to claim it," came a familiar, shrewd voice.
Lucius Malfoy's rump nearly left his seat at the sound of Professor Sinistra, and Narcissa remained skittish. Astoria, though, dived into her arms.
"As Harry announced to Riddle, he was too late to try to win ownership of that wand from Draco. Its allegiance lay with Harry, who Disarmed him."
Astoria was onto her and looked up at her with pursed lips. With this information, Professor Sinistra was trying to keep Astoria from hating Harry Potter. She simultaneously dissuaded the Malfoys from causing more problems.
Though the part of Harry and Voldemort's conversation that Astoria had missed somewhat lightened the crime, she was still adamant that Harry should not have even brought up Draco's name to Voldemort. Voldemort had been putting Draco in danger and emotional turmoil for far too long. He lived in his house, and Harry Potter knew that. She ultimately found him to be a helpful, but unpalatable, hero in this war. Unlike Draco's history with him, though, Astoria was quite capable of keeping that opinion to herself. She could already picture her parents trying to invite Harry Potter to an Equinox or a Christmas…
"Ah, I thought I saw you join our group, Sinistra," Lucius Malfoy remarked in a low, arctic voice. "Many were pleased."
"I was pleased to deceive so many," Professor Sinistra said venomously. "Rest assured, I never had business with you, Malfoy. Draco is a dear student of mine, and your defection from the Death Eaters is commendable."
Lucius gulped and hid in his hair, knowing better than to look a Legilimens in the eye. He did not want her congratulations; he wanted to be as far from her as possible.
"Malfoy," Professor Sinistra persisted, but she was looking at the enchanted ceiling rather than him, "Please tell me where Severus lies. That is why I impinge."
Astoria looked from Professor Sinistra's solemn gaze, to Lucius's nervous stare, to Narcissa's comforting hand on her husband, to Draco's confusion. Lucius cleared his throat.
"I am not sure. However, the Dark Lord was stationed within the Shrieking Shack, and the last time I saw Severus Snape was there."
"Thank you," Professor Sinistra said quietly.
She released herself from Astoria's lonely hold and started scurrying away. Astoria wanted to sit with Draco, but she didn't want to sit with his parents anymore, and they were all inseparable. She touched Draco's shoulder, and he rubbed his face and nodded in understanding. She set off after Professor Sinistra by herself.
"Professor!" she called. "Professor Sinistra!"
Professor Sinistra turned round in the blood-stained Entrance Hall. Her eyes were as dewy as the broken windowpanes. The relief of Voldemort's death waned in the waves of tragedy.
"You can't do this alone, Professor," Astoria said.
Professor Sinistra drew a deep, soundless breath. Her shoulders were high.
"You are right, Astoria. I cannot."
And so Astoria and Professor Sinistra went back the way they came, down to Hogsmeade, where at the end of town was a haunted little house with termite-eaten wood, bundimuns in the foundation, and the heavy smell of earth's reclamation. They broke in easily but navigated it carefully. Professor Sinistra cast Hardening Charms on the floorboards as they walked so that they would not cave. The bottom level was all in shambles, and Professor Snape's body could be anywhere, in any state. But Professor Sinistra and Astoria looked for him the manual way out of respect.
They roamed upstairs, and at the top of the creaky landing, both witches caught a powerful scent of blood. Professor Sinistra held a hand up to hold Astoria in place, and then she traced it, palm up, back in front of her. Astoria watched her fingers curl over magic that she herself could not feel. Professor Sinistra disappeared into a room with a door ajar, and the only thing Astoria could see of it was peeling wallpaper in the professor's wandlight. Astoria stood perfectly still, afraid of the sight based on the smell. But she heard Professor Sinista's wand swishing, and soft cries began to haunt the shack rather than shrieks. Astoria crept to the door. There they were, the two Slytherins who had been disgraced and re-favoured so many times by the public that their reputations had stopped concerning them long ago. There was blood everywhere, but Professor Sinistra had a Scouring Charm well underway to provide herself a place to sit. Professor Snape was in a sad, slumped position against the far wall. He had a gruesome wound upon his throat which had no doubt been his end. Astoria missed him already, and her eyes stung for the thousandth time. Why couldn't he have died with a Killing Curse? Why had he been made to suffer out slowly?
Astoria felt immature, for it would be terrible of her to cry louder than Professor Sinistra, who had lost her dear friend. But a wave of memories was crashing upon her — her adventure with Rhiannon in Knockturn Alley to procure Snape a copper cauldron, her meetings with him about the O.W.L.s, the Doppelvanga saying in his nasally voice, "What a mess!" Professor Snape had done the most he could to help the students during the Carrows' presence, which admittedly wasn't enough, but he couldn't give himself away to Voldemort. And it was all for Voldemort to kill him anyway…
Based on Professor Snape's position, the undersides of his hands on the floor had turned violet-red, the colour Astoria had seen in her cousin Renshaw's body. Professor Snape's eyelids had already been set with death and could not be closed with the hand, and Professor Sinistra wept upon his face as she charmed them to sleep. She brushed his hair tenderly away from his wounds, and set careful magic upon his neck, cleaning him as she went. Astoria stood by helplessly, but it was her presence that was needed, not her help.
Professor Sinistra set a single, mournful kiss upon his forehead. They had been in love. It was merely not the love people assumed. It was a companionate love, a love of paramount understanding between two people. Their hearts would always rest elsewhere, and that was something understood between them, too.
Astoria saw Professor Snape's wand on the floor, picked it up, and cleaned it. Professor Sinistra similarly used magic to get his rigid arms to move, and crossed them upon his chest before charming him into a gentle float. They began to descend the stairs like a funeral procession, with Professor Snape in between them. Everyone else in Hogsmeade had gone up to the castle. They alone walked away from it, to the very edge of the mountains where trees grew, and a wrought-iron gate opened into Hogsmeade Graveyard. Astoria followed Professor Sinistra to an empty corner of the grounds. Professor Sinistra seemed to be counting her steps under her breath, and then she stopped. The cold wind blew Professor Snape's hair back in his face, and Astoria carefully moved it away. She missed him, she did miss him. She could hear him saying, "And just what do you think you are doing, Miss Greengrass?" as she fought his silly hairstyle through the wind.
"Astoria, dear, may I use your grimoire?" Professor Sinistra asked.
Astoria stalled for a moment. That's right, she had her grimoire on her! It had been bumping against her side all night. She didn't know what she had thought it was… she was the one who had put it there. But she couldn't figure out what Professor Sinistra needed something like that for.
"It's, er, full of Dark spells and notes, Professor…"
"As grimoires are," Professor Sinistra said. "I only need one page. Might I use the back inner sleeve? It is my book you stole, after all."
Astoria's face flushed with shame. She had been foolish to think she could get anything past Professor Sinistra. She hoped the professor wouldn't flip through the pages and read the sort of things she had practised in there. She rummaged through her robes to get the Sticking Charm off of the book and handed it over.
"Keep him above ground," Professor Sinistra instructed, and Astoria picked up the charm to hold Professor Snape.
Astoria watched her mentor carefully. Professor Sinistra held the book in one hand, open on the last page of text, which was a closing summary about Sagittarius. With her wand, Professor Sinistra drew out the ink from these pages, and suspended it to float in droplets whilst she turned to the blank page at the back. Professor Sinistra dabbed the tip of her wand into the floating droplets of ink and used it as a quill, sweeping drawings of strange symbols across the page. She then laid the book with reverence upon the ground too hallowed for the spells Astoria had placed in the other pages. Astoria was fidgeting with embarrassment. From the ground, dirt started flying up and outwards in perfect lines, and an arithmanceutical sigil began to glow a ghostly green in the grass. And then, with flame, a catafalque materialised before them. Professor Sinistra took Professor Snape from Astoria's care and laid him upon it. Astoria noticed something drop in the exchange. It was a bloodstained paper, but she picked it out of the grass unafraid. It was old stationery, and it was terribly hard to read. All Astoria could make out through the blood was:-
ever have been friends with Gellert
mind's going, personally
Lots of love,
Lily
Tucked and folded inside the protection of the letter was something even more precious, a photograph of the letter's author. Lily, Harry Potter's mother, had long, red hair and a lively smile. Her arms were reaching to something off the paper, which had been torn away. The photograph was old, and Lily was hardly in her twenties. Professor Sinistra saw Astoria studying it and peeked over.
"Ah, there she is," Professor Sinistra said with a sad smile. "I am certain Severus is looking for her now, to say he is sorry for being so presumptuous and racist."
Astoria looked at her quizzically and surrendered the papers. In turn, Professor Sinistra lifted Astoria's grimoire out of the grass and gave it back to her. She then looked the letter over and spoke of the witch in the photograph.
"Severus and Lily were especially close in school. They spent nearly every day together even though they were in different Houses. Unfortunately, every moment he spent apart from her was spent with a group of soon-to-be Death Eaters. Their ideas permeated into Severus's attitudes, because he was too deep into the hatred of his own Muggle father. He made a long string of wrong choices, and ultimately, Lily left him. His own choices did this, though. He recognised that and spent the rest of his life grieving the loss of her. After all, it was his master who killed her."
Professor Sinistra motioned for Professor Snape's wand. She placed it in his clasped hands, in burial formation.
"Holly and unicorn," Professor Sinistra said, "but he'd never tell. As you have seen, he had it stained black."
Professor Sinistra returned the letter and photograph of Lily Potter to the cloak pocket over Professor Snape's heart, and touched his cheek.
"What lives we've had, Severus!" she said, and a beautiful spell began to encase him. It shimmered white-gold and arched over him like a glass-lidded coffin. Within the encasement, white lilies appeared all round his body on the catafalque, making it seem like he had taken rest in a field of flowers. Professor Sinistra held both of her hands palm-up and said a prayer in her mind that Astoria caught in the breeze. Then Professor Sinistra led Astoria out of the graveyard, and they admired the colours of blue beginning to dress the sky.
"I imagine some will come to see him, now that Harry Potter has indicated his heroism. Severus did not call for a service in his will, though I can't help myself. I'll do something small once people begin to gather," Professor Sinistra said. "I don't know what to do about his house. We left our houses to each other, you see. It will be more things for me to fail to clean up, probably."
"WHAT A MESS! WHAT A MESS!"
Some happiness reached Professor Sinistra when her Doppelvanga flew back to her, using Snape's voice and awkwardly tried to fit itself on her shoulders. Professor Grubbly-Plank was trying to get the enormous flock back in order.
"Figured that one was yours, Aurora! The other ones are still using their natural call!"
"Indeed he is," Professor Sinistra said, stroking the blue feathers with her finger. "What a good job you did."
"Good job you," the bird said back.
The rest of the Doppelvangas continued their beautiful song, and like the faint sounds pouring down from the castle, it, too, held both death and life.