Chapter 16. Maledictus

Muffled voices vibrated through the vents of twelve Grimmauld Place, stirring Astrid Moody from her slumber. Opening one blue eye groggily, and then the other, the young woman sat up in bed, her blonde waves tousled, the strap of her white silk night gown hanging off her shoulder. She pulled the cord of the old wall lamp beside her bed and checked the clock on the table beside her, it read 2:42am. With a furrowed brow Astrid pulled the covers from her body and dragged herself out of the bed. Approaching the floor vent, she dropped to her knees and pressed an ear against the vent, holding her breath to try and decipher the words more easily.

"Arthur…. Snake… Potter…" Was all her sharp ear could make out. With a sigh Astrid grabbed her wand and tiptoed over to her door. As smoothly as she could the girl twisted the brass door knob in her hand and pulled the door ajar slowly.

"Lumos," the witch whispered breathily as she slipped through the doorway and into a pitch-black corridor. Having arrived at the winding staircase Astrid hesitantly looked over the banister, two stories below she could see the glow of a fire. She listened over the railing to the faint voices, but they were even harder to interpret than through the vents. With delicate steps even a ballerina would be proud of she slowly snuck down the stairs, as she neared the bottom, she pressed herself into the wall.

"Nox," Astrid whispered, extinguishing the light at the end of her wand. Astrid descended the last flight of stairs with extreme caution, she could hear the voices more clearly now.

"How is it Harry knew of the attack on Arthur, just as it was happening?" The voice of Sirius Black questioned. Astrid padded towards the open doorway which was the source of the golden glow, she pressed herself to the wall beside it silently, slowing her breathing she listened carefully.

"Dumbledore and Snape believe there's a connection between the boy and you-know-who, a connection that allows Harry to see into the Dark Lord's mind, and unfortunately for us, vice versa." Growled the familiar voice of her father. #

"How can we sever this connection?" Sirius asked his voice had a slight quiver to it, he was worried.

"They don't know if we can," Alastor admitted roughly.

"Where is my god-son now?" Sirius almost sounded panicked.

"Snape has the boy, training him in occlumency," Alastor grumbled "I've told Albus for years now that boy needed training in the art of occlumency,"

"If he'd been trained to block out you-know-who, he never would have known about Arthur," Sirius pointed out with a sigh, "Let's be thankful Harry saw this and aid was sent just in time,"

"Still, I started training Astrid in occlumency at eleven years old!" Alastor barked, "Speaking of, get in here girl, haven't I told you it's rude to eavesdrop?!" The sound of her father's walking stick being loudly banged against the floor made Astrid jump slightly. With a deep sigh she rounded the doorway and entered the dining room, where her father was seated in the chair she had occupied at dinner. Sirius was stood, both arms stretched out in front of him leaning on the back of a dining chair, his head lowered between them. He looked up as Astrid entered the room, a small sad smile flashed on his face for a second, before he dropped it and resumed his dark look.

"What's happened?" Astrid asked as she wrapped her arms around herself awkwardly, she rubbed her upper arms as the cold of the stone floor travelled up her bare feet through her legs to her upper body, where goosebumps now began to form across her shoulders and arms.

"How much did you hear?" her father enquired.

"Something about an attack on Arthur… and a connection between Harry Potter and you-know-who," She gulped.

"Arthur Weasley was gravely attacked tonight whilst guarding something important to you-know-who." Astrid clasped her hand to her mouth as Sirius spoke. "Harry, my boy, was dreaming of the attack as it was taking place, thankfully he awoke and got word of his dream to Dumbledore quickly, Albus then got word to the order and we got aid to Arthur just in time,"

"Oh, galloping gorgons, that's awful, gosh, will Arthur make a full recovery?" Astrid queried breathily. Sirius groaned at her question.

"It looks like it, he's at St Mungo's now, Molly is with him… it will be a long recovery, he was attacked by a snake, I suspect… it was Nagini," Sirius sighed.

"Nagini?" Astrid asked with furrowed brows.

"That's enough Sirius," Alastor cautioned the man, he didn't want Astrid to know too much, thinking her knowledge would make her a bigger target.

"You-know-who's snake… formally a woman…" Sirius explained.

"Black, shut yer' mouth!" Alastor demanded, slamming his hand down on the wooden table. The sound made Astrid jump slightly, but Sirius was unphased and carried on.

"Like you she bore a blood curse, one that trapped her in beast form, she's served you-know-who since before the war," Sirius explained darkly. Astrid inhaled sharply and clutched a hand to her chest.

"W-will that happen to me?" Astrid stammered; eyes wide.

"No, not at all," Alastor growled, shooting Sirius a dark look. "Her curse was a rare one, a Maledictus. Nothing like your affliction," Alastor informed his daughter, his words were firm, and that gave Astrid some comfort, her father would not be so lightly sure of something, he was by nature a paranoid fellow.

"Sorry, Astrid… I didn't mean to frighten you," Sirius sighed, bowing his head. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her father checking the time on his trusty wrist watch with a tut.

"The Weasley children will be here shortly," Her father informed the two of them. Alastor looked Astrid up and down taking in her state of dress, or lack of. Alastor had always been strict with dress codes under his roof, he believed dressing provocatively brought unwanted attention, and so encouraged his daughter to dress plainly and modestly. As one can imagine, this went over well with a teenage Astrid, who simply rebelled against the strict dress codes as soon as she was sent off to France.

"If you're going to hang around to greet the Weasleys go put some clothes on, you'll give those twins a heart attack! And it's no way to for students to see their professor," her father chastised. Astrid pulled at the short hem of her nightgown trying to stretch it over her thighs just a little bit more. The girl was suddenly aware of how revealing her night wear was. Realising why Sirius had been avoiding eye contact with the young woman, she felt self-conscious and awkward. Sirius however tried to hide a smirk, lowering his head into the shadows to hide his simper. Astrid's cheeks flushed pink instantly, she hoped the glow of the fire hid her now rosy complexion.

"Yes, sorry father," She cringed, turning her back she pulled at the hem of her night gown, ensuring it didn't rise up as she scurried out of the room and up the stairs.

Astrid had every intention of staying up to greet the Weasley children as they arrived, she knew they would need to see a warm and friendly face, they must have been filled with worry and shock. However, her fresh embarrassment kept her from making the journey downstairs to greet them, besides she thought, they probably wanted time as a family to themselves, Astrid felt she didn't need to crowd the troubled children. Instead of changing her attire she just sat on the bed, cross legged, leaning against the headboard. Closing her eyes, she heard the soft crying of one of the children, possibly ginny, through the vents. It made her heartbreak for the children, hearing those sorrowful cries.

A tear slipped down her cheek as she thought about the coming war, she thought about how it wasn't approaching anymore, it was there, disappearances and attacks marking the start of it. There curled up against the headboard Astrid thought about her part in the war, and how her and Lucius could possibly make it out unscathed with being on opposites sides. As Lucius had said, they were like Romeo & Juliet, with his own family already trying to kill her. She hoped their story would not come to the same tragic end. Unintentionally Astrid drifted off asleep, her head filled with terrible dreams.

She was awakened quite abruptly when she heard the door to her room slam closed intentionally. Her eyes shot open to reveal Severus Snape stood by the door, his hands clasped together in front of him, and what looked to be a small glass cylinder held between them.

"Severus!" Astrid breathed, grasping for the covers and pulling them over her naked legs. "What are you doing here?"

"Do you always have nightmares?" Severus asked, ignoring the girls question. He approached slowly, his strides were deliberate and calculated. The man eventually came to a stop by the side of the bed. He held out a cylinder filled with thick paste. "Bitterroot Balm," Severus said calmy as Astrid took the cylinder hesitantly. "For your heart, it's a calming balsam, it should help with your… condition, but it has its limits,"

"Thank you," Astrid said hesitantly, placing the glass container carefully on the side table.

"Your nightmare, what was it about?" Severus enquired, taking a seat weightlessly at the edge of the bed.

"My nightmares are none of your business Snape," Astrid uttered as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"You were talking in your sleep," Severus announced, his tone sounded bored, but Astrid knew he was greatly interested for some reason, he was pressing the subject too much to be anything else. "You said… 'Lucius no, please, no'… I just wondered the context of your nightmare,"

"Seems you know more than I do about this dream Severus, I rarely remember them, and if I did, I wouldn't tell you anyway," Astrid retorted.

"I see that bump on the head didn't alter your attitude… pity," Severus remarked in his usual drawl.

"Luckily I came away unscathed, your little protégé didn't have the guts to kill me,"

"I didn't put the Malfoy boy up to hexing you Astrid, your lack of stealth and subtlety brought that upon you," Severus sneered.

"Why are you protecting him? Why did you want me to stay silent Severus? He attacked me for merlins sake!" Astrid exclaimed in a hushed whisper, she hit out at her pillow as she grew heated.

"He is a confused, misunderstood boy, if you had any idea the stresses that boy faces you would understand his frustration and anger, he was a wreck when I confronted him, remorseful and terrified," Severus hissed in a low voice. "Besides, it would hardly be beneficial for your… situation… to have your lovers son expelled from school… that boy could be your step-child one day," Severus smirked darkly. Astrid's face twisted at his words, a sickly feeling washing over her.

"Don't… speak that way Severus, Lucius and I… we are not like that, that's not our future," Astrid swallowed, it wasn't that she didn't want that future, more that she didn't believe it could ever happen, too many obstacles and complications were in the way. Mrs Malfoy was just one of them.

"Perhaps you should make him aware of that then, before he puts his life on the line for you," Severus said darkly as he stood from the bed, he sauntered slowly towards the door, his dark hair swishing slightly. "Draco will no longer be attending your classes after Christmas, he's to be tutored privately by Binns," Severus informed the young woman as he approached the door to make his exit. The news gave Astrid great relief, her main anxiety about returning to Hogwarts was stepping into her classroom and facing down her attacker. But with him removed from the situation it felt as if a small weight had been lifted from her shoulders, she only had to worry about coming across him in the corridors now.

"Oh, and I was asked to give this to you." Severus said, pulling a letter out of his black robes, he flicked the letter that was adorned with an emerald wax seal towards the girl, it landed with a flutter onto the bed. Astrid tried not to pay the letter any special attention whilst Snape was still occupying her space, instead choosing to shrug it off and ignore it. "I trust I'll see you downstairs for breakfast with the rest of the dunderheads," Snape snivelled over his shoulder as he made a dramatic exit through the door.

Once the door was safely closed Astrid leapt forward, grasping the letter and tearing open the green seal which showed the Malfoy emblem proudly. She practically ripped open the envelope and pulled out the parchment inside.

Dearest Astrid,

My love, I hope this letter finds you in perfect health, I have written with no reply to Hogwarts so can only assume you are safely tucked away somewhere else.

I send apologies on behalf of my foolish and senseless son, and also on behalf of myself. I promised you I would let no one harm you, and I have failed in that promise. I hope you can forgive me.

Matters are delicate in my area of work at the moment, so my presence will be scarce for the time being, I hope you understand. It is my way of protecting you, for I would only blame myself for an eternity if you were to become tangled in this sticky web more than you already are.

I hope you are well, and I hope you miss me as much as I miss you. Stay safe, my love, and please try keep a low profile in these dark times. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Your love,

LAM