Book 4: Astoria Greengrass and the Curse of Quennell Park
Song rec: "Cursum Perficio" by Enya and "Astronomer's Call" by Kate Bush ft. Kevin Doyle
Cursum perficio loosely means "my journey ends here," yet the affrettando halfway through the song indicates that things aren't ending just yet! "Astronomer's Call" is spoken word, but my gosh, what an experience.
Notes: I have bones to pick about Cursed Child's treatment of female characters (all characters, actually). I chose to bring our story to Rowle Ridge because I felt uncomfortable how this character was defined by her biological parents & how it's implied someone can be born evil.
"Theology being the work of males, Original Sin was traced to the female." - Barbara Tuchman
"Mariner revenant,
Spill your horrors
Louder than licit Sacrament vows
I'll wizen here that I may wisen
To pangs of then
And pains of now"
- "The Guest's Reply," personal collection
Amidst the hymn of Doppelvangas, the events that had transpired continued to sink into Astoria's bones like the morning chill. Now that Voldemort was dead, hopefully the gossips would realise that Astoria carried no child of his. The problem remained that she knew exactly where Rabastan had conceived the idea.
Tom Riddle and Bellatrix Lestrange had left a daughter in the possession of a Death Eater who was currently walking free. Astoria had seen this witch rescuing Rabastan Lestrange and in his memories before he perished. She had very long, dead blonde hair, and she moved like water. She did not hold a baby correctly in her arms.
"There is something loud in your mind," Professor Sinistra said, turning her eyes from the clouds to Astoria.
"I am not sure you're going to believe me when I tell you," said Astoria.
"Well, tell me anyway. This is a day I'll believe anything."
Astoria couldn't think of any nice way to put it and resolved to simply spit it out.
"Riddle really did have a child, a baby girl. He had her with Bellatrix Lestrange."
Professor Sinistra's look of peaceful, quiet grief changed to one of absolute displeasure and anger.
"Astoria, how could you make such a horrible joke at a time like this?"
"I'm not joking," Astoria said defensively. "I learned this from Rabastan."
Professor Sinistra was now completely beside herself, huffing and shifting her weight.
"You knew what sort of liar Rabastan was! That is exactly the sort of thing he would make up in one of his… one of his depraved fantasies!"
"I know Rabastan very well, Professor. Please understand. I combed the memory right from his head. There really is a child. Her name is Delphini. She's at a place called Rowle Ridge, on the coast. Euphemia Rowle was left in charge since the baby was kept secret from the Malfoys. I'm being serious. You asked me what was on my mind, so I told you."
"Don't you realise how fake that sounds, Astoria‽ Tom Riddle was a resurrected Horcrux user. Even I'm not entirely sure what that means, but it certainly doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would allow viable reproduction!"
"I know it sounds mad! I know! I am relaying the information I got from Rabastan because it worries me! Euphemia Rowle is out there somewhere with a helpless baby!"
"This sounds like something someone just made up!"
"Professor, I know it does!"
"Are you certain the child isn't Bellatrix and Rodolphus's?"
"Now, you know the answer to that, Professor."
"Euphemia and Rodolphus's, then! Astoria, I just don't see Tom Riddle making a baby!"
"I'm not asking you to picture it, Professor."
"Well, how could the Malfoys not know, then, if Bellatrix and Tom lived with them?"
"Big house? I don't know! According to Rabastan, Bellatrix Transfigured herself to hide her baby bump. The girl's birth was a secret. But she's Bellatrix and Tom's, Professor, and even if she wasn't, she exists, and she's out there with a dangerous woman," Astoria stressed.
"Would you share the memory you found in Rabastan with me, then? I — I understand your feeling, Astoria. I just need to see it to believe something so… so…"
"Comb the memory, then," Astoria insisted.
Professor Sinistra looked as though she had drunk curdled milk when she left Astoria's mind. That expression, at least, meant she believed her. They mulled it over without a single word for a while.
"Astoria."
"Yes?"
"What do you want to do?" the professor asked gently.
Astoria thought of her own blood curse, the sneaking plague on her family all caused by one Horcrux, and what might lurk within the poor child as well. She thought of Rhiannon Nicole Clarke, whose parents were downright evil. She thought of Flora and Hestia, who had not been given real childhoods. Astoria had taken her whole life for granted before this war. Even though they were not with her, she had both of her parents, and both of her parents happened to love her and treat her right. Rhiannon, Flora, and Hestia had not had that. And even though Draco was never mistreated, he was raised with such wretched ideology that it had ruined his life. If Astoria could go back in time and save Rhiannon from the sight of her father's gun barrel, save the twins from gross manipulation, and save Draco from toxic racism, she would. Hell, if Astoria could undo the damage Professor Sinistra's husband had endured from his father in childhood, she'd do that too, and probably save the whole flipping planet. But she could not go back in time. She could only go forward.
"I want to give that baby a fighting chance at a normal life," Astoria said.
To her surprise, Professor Sinistra nodded and said, "I would like that as well."
Astoria suddenly found herself overwhelmed with ideas on how to go about it.
"The Aurors that were on the run are back," she said excitedly. "Many of them came here with the reinforcements!"
"God, no, don't report it to the Aurors!" Professor Sinistra said, and Astoria detected the words "Are you out of your mind?" nearly ready to leave the woman's mouth again. Professor Sinistra settled from her shock, and said, "The very last thing we need is for the baby to be in Ministry custody. They will view her as a bad omen, a threat, or a prophecy. Or, worse, they may try to study her since she was born of a Horcrux user. We must keep this as secret as the Lestranges did, Astoria, albeit for different reasons. Never trust the Ministry."
Astoria understood that her Auror idea had been a poor one, but that left them with quite a problem, "Are you saying we are doing this ourselves?"
Professor Sinistra folded her hands and put the tips of her fingers to her lips, half-thinking, half-praying. Her eyes traced the damaged silhouette of the castle.
"No, not entirely alone," she said. "I couldn't trouble Glenda with this information after all she's put up with from me. Luckily, though, the baby has living relatives. With a little clever convincing, it might be all we need. Now, arresting Euphemia is another task entirely."
Astoria's eyes widened.
"Well, dear, we cannot hope to do this on three hours of sleep. From what I hear, the Hufflepuff basement and Slytherin dungeons are entirely intact. Go back to your dormitory and sleep, and I will see what is left of my tower and do the same. We will get the baby tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow?" Astoria questioned. "Won't she have left the country by then?"
"Euphemia's brother Thorfinn has been captured, and her lover Rodolphus has been killed. She will not flee without knowing their fates. Bear in mind, even though her faded Dark Mark indicates her master's fall, she does not know of Bellatrix's death. Would you leave the country with Bellatrix Lestrange's baby?"
"Er… no, that's a death wish."
"Exactly. If I know anything, it is that news does not reach Rowle Ridge very quickly. It is a most… wild place."
"You know where it is? You know about the Rowles?" Astoria gasped, desperate for more information on the witch she had seen.
"I know that Euphemia was one of the many witches who wrote Rodolphus amorous letters after his arrest, fascinated with his looks and atrocities. She was the only one he ever responded to, as they both agreed upon their worship of Tom Riddle. Besides her relationship with Rodolphus, Euphemia is extremely private. She is said to spend much of her time in deep meditation, so she never impressed Riddle, who admired showy power. She thus hardly ranked above the Carrows. But had she not been belittled and placed on babysitting duty," Professor Sinistra said, "we would still be fighting."
For the first time, Astoria beheld the late Abraxas Malfoy's muster of albino peafowl in person. There were several pied peafowl as well, who displayed a fanciful mixture of colour and white, and plenty of leucistic peafowl, who had white feathers with blue eyes. No matter their plumage, they were all beautiful birds, and Astoria admired the similarity of the pied peacocks' eyespots to Professor Sinistra's protective nazars. However, the peafowl were often in the way of the path and moved as slowly as a young couple walking hand-in-hand, unconcerned with who needed past them. In particular, since it was hatching season, the peahens and their peachicks left quite the trail of doo along the way, which Astoria and Professor Sinistra dodged. The Malfoys never would have left their walkway in this state under normal circumstances, but circumstances had not been normal for a long time.
Astoria dodged another peahen. Malfoy Manor was a dark, imposing place dotting the Wiltshire countryside, but beautiful in its own way. It was an authoritarian Elizabethan house, in contrast to Quennell Park's dreamy French Baroque. It was no wonder why Grandfather Cygnus had been able to convince a tiny Draco that the house was haunted; although, in reality, it was Quennell Park that held more boundary disturbances between life and death.
A lot had happened in twelve hours as Wizarding society tried to put itself back together. Professor Snape had been buried in Hogsmeade with a view of the castle in accordance with his wishes, though Professor Sinistra had held a tribute for him first, which even Harry Potter attended. Professor McGonagall had been appointed headmistress of Hogwarts, which was not going to close, but it had let out early. (As things usually went when Harry Potter was involved, final exams had been cancelled). The castle itself, though, remained open for students in need of housing. St Mungo's Hospital and Illyius Orphanage had been flooded, and funerals were being announced left and right.
The Ministry was no longer run by Death Eaters, but it was still in shambles, and Professor Sinistra and Astoria were taking advantage of the disorganisation to do what needed done. After all, the professor warned, it would only be a matter of time before they would both be "called in" to the Ministry to testify about the Lestranges. Astoria used one of the tracking owls from the school to send out a letter to Flora and Hestia with the good news. She deliberately returned the Foe-Shard Hestia had lent her in the envelope and informed the twins that they would all be interviewed about Amycus and Alecto, whose corpses had confused the Hogwarts staff until Astoria had awakened from her nap and explained. The part Astoria left out in her letter to the twins was that the faculty's confusion spanned well beyond finding the Carrows dead. Absolutely no one's magic worked on the Carrows' bodies to either move or inspect them until Professor McGonagall thought to use the pair's own wands to transport them. Professor Sprout's comment of "Right stubborn bastards" didn't completely explain the phenomenon.
Kingsley Shacklebolt, who had battled Voldemort, was appointed the new Minister for Magic. He had, during a face-to-face conversation after the battle, informed both Lucius and Draco that they were on house arrest, and that the Ministry would be conducting investigations at Malfoy Manor by the end of the week. Lucius had been surprisingly cooperative, since he was trying to avoid another round of Azkaban time. Professor Sinistra was not above exploiting this, and neither was Astoria. The professor had plenty of great ideas for convincing Narcissa Malfoy to pick up her niece from Rowle Ridge. They were all better than Astoria's preferred opening line: "Good evening, would you like to come help us prevent a Third Wizarding War?" Still, Astoria did not foresee Narcissa raising the child once they rescued her. Professor Sinistra claimed to have plans other than Illyius Orphanage. She had not yet shared them, however.
Astoria stayed behind a few steps. Once Professor Sinistra knocked on the door, it only took a few moments for Narcissa to answer it. The family was expecting the Ministry and wanted to appear like they were willing to help. When Narcissa beheld the figure of Professor Sinistra, though, she said, "Oh. It's you."
"Good evening, Mrs Malfoy. Have you finished your dinner? I do not want to intrude," Professor Sinistra claimed.
"We — What do you want?" Narcissa said breathily.
"I won't waste your time with formalities," Professor Sinistra said. "Tell me what you know about Rowle Ridge and why your sister spent time there."
Narcissa looked genuinely confused. Lucius could be heard making interrogatory noises from within, to which Narcissa replied, "It's Sinistra. No. No, it's Sinistra. I'm going outside. No, stay inside, Lucius! No! Accio feed."
After Narcissa's many impatient waves, a sack of feed with dried fruit for the peafowl came into her hands at a very slow speed. She was not happy without her wand.
Narcissa did not invite Professor Sinistra into the house, and she totally ignored Astoria. She shut the door behind her and walked out to the gardens. Professor Sinistra and Astoria followed the hem of her dress as she spoke:-
"I know that Rowle Ridge is the home inherited by Euphemia Rowle, the eldest child of the late Mr and Mrs Karl Rowle. Thorfinn, her brother, resided there after Azkaban, as he had lost his own house. From what I understood, Rodolphus was intimately involved with Euphemia. He and Bellatrix would often visit her after their search missions."
"Without Rabastan," said the professor.
"Yes, without Rabastan," said Narcissa, but seeing as Rabastan's company could have not been wanted for any number of reasons, she wasn't suspicious yet. However, once Professor Sinistra asked, "Would you say that they visited more often, say, after February," Narcissa's expression grew angry as she tossed the peachicks food.
"Legilimency doesn't work on me, Sinistra. So how did you know about that?"
"I have information about Bellatrix from Rabastan," the professor said.
Astoria disliked the tension and focused on watching the fluffy little peachicks peck at the ground.
"From Rabastan?" Narcissa whispered. "Surely he's not coming back here, is he?"
"No, he is dead," Professor Sinistra said.
"Good," Narcissa responded instantly. "But my sister has died as well. I don't understand what information you seek about her. If it's Euphemia you are after, I would suggest you contact the Ministry rather than harass me. I know very little about her."
Narcissa walked faster, and they ended up on the other side of the hedges, into the rest of the formal garden. (It was nice, but not as nice as Quennell Park's).
"Mrs Malfoy, Rabastan has informed us that your sister had a baby," Professor Sinistra introduced, "and that the child is being watched by Euphemia Rowle at the Ridge."
Narcissa's nails dug into the feed bag, and she turned her nose up. Her eyes were alight with fury, and the veins in her hands popped.
"What foolishness are you insinuating?" she hissed. "How could you come to me with this nonsense, after all my family has been through, and make mockery—"
Narcissa was so angry she could not produce the words. Astoria backed away, stumbling amongst the birds' dining.
"You think — that since I have no wand — you think you can come here to my home and—?"
"Mrs Malfoy," Professor Sinistra interrupted, "If you cannot cast Legilimency, I will gladly extract the memory from myself, as there is a Pensieve in Hogwarts."
"How dare — I can cast — with a wand, I could cast — you insolent…"
Astoria, though intimidated, felt she might make herself useful and intervene.
"Mrs Malfoy, please, look. Here, I have the main part of Rabastan's wand. We defeated him, but prior to that, we obtained a memory. This is the memory we came to ask you about. Here, please, take one of my wands, and cast Legilimency, and you will see. Please."
Mrs Malfoy's breath skidded. Her eyes were very hard, and she kept swallowing her anger. But Astoria insisted, and held out both the silver lime and the cherry to her.
"Miss Greengrass, do you not realise that Rabastan was deranged, and that any memory in him is tainted by Azkaban's effects and worse?" Narcissa tried to say calmly through her teeth. "My sister had no child. She and Rodolphus weren't very…"
"It's not what you think, Mrs Malfoy. Please," Astoria begged.
Narcissa suddenly yanked the cherry out of Astoria's hand and shoved the feed bag over to her. Professor Sinistra, meanwhile, had her arms crossed as Narcissa held the wand to her face.
"Oh, if it will make you take your leave sooner, Sinistra, I would do anything!" Narcissa said harshly. "Legilimens!"
Then Narcissa's mouth dropped open.
"No… there is no way. This is false…" Narcissa said, though it was real, very real, and it had happened in Malfoy Manor under everyone's noses.
"Rabastan made this up. This is something he invented. He made vulgar comments all the time…" Narcissa continued desperately, but Rabastan's transferred memory was not tainted with the signs of delusion or even False Memory Charms.
"No… oh, Bella, Bella," Narcissa said, and she lifted the wand away to cover her face with both hands. "How awful. How dreadfully awful. I did not know."
Professor Sinistra and Astoria were quiet whilst Narcissa tried to process it. The peacocks sounded like they were meowing in the enclosure behind the gardens, whilst the peahens cooed and stomped round for more food.
"I don't understand," Narcissa choked. "I just don't understand it."
"None of us do," Professor Sinistra shrugged. "But Rowle is bound to try to create another Dark Lord out of the child."
Narcissa was shaking her head.
"What's to be done, though? Euphemia was given orders."
"Those who ordered her are all dead," Professor Sinistra said. "Mrs Malfoy, I am not asking you to take the child as your charge, but I implore you to get the baby away from Euphemia. You can do this with the pretence of being helpful, of sharing the news of the Dark Lord with her, and of taking the child off her hands. After all, the baby is your niece, and Euphemia only took her with compensation."
"You want me to ask for the child?"
"Oh, do you think I should do it?" Professor Sinistra mocked.
"No, no, you are right… She may simply give her to me. But Aurora, where do you intend to place the child? I cannot… We're in no position to…"
"There is one other relative I have in mind," Professor Sinistra said.
Narcissa welled with tears, and she turned away. Her smooth, piebald hair hid her face.
"Oh, but she couldn't possibly… not after what Bella did to her girl."
"You hardly know Andromeda. Do not speak for her," Professor Sinistra said.
Astoria had taken to feeding the peachicks, who bounced all over their mothers and siblings like big cotton balls. Would Andromeda Tonks be peachy with the child of Voldemort? What if they told her it was simply Bellatrix and Rodolphus's? Would that work any better, though? As Narcissa had relayed, Bellatrix had been the killer of Nymphadora. This was a sticky situation. Astoria tried to think of any couple in her family who might want to take in a war orphan. Maybe Sylvester and Valera, or Erez and Hazel. They didn't have to know it was Bellatrix's. But what would she say? "Hi, it's cousin Astoria. So… I'm alive and I found this baby…"
"We will meet you here at sunrise," Professor Sinistra said definitively, as Narcissa still seemed to be waffling. Narcissa was the kind of person to pretend there wasn't a problem in the hopes that it would go away. (That was exactly how Narcissa saw Astoria's relationship with Draco). The situation with Delphini, though, wouldn't allow that.
"Wait," Narcissa said. "What do you mean 'we'? She's too young."
Astoria looked at Narcissa uncomprehendingly, since she had somewhat forgotten her own age by this point.
"No Legilimens is young," Professor Sinistra said. "Astoria is the one who combed the raw memory out."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean she needs to be involved! This is Euphemia Rowle!" Narcissa said. "And you should know Astoria tested into her school year! She is only sixteen, Sinistra! All these conflicts… she's not been of age!"
"Don't you think I know my own charge's age? Astoria is a more proficient witch than many."
"Do you hear yourself?" Narcissa protested. "Besides, if I'm able to get the child since I'm Bella's sister, then I would say neither of you are necessary. Are you anticipating so much trouble that you would weaponise a teenager, Sinistra?"
"I don't think you understand, Narcissa," Professor Sinistra said. "Astoria and I are your back-up, not the other way around. Not to mention, we're your witnesses. If I am able to capture Euphemia, I will credit you and Lucius with providing me the information about Rowle Ridge. Wouldn't that be a nice thing to tell the Ministry when they stop by later this week? My word may not mean much because of my husband, but this girl is a Greengrass."
Narcissa could not have made it clearer how displeased she was, but she finally acknowledged her niece's existence and agreed to the plan. They had been spotted through the windows by that point, though thankfully not overheard. Draco came out in fresh clothes and charmed bandages and descended the back portico of the manor eagerly. Narcissa dropped Astoria's wand over top of the feed bag she was still holding, clenched her fists, and stormed past Draco.
"She is not here for you, Draco," Narcissa said coldly on her way back in the house. "She is here for more trouble."
Draco shrugged her off and met Astoria's lips with zeal. He wasn't dressed for the cold spring night, and Astoria was surprised Narcissa didn't insist on getting him a heavy coat and a kiss on each cheek.
"Here, you're throwing the food all in one place," Draco said with a smile. "That's fine for the chicks, but the peacocks are going to fight if you keep doing that."
He took the feed bag from her, and they set out a wider line of food. Professor Sinistra respected their privacy; she was hunched over the herb garden, seeing what was getting ready to flourish. Astoria discovered great joy in watching Draco Malfoy feed birds.
"We lost a few of the hens to Rabastan until Mother beat him up," he said.
"Rabastan's own wand killed him," Astoria mentioned.
"That's a fitting end. Oh, and I heard they found Rodolphus in more than one piece."
"Professor Sinistra was ready for him to try to kill Neville Longbottom."
"I see. Good riddance to them. They made my life miserable here. I can't imagine what it was like for you, being captured…"
"It's over."
"Yes, it's all over," Draco said peacefully. "I'm hoping the Ministry takes some of their effects. If not, would you like to come over for a bonfire this summer?"
Astoria laughed, "Oh, Draco, your parents hate me."
"They hate everyone," Draco smiled. "You're actually on the lighter end of the spectrum of hatred."
"Wow, that's a relief."
"Oh, here, I wanted to give this back to you," Draco said, and he pulled her Foe-Shard bracelet out of his pocket. "Thank you for letting me borrow it. It helped me not die."
Astoria nodded and placed it back on her wrist.
"I wonder what would happen if you cast your Patronus over by the peacocks. It'd be funny if they got territorial and tried to fight it," Draco suggested.
"Draco, I'm not going to tease the birds."
"Aw, you're right, I guess. They can get pretty mean with each other. Do you think your Patronus will attract the hens, though? That'd be even funnier."
"Maybe we'll try and see what happens someday. Not tonight. I'm all out of Patronuses."
"I told my father about your Patronus when we saw you feed the birds from the window," Draco said proudly.
"Hm! And what did he say?"
"He made one of his noises."
"I see."
"So," Draco said, "what trouble are you here to cause? I happen to like it a little too much when you cause trouble."
The cool weather did nothing to help Astoria's hot face.
"Oh, well, it was mostly Ministry issues between Professor Sinistra and your mother," she brushed off. "I wanted to come along to see you."
There were pieces of truth in the lie. Astoria guessed that Narcissa was with Lucius, inventing a story that made more sense than the existence of Delphini that same moment.
Little did Draco know, Astoria was back at Malfoy Manor the following morning before dawn. She was wearing clothes she was not used to, hand-me-downs of duelling gear from Professor Sinistra. It had taken her two tries manually and three tries with her wand to get her boots laced the way they needed to be. Her pants and shirt were padded over spots especially vulnerable to blood-drawing curses. Both she and Professor Sinistra wore their hair in high buns, and Professor Sinistra looked like she was about to tame three dragons at once. Both were unimpressed when Narcissa came out in the latest style of the season. But as long as she played the part of the concerned aunt, it wouldn't matter what any of them wore. Everything would go well.
Narcissa held out her graceful palm expectantly in Astoria's face without so much as a "good morning." Astoria hovered the cherry wand over the woman's hand so that she would have to reach for it, and when she did, Astoria pulled it away quickly with a cheeky grin. Then she handed it over. Astoria was getting used to Narcissa's glares; they were so overused that they wouldn't have an effect on her forever.
Although Professor Sinistra knew the general location of Rowle Ridge, Narcissa was the only one capable of Apparating there, so they held her arms. They did not want to Apparate directly onto the property, though, since depending on what sort of magic detectors Euphemia kept, that would give away that there were three of them. After their stomach-churning travel, they landed on a huge terrain of brownish-grey rock. The smell of the salty, fishy sea was so heavy that it was on the palate. The waves crashed at a calm tempo, but this was no beach. Nautical morning twilight had arrived, and it would only be a short time before civil dawn broke and cast light upon the horizon's black water.
"Oh, this is a broom's ride from Azkaban," Professor Sinistra said in surprise. "Still, it'd be easier to Apparate to Out Stack, and then go from there…"
Narcissa wasn't very conversational about Azkaban. Unlike Professor Sinistra, she had never been twice-accustomed to actually camping out there.
"Ah, wasn't it the Rowle family that created Azkaban?" Professor Sinistra continued.
"I believe it was," Narcissa said quietly, as the wind tossed her dress and loose hair.
They walked along the craggy ground, covered in dew, until the dew changed to ocean spray. Pencil-thin streams of water ran beneath their feet in the veins of erosion. The end of the rocky island came into view, and Astoria scanned the whole panorama in search of a building. The waves beyond crested white from black. Somewhere behind Astoria was cold grassland and small farms, and even further south must have been the Shetlands. But there was nothing good ahead.
Astoria realised that she had known this place before, albeit from someone else's memory. Farther north, many years ago, a pair of mages had thrown themselves into the sea after excommunication from Durmstrang. They had been rescued by the Rowles then, but Astoria could not tell whether their presence had become revenant, or if it was merely the poignancy of the memory. This place felt like the end of the Earth, as though any moment the wind would kick up and lift the witches off their feet, into the sea.
"Muggle-Repellent Charms," Narcissa said.
"I feel them as well," replied Professor Sinistra.
Astoria could not feel that magic. Instead, she swore she could feel the spirits of the Carrows, though they were undifferentiated from the landscape. Perhaps the charms were all Narcissa felt, but Professor Sinistra had to sense the grave scrutiny under which they travelled. Astoria requested her ear for a whisper.
"Professor, they are here somewhere."
"They cannot hurt us," Professor Sinistra murmured calmly and squeezed Astoria's hand. She cast Disillusionment Charms upon herself and Astoria before they got any closer to the water, and Astoria felt as cold as the gazing heralds.
"There it is," Narcissa said, pointing at the silhouette towards the west. "I thought I had Apparated closer. She must have an Anti-Apparition spell in place."
It was a large, A-frame home with weathered brown shingles, blue siding, and long skylights. The chimney stood well above the pyramid like a false lighthouse. Astoria had sometimes daydreamt of having a house by a sea or lake all to herself, away from the rules and regulations at Quennell Park. There was a high wooden terrace on one side of the house, but it was empty of any outdoor furniture or decorations. Astoria doubted Euphemia was the type of person to set up a proper baby gate in front of the widely-spaced banisters if she kept Delphini to toddling age.
They watched Narcissa trek across the rocky surface toward the house. It felt strange to stand out there in the open, even if they were invisible, because Astoria didn't feel invisible to everything. They were far back enough to feel separated from it all, but Astoria's feelings stretched further and further across the cliff as the minutes passed. They saw Narcissa's figure disappear round the edge of the house. Astoria noticed she kept holding her breath, and she ended up yawning to catch it. Betony.
"Delphini is the genitive case of the constellation Delphinus," Professor Sinistra mentioned to break the silence, even though Astoria already knew the fact. "I wonder why she picked a genitive case for a name, and then pronounced it 'del-fee-nee.'"
"Well, Delphinus doesn't sound very feminine, even if Delphini doesn't make sense," Astoria said, though she spoke quietly because she knew the lemures were eavesdropping upon them. "Draco's family tries to use names of stars or constellations."
"The pronunciation is going to drive me mad," Professor Sinistra said, but she sounded like she was smiling. "Perhaps we shall call her Delphi."
"Baby Delphi," Astoria tried out the word. "That's rather cute, I think."
"What was her middle name again? Oh, Megaera. That, at least, is the name of an asteroid. Bellatrix must have chosen the name in relation to the legendary Fury, though," Professor Sinistra said. "After all…"
Astoria shivered against a breath of wind.
"Perhaps we could, er, get rid of the name, since there's no birth certificate," she whispered even softer, though she had no idea what their involvement with this baby would be after today.
"Well, no, I like the asteroid," Professor Sinistra shrugged. "No one needs to know. It's dreadfully unwise to disturb love magic."
"Love magic?" Astoria questioned.
"Magic created of love," Professor Sinistra stated the obvious. Astoria pursed her lips.
Narcissa was still not visible. If Euphemia wasn't home at all, Narcissa would have been back already, so perhaps they were talking now. Astoria peeked at the Foe-Shard on her wrist, and there was nothing in it. That was good. The plan was to have Narcissa relay the information of Voldemort's defeat and claim Delphini as her living relative. They would take the baby back to Professor Sinistra's, which, although messy, would not be visited by the Ministry as soon as Malfoy Manor would. Then, once home, Narcissa would report Euphemia's crimes and whereabouts to the Ministry and receive credit for being a rat. If something went wrong, well, they were ready.
Astoria felt silly standing there waiting, because it made her think all sorts of things about the baby she was about to see. (When she had seen Draco holding a baby in the enchanted mirror, she had first thought it was a cat). It went without saying that she hoped baby Delphi looked like her mother and not her father. She was two months old and hopefully well-nourished, but they were quite prepared to find the poor child in any state of neglect. Astoria's mind wandered far from the immediate concerns during the wait, and she wondered what Bellatrix's affinity to the dolphin constellation was. It seemed awfully benign for someone like her. However, Astoria, who was purer in heart than Bellatrix, tended to like monstrous constellations. At least Bellatrix hadn't named the baby Serpens. Astoria put her hands in her pockets against the cold wind. The sun, now shining through the moving clouds, did nothing to help.
How had Bellatrix convinced Voldemort to have a baby? Maybe he planned to turn her into another Horcrux or something. What a great dad.
"We never wanted a child ourselves," Professor Sinistra chatted. "I certainly don't mind watching her, though I'm not fit to raise her."
"You did a fine job with me, Professor," Astoria joked.
"Oh my! I found you once you were already past your annoying years," Professor Sinistra chuckled. "And you love all the same things I do. Teens never like the things their parents do."
"I hope she doesn't have a single thing in common with those two."
"Nurture comes after nature," Professor Sinistra avowed. "That's the final say. I'll do my very best to convince Andromeda. Of course, she already has a baby in her care. Did you hear? Nymphadora had a son last month."
Astoria's heart both swelled and shattered. She had had no idea Nymphadora Tonks was pregnant. How tragic. The couple's baby was already an orphan. She dug her hands even deeper in her invisible pockets and bit her lip. It was pushing it to ask Andromeda anyway, since Delphi's mother had killed Nymphadora. But how would she accept a second orphaned child when she was a new widow? This was asking a lot of one woman who had no family left.
Well, we have to actually get the baby first, Astoria thought, as it had been taking a little too long.
There were many noises. The seabirds, the crashing waves, the wind against the cliffs, the drowning siblings Astoria could not shake. But it felt so silent. Astoria temporarily made herself visible and checked her Foe-Shard again. There was an outline of a single person with very long hair.
"Professor, Euphemia's in the glass."
"Ah, yes. I never took Euphemia as the type to invite people in for tea," Professor Sinistra said. "We ought to move closer and see what's happening. Stay close to me."
The cliff was not easy to traverse, and the closer they drew to the house, the closer they drew to the edge. Astoria did not regularly suffer from vertigo, but she couldn't look over the ledge lest she feel like she was dropping. They were much higher than they had first felt when they Apparated here. Astoria and the professor crept alongside the house at a far enough distance to stay undetected but close enough to see. To their displeasure, Narcissa was standing on the front stoop. Euphemia was in the doorframe with her hands folded in front of her. Neither of them had the baby. Narcissa was considerably more animated than Euphemia, as though she had been aggravated. Euphemia simply stood there.
This was the closest Astoria had seen Euphemia. Her most prominent feature, of course, was that calf-length blonde hair. It had reached its terminal length but was not cared for, and it looked like a dish brush. She had it parted in the middle, which emphasised the squareness of her jaw. Her eyebrows were so light it looked like they weren't there at all, but she didn't need them to show how cruel her expression was. Euphemia wore a plain grey dress with large, symmetrical pockets on her hips and buttons down the entire length of the front. It stopped exactly above the arch of her feet, which were bare. Astoria concentrated closely on the conversation as it reached them from their hiding place.
"You want more gold, Euphemia? Is that what you are trying to tell me? My husband is on the brink of an Azkaban sentence, and you want more gold?"
"Your husband lives. Yet the wizard who meant most to me has died. A hero's death, but still a death. You have cheapened my feelings down to mere greed. I am not greedy, Narcissa, I am jealous. You, who already had everything in life, also had a chance to be the Dark Lord's most prized servants, and you all have squandered it. Now you demand His child. I cannot allow it, lest she end up spoiled and weak like your son."
Euphemia had an eerily gentle voice, low and cool, like she was not used to using it. Her gaze was always above Narcissa's head. At first, Astoria thought she might be blind, but it was not so. She was trancelike.
"You said yourself you don't even want her child," Narcissa said, a distant hint of familial faithfulness in her tone.
"I don't, but I made a promise, and I received access to the Lestrange vault. It will keep me to old age. I am the last in Britain to lay claim to the Lestrange name. Unlike you, I am not a witch who rescinds my word and my loyalty at each changing tide."
"You dare…"
"My remarks are true, not daring. There can be no 'dare' when I am more powerful than you. Leave here," said Euphemia unnervingly. "Do not show your face to me again, and we will hold our peace."
Narcissa was aghast.
"I am the child's living relative. I housed Bellatrix. I housed her all throughout her pregnancy! I am Bellatrix's own sister!"
"No, I will say it one last time. Your blood means nothing. After all, Andromeda Tonks is also her sister," Euphemia said. "Madam Deputy Lestrange left the child with me, not her own sister. I am merely a subordinate, so what is the greater meaning for you? Could it be that she disowned you as she disowned Andromeda? Lucius was stripped of rank long ago."
Narcissa's hands clenched Astoria's wand in her pocket. Euphemia seemed to sense this, but she did not draw her own wand. Instead, she stepped out from the threshold and shut the door. She slinked up to Narcissa, so closely that their feet and chests touched. It was a move one might see from a childhood bully, but it was extremely frightening, as Euphemia did not even look Narcissa in the face as she did this. Her gaze was always up, too far up, and when she shoved Narcissa towards Astoria's spot, Astoria saw exactly how much white Euphemia's eyes showed.
"This is bad," said Professor Sinistra, and the moment Astoria heard Professor Sinistra's feet against the rock, Narcissa cast a Gouging Spell upon Euphemia's right hand before she could reach for her wand. The problem was that it led Euphemia to change her mind about using her wand entirely.
"A grimoire!" Astoria screamed in terror, for she knew it was a fully-fledged one, well beyond the stages of note-taking and energy collection. Euphemia was going to use the book to assist her magic. As Euphemia ran side to side, always just missing their triad of curses, she held the book to her side and let the rising wind turn its pages. With the blood drawn from Narcissa's curse upon her hand, Euphemia used her fingers as a painter's brush upon a palette. Astoria began to aim at the grimoire more than Euphemia, but none of her spells landed, no matter what… Astoria could not believe this. Euphemia was invincible without even doing anything! Her figure etched against the edge of the cliff was something to be envied indeed.
Astoria continued to cast, but she realised something was wrong once those curses began to land. Her allies beside her meant business, and so did she. Why was Euphemia able to withstand — no, absorb — these curses? Euphemia looked over her shoulder, and Astoria had not been so afraid since Rabastan had trapped her in dimensional magic, the smell of Amortentia against his sweat. Euphemia's eyes were glowing green-yellow.
"Avada Kedavra!" Professor Sinistra shouted, but Euphemia jumped over the edge of the cliff, almost one-thousand feet down into rocks…
Narcissa halted, as they, too, had come close to the edge, but Professor Sinistra could be heard running forward, saying, "No, no. No, no."
Astoria followed Professor Sinistra's voice to join her side, and she fought the dizziness to look down from the ridge. There was nothing there, only the sea, and the loud waves hitting the rock of the island.
"She's… where did she go?" Astoria panted. "Did she remove the Anti-Apparition spell? Did she Disapparate?"
Professor Sinistra drew a breath of the salty air.
"No."
Something was amiss. Astoria never had uncovered exactly how the Rowles had saved the Carrows from sinking in these waters. But the Carrows had been further out at sea, and they had only jumped from a boat. Euphemia had dropped hundreds of feet towards sharp rocks.
"Professor, if she didn't Disapparate… she'd be… The drop alone would kill her, but the rocks…"
"No," Professor Sinistra said, and her voice trembled. "She is getting ready."