Interlude: Astoria

On the first full day back at Hogwarts, Astoria awoke feeling like dying. It was a strange feeling, because it didn't seem to be hers. She blinked. Oh, yes, the bond. That was a thing, wasn't it. Her lips twisted into a frown. She didn't really blame Potter, because Luna would do what Luna wanted, and there wasn't much point fighting it, but that didn't mean she was precisely pleased to be attached to The-Boy-Who-Lived-to-Get-Possessed. Oh well. She was sure this bond could be used somehow to make sure Potter kept Daphne safe.

She climbed out of bed and dressed, ignoring her roommates as they ignored her. The feeling didn't abate. If anything, it grew stronger, tendrils of ice seeping into her magic and constricting around her core. What on earth was Potter - or Riddle, she supposed - up to? Teeth chattering, she stepped out of the tower and headed toward the Great Hall.

Weasley (the female one) and Granger arrived at almost the same time, and all three of them looked at each other, clearly all experiencing the same awfulness that threatened to take all sense of reason. "It feels like he's outside," Weasley said after a moment.

Astoria didn't feel anything of the sort, but she did want to find the reason behind this chill, so she followed the two Gryffindors.

Potter - Riddle, she reminded herself again, only to reconsider since she'd have to keep calling him Potter out loud anyway - Potter sat at the edge of the lake with Luna. Aside from a sort of tightness to his jaw, he looked completely fine. Without the bond, Astoria would never have known anything was wrong. Luna… Well, Luna looked as Luna always did, but she was shivering, so Astoria thought she probably felt the cold as well.

"Tom?" Weasley asked, and Astoria wanted to slap her, because now even more emotions came flooding through the bond. She staggered under the weight of them and had to push against them with her fledgling Occlumency barriers. When Father told her she needed to learn it just in case, she really hadn't expected that 'just in case' to happen so soon. She would have put more effort into learning the technique if she'd known this would happen.

Potter stood. "Don't," he ordered Luna before looking at them. "Leave me alone today," he ordered and Astoria nearly swooned. Not because he was particularly attractive (although he was) or because she enjoyed being ordered (or at least she didn't think she did), but because the magic around him flared, and through the bond she felt a push to obey that left her breathless and suddenly understanding why otherwise independent purebloods like Lord Malfoy would bow to the Dark Lord.

Apparently the effect was lesser for the others, because Granger looked like she wanted to follow him anyway. That wasn't surprising. Her condition left Astoria more than a little sensitive to magic. Thankfully, miracle of miracles, Granger managed to restrain herself. Instead, she turned to Luna. "What happened?" she demanded.

Astoria sniffed disdainfully. This was why no one liked Granger. She was such a bossy know-it-all mudblood Gryffindor. The worst of all worlds. Astoria was certain that Potter only ended up making a bond with the girl out of a lack of options. She must have been one of the only people available at the time. (That didn't explain why the real Potter befriended her in the first place, but perhaps he was more Slytherin than he let on and just wanted her for the homework assistance. Mudblood or not, Granger was top of her class in most subjects.)

Luna hadn't even looked up. She kept staring at the lake, hands clasped together loosely. Astoria frowned to see blisters on the palm of the hand Potter'd been holding. "Tom Riddle will tell you if he wants you to know," Luna said flatly. Now she did look at them, and Astoria was surprised to see tears in her eyes. The last time she'd seen Luna cry had been during her mother's funeral. "I don't believe he will, and you will not ask him about it."

"Luna," Ginny pleaded, "we just want to help. He's hurting so much…" Was it a Gryffindor thing, to be unable to understand simple instructions?

Luna's expression closed off, and she resumed staring at the lake. Astoria nodded to herself and turned to go to breakfast. As she walked, the surging emotions settled somewhat, not so much as though they'd been dealt with, but rather like a blanket had been placed over them. Potter seemed to be regaining control of himself, or was at least suppressing his emotions better, so she thought she could make it through the day as she was.

Astoria thought about the meeting all morning, ignoring her teachers with practiced ease. Potter looked like he was perfectly fine whenever she saw him. Perhaps a bit more closed off than usual, but without the bond, she'd never have guessed at the maelstrom of emotions his cool facade hid. She smiled to herself. Now there was one person who could never hide their true thoughts from her. She'd spent her entire life trying to discern truth from fiction in a family that doted upon her and tried to shield her from every hurt, and then at Hogwarts, she'd met only classmate after classmate whose interest in her sounded genuine but, over time, revealed itself to be only interest in her family's name.

That evening, at dinner, she walked past the Ravenclaw table and over the Slytherin, where she stopped behind her sister and waited. Almost immediately, Draco said, "What're you doing here, Greengrass?" Astoria barely managed to avoid rolling her eyes. He was cute, but he also had no manners whatsoever. Astoria gave him an unimpressed look and then turned her attention to the only one at this table who really mattered: her sister.

Daphne turned to face her, and Astoria hugged her. "Thank you," she whispered before practically running to her normal spot at the end of the Ravenclaw table.

She didn't know if the Dark Lord Potter could cure her, but she hadn't been looking for that in the first place. For now, she was happy with the situation, so if she saw a chance to help Potter feel less like dying, she'd take it. So once dinner had ended, she sought out her new Defense professor who was, apparently, also bound to Potter. (If she'd known this, she thought, she'd never have believed Tracey, but it'd turned out well enough anyway.)

"Sir?" she asked cautiously, peering into his room. Professor Snape favored his Slytherins and tolerated Ravenclaws, but he was still a prickly sort of man, so she always felt as though she were tiptoeing around a sleeping nundu when she spoke with him.

He looked up from grading papers. "What is it, Miss Greengrass?"

Astoria thought it was a shame he didn't put more effort into his appearance. His actual bone structure was fantastically interesting, and he had a sort of presence that made her feel sort of fluttery, but he didn't bother with products to protect his hair from the Potions fumes, nor did he bother using a potion to remove the stains from his yellowing teeth. Really, it was such a lost opportunity. Now wasn't the time for trying to fix him though. "Professor, this is about Potter."

The man sighed and cast privacy wards on his door, then looked at her expectantly.

"What happened this morning?" she asked. "Do you know?"

Professor Snape's expression remained impassive. "I do, but it is not something I am at liberty to share with you."

She'd more or less expected that from Luna's reaction, so she pressed on. "Then can you advise me on how to help him without knowing?"

This time her professor hesitated. At last, he nodded slowly. "I will tell you this much. When he was still Tom Riddle, he Obliviated himself. This morning, he recovered those memories." He considered her. "Distraction is likely to be the best treatment. Do not startle him or invade his personal space."

Astoria pursed her lips, considering that. Self-obliviation was absurdly dangerous, so whatever happened must have been extremely traumatic. She had an uncle who'd tried it after watching his girlfriend get mauled by werewolves, and he'd not quite been all there afterwards. Naturally, the Dark Lord would have been more skilled than her uncle, but it was still a risk she thought he'd not have taken without good reason. "I see. Thank you, Professor."

The door clicked open in lieu of a reply, so she took the hint and left, determined to prove herself better than any of Potter's other bonded (other than Luna, who was almost preternaturally skilled at the weirdest things, so she hardly counted as fair competition).

Author's Note: I like that I have the same number of replies as favorites at the moment. It's kinda cool.

Anyway, Tom's grown a tiny bit emotionally. The first time around, he dealt with things by not dealing with them so thoroughly that he didn't even realize something was wrong with him. This time, he recognizes the emotions he's feeling. So like… he's reached approximately the stage my 3-year-old daughter's at. Congrats, Tom. Only took you close to a century.