Chapter 19: The Truce
"No-no," I pulled back to look at his face in horror. "Dumbledore...it's true."
He nodded gravely and I buried my face into his chest, sobbing like a baby while a few of Draco's own tears fell onto my back as we stood in our tight embrace, finally not caring who saw.
We looked down onto the scene of a diminishing battle, Death Eaters disappearing left and right.
"I have to leave soon, or they'll leave without me," Draco said, eyes red.
"What? Can't you stay?" I pleased desperately. As soon as he left, I knew that a torrent of grisly images of the whole night would overcome me.
"You didn't let me finish. I was going to say-we have to find a way to allow me to stay, because we both need to talk to the members of the Order. So we can finally become members ourselves."
"Oh!" I said in surprise, pulling back. "I know who-"
"What happened to you head?" Draco interrupted, eyes traveling up to my forehead.
"What?" I asked in surprise, fingers traveling up. With a start I remembered-my bandage had fallen off long ago, and my fingers came away with fresh blood. "It's nothing," I faltered, looking at the shining red on my fingers. Shouldn't it have stopped bleeding? Maybe it had just reopened with all the falling I had been doing. "We'll worry about it later. Look," I brought him to the window and looked over to see a group congregating below-it was too dark to see anything but the faintly lit wands far, far down.
Wordlessly, we both rushed down the now-deserted hallways.
There were holes in the ceilings, walls, and rubble scattered all over with dust floating in the air.
In my mind, I kept hearing Severus Snape's voice repeating over and over...
"Avada Kedavra...Avada Kedavra..."
"It was Snape all along," my voice cracked.
"But did you hear what he-Dumbledore-told the two of us? This was how it was meant to be."
"That was before he got the life blasted out of him by a man he trusted!" I cried, and I immediately wished I hadn't said so. Guilt and hurt flashed across Draco's face. I knew he was going to be hit with an almighty case of survivor's guilt, even though there was no way he could have stopped Dumbledore's death, not without causing many more.
We stumbled into the crowd growing around what must have been Dumbledore's body-I held Draco's hand tightly in mine as tears slipped silently down my cheeks. Harry was kneeling before the Headmaster, whose body was eagle spread on the ground, limbs splayed and eyes closed.
The sight wrenched my heart, and a strangled sob choked out of my throat-I was not the only one. My hand automatically found its way to my throat, feeling for the-thankfully-unbroken vial of memories still miraculously hanging around my neck, along with Draco's necklace. Him giving it to me seemed so long ago now, like another lifetime.
I watched numbly as Ginny walked forward to Harry, pulling him up by his hand. I didn't even register that we should be following him, didn't even give Hagrid's wails a second thought, didn't think of Fawkes the phoenix's mournful lamenting, musical cries. Luckily, Draco did.
"Come on, let's go," he squeezed my hand, murmuring softly in my ear. We followed silently after them, as the students began to light their wands to the sky, a final tribute to Dumbledore.
We made it to the entrance hall before they turned around and saw us.
"Oh, you two," Ginny said dully, throwing a glance at Harry, who was staring off into space, eyes unfocused. "We were just about to come find you. McGonagall wants both of you in the hospital wing with us," she said, looking oddly at our entwined hands but not saying anything. Harry did not seem to be registering anything at all, with one of his hands in Ginny's and the other clutching what looked to be a locket and a piece of parchment.
We continued walking, the four of us together, and I was only jolted out of my thoughts when Ginny said something about Bill.
"Oh, Bill!" I blurted. "Is he alright? I saw him after he was attacked, but some woman-"
"Tonks," Ginny supplied grimly. "She told us how you have possibly saved Bill's life."
"Is...is he alright?" Now came Harry's voice.
"He's...he's alive," Ginny's voice was suddenly strained.
"Are you sure?" Harry looked at her.
"Of course I'm sure...he's a-a bit of a mess, that's all. Greyback attacked him. Madame Pomfrey says he won't-won't look the same anymore..." her voice trembled slightly. By now I could tell Harry was questioning strongly Draco's presence, glaring at him but not saying anything, probably for Ginny's sake. She already looked exhausted enough from the news of her brother.
"We don't really know what the aftereffects will be-I mean, Greyback being a werewolf, but not transformed at the time."
We now reached the hospital wing. Pushing open the doors, we walked in behind Harry and Ginny, who were greeted anxiously by Hermione and Lupin, who had broken from the circle surrounding a bed toward the back.
Neville and Professor Flitwick were sleeping in beds toward the front, and in another bed a white sheet was covering a small body. I covered my mouth with one hand, choking back a sob. That would be Dawn. Now she was found, now she could rest in peace. Hermione put her arm around my shoulders, startling me slightly.
"Did you know her?" she asked quietly as Harry and Ginny were drawn to the back of the room.
"No...no," my breath hitched in my throat as Draco squeezed my hand reassuringly. "But I held her hand when she died." Hermione hugged me again, and I thankfully hugged her back.
"You," I looked at Draco, who was looking back at Bill's bed.
"Yes?" He turned to me, pointedly not looking at Hermione.
"Apologize."
"I know," he nodded, surprising me and letting go of my hand, looking at Hermione remorsefully. I think the only person more shocked than me was Hermione-her mouth was moving but no sound was coming out, looking like a fish out of water. My own jaw had dropped, my eyes huge.
"Hermione Granger, will you accept my sincere apology for being a terrible, horrible arse for all those years?" He looked honestly sorry.
"I-I-" Hermione stuttered, hands on her cheeks. I smiled at her reassuringly. "Y-yes, Mal-Draco. Apology accepted," she smiled as he stood up and I jumped up to kiss him on the cheek happily.
"I think I can turn him into a proper gentleman given a bit more time," I grinned at Hermione. She nodded slowly, still dazed, making her way back to stand beside Ron Weasley at the bed on the other side of the room. Bill's.
Lupin stood by as I smiled at him, wondering if my suspicions were correct. Was he the one who would make us members? However, I was going to wait for him to make the first move. Draco eyes him warily, moving his left arm slightly behind his back.
"Albus knew that this what the right time for the both of you," Lupin took a deep breath, looking at both of us with tired as that held much, much more than one man's share of sadness. "I see what he meant now. In short, he told me that I was to bring the both of you into the Order of the Phoenix...after he died. Originally, I didn't think this would happen for years. Now, I see it is happening just as Albus hinted it would.
"Now Astoria, I was told you would be carrying a vial of important memories. Do you possess these?"
"Yes," I whispered, pulling it out from under my roves with trembling fingers. He nodded in approval. Glancing over his shoulder, he said- "Come. We don't have much time."
We ran to Dumbledore's off-no, the office, I corrected myself, a pang of sadness shooting through my heart. Draco must have been feeling the same thing because he whispered,
"It was my fault that...he died."
"No, it wasn't!" I whispered fiercely. "Draco, you can't honestly believe that! We did everything he told us to! He even said so, didn't you hear him? Draco, it's just survivor's guilt," I tried desperately to convince him. "You couldn't have saved him without causing even more unnecessary deaths."
We stopped, breathless, in front of the gargoyle I knew to be guarding the staircase to the Dumbledore's old office.
For the first time ever, it sprung aside without a password, and Lupin bounded up the stairs and I looked at Draco, who stood there with a tortured look on his face.
"But I could have stopped Snape-I should have said something, or stunned him, or...but instead, I just stood there, frozen."
"But if you would have tried to stop him, you would have been killed as well, you and probably many others! And Dumbledore would have died anyway, then! Even if you had tried, there were other Death Eaters. It was impossible."
Be just shook his head miserably, the tortured look not leaving his eyes.
"Come on, Astoria, Draco. Do you have the memories?" Lupin's head popped out from the top of the stairs, urging us to hurry. He ushered us to the penseive.
Quickly pulling the precious vial from around my beck and over my head, I handed the vial to Remus with shaking fingers.
Draco grasped my hand as Lupin uncorked the vial, stirring up the silver substance within.
"Together," he murmured, only for me to hear.
"Together," I agreed.
Professor Lupin tilted the vial over the swirling waters of the penseive. The quicksilver drizzled out, transforming the pearly waters into images the memories contained.
Without wasting a second, we all delved into the world of Albus's memories.
After the brief sensation of falling, we all landed together in the very place we had just left-but in a different time, and in a very, very different circumstance.
The lights were dimmed, the only brightness was coming from torches and fire-the windows were completely black.
And Albus Dumbledore was standing in the middle of the room, smiling serenely as though he could see us.
My heard gave a pang of sadness. Without realizing it, Dumbledore had become sort of a grandfatherly figure to me, and I had become quite fond of him.
And now he was gone.
But in this moment, in the penseive, he was here, although he could not see Remus staring at him mournfully, or Draco restraining his tears. I knew, as did Dumbledore, that he had come to mean a lot to Draco as well. He couldn't see Draco and my entwined fingers, he couldn't see the tear trace down my face at the pain of being so near to the headmaster, yet further away than I ever had been.
And then he began to speak.
"Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen. To be precise, if I am correct, Remus, Draco, and Astoria. Welcome, and I hope this record from the past finds you well. That is, as well as you can be, on this night.
"If the three of you are viewing this, that means that I am no longer...with you, shall I say," he smiled with humor, and I found a ghost of a smile tugging on the corners of my own lips. Draco squeezed my hand, and my heart skipped a beat. Dumbledore was really the only one who knew the nature of our relationship, who saw us fall in love, who believed in our love, that it was powerful enough to pull us through the war, no matter how much we fought. I longed to hear even just a bit more of his advice, but I squashed my hopes down, trying to quell them, knowing that he already had given us one last line- "I am happy to see more love in the wold, especially your own for each other...hold onto it."
"Remus, as I'm sure you remember what we've discussed...Astoria and Draco are to become members of the Order of the Phoenix. Should either of them ever need it, I'm sure you and the rest will offer them a sanctuary in the Burrow or the Headquarters. And as we also discussed, Draco would become rather a double agent. In which, I know he will do superbly well." Dumbledore's eyes swept over all of us, twinkling merrily, though the look was for Draco.
"Another thing I want you to take with you before you go-remain strong in times of war, or any other hardship. Remember, I am with you in every way but physically. I will only be truly gone from the school when none here remain loyal to me. When things looked darkest-" he waved his hand over a candle near him, extinguishing it- a note of familiarity ran through me, remembering-this line was from his speech when I was in third year. -"One only need remember to turn on the light." He waved his hand over the candle once more, and the wick burned again with a new flame, perhaps even brighter than before.
"Now, one more thing I need you to do before we continue along to the first real memory. After this is viewed, it must be burned. No one else can see this-if anyone else needs persuading-well, Remus, I chose you to trust with Draco and Astoria's secret for two reasons. The first being, I knew you would sympathize." A meaningful look lit up his face, even though he was staring straight ahead and not at Remus I knew it was meant for him. I wondered what he meant by that. "And secondly, because I also know that you have the ability and leadership to convince the others, especially Harry," he smiled with a serious manner, crossing his blackened hand over his good one. I never had managed to find out what had happened to make it look like that...
"You have a good relationship with everyone in the Order, and therefore will be trusted, no matter how strange your news will sound to their ears. And now, without further hesitation, let us delve into the world of memories. I hope you will find them as enlightening as I have-good luck."
And with that, Dumbledore vanished and the scene melted away, revealing a new one.
"Hello, Astoria, Draco. I had wondered when you would be coming to pay me a visit," he began, looking at a pale Draco, and me, with a determined expression on my face as I took Draco's hand, trying to calm his obviously distressed manner.
It was insanely odd watching ourselves experience something that had already happened-I knew for a long while after this I would be self-conscious of the way I held myself when I thought no one was watching, and what exactly I said and did-for someone could always be watching, even if just through a memory.
We watched as Draco poured out his whole story, watched as he revealed his Dark Mark, saw both of our eyes become tear filled as Dumbledore spoke to us comforting words in his kind, trusting way.
Lupin looked at us toward the end of the conversation with new appreciation in his eyes.
We saw next how Dumbledore closed any loop, vanquished any doubt about either of our intentions with the Veritaserum and making us promise.
We sat in on several other meetings with Dumbledore and ourselves through the year, assuring Lupin that Draco's plots to kill Dumbledore had not been sincere.
We finally emerged from the penseive, and Remus silently burned the memory on a particularly large candle, causing the flame to burn blue.
"No time passes while you're viewing a memory," Lupin said abruptly, turning to us with a haggard look in his eyes. Draco and I both nodded, slightly confused. "We must return-but we will speak of this later. It is not wise to do so now."
We entered the hospital wing again, and all of its occupants were still in positions similar to what they had been in when we left.
They all still huddled over Bill, but Remus immediately pulled a woman I now knew to be Tonks aside. As they spoke in low, urgent tones, I saw her throw several looks at Draco and I, ranging from shock to disbelief. I had a feeling I knew what Remus was revealing. He would probably wait until later to tell the rest-now everyone was focused on Bill. Draco and I sat on the edge of a clean, white hospital bed together, both too tired to get up and make an effort to talk to some of the official members as they discussed tonight's events over while looks of distraught and denial flickered over their faces. They kept shooting odd looks over at us until Lupin explained something briefly to them-they continued to look at us even more oddly after that, but quickly looked away when we caught them.
My eyes glazed over as I rested my head on Draco's shoulder, tuning out snippets of conversation that drifted over to us.
The sound of a chair scraping back across the floor jolted me out of my thoughts, the sound of Ron Weasley's voice saying- "Harry, mate, what're you doing?" following as I saw Harry stalk over to us, his eyes furiously locked on Draco.
I snapped my head up in anticipation of possible conflict as Harry drew closer, eyes flashing in anger.
"Malfoy!" Harry growled. "What do you think you're doing here, after-"
"You don't understand, Potter, what happened tonight-"
"Stop!" I shot up from the bed, ignoring the startled looks Gunny, Hermione, Ron, Lupin and Tonks were giving me as they made their way over to stand by us, still leaving a small cluster around Bill.
"Both of you! Will you lay off each other for one minute? Make a truce already! Dumbledore is dead! You're both on the same side, so why don't you act like it?!" I burst out as everyone looked at me, startled. Especially Harry.
"Astoria-what-what exactly do you mean by that?" Harry narrowed his eyes, searching the face of every member who was standing in our circle, his hand in his pocket on his wand.
"Harry-" Lupin spoke up, holding his hands up in a calming gesture, Tonks stepping forward.
"Draco, Astoria, would you mind taking this opportunity to get checked over for injuries while Remus and I explain?" Tonks asked kindly as Remus put a hand on Harry's shoulder in a fatherly gesture, on whose face was growing a look of dawning comprehension, but also disbelief, as I had been seeing a lot of tonight.
I pulled Draco by the wrist toward Bill's bedside, where McGonagall sat, bearing bruises and cuts like the rest of us, covered in dust, robes in ruins, but otherwise fine. And Madame Pomfrey, who looked at us with grief in her eyes, probably left over from hearing about Dumbledore's death, said to me after a look at my forehead-
"Here, let me bandage that," she said, beginning to set down Bill's ointment.
"No, no, Poppy, I'll take care of that, you take care of this," McGonagall gestured to Bill. Pomfrey conjured up bandages and a bottle of potion which McGonagall took, briskly sitting both Draco and I in front of Bill's bed. I was glad, for one, to have someone else make choices for me, even as small as forcing me to sit and not letting me apply my own dittany. I watched the animated discussion from across the room-breathing a sigh of relief, most everyone looked convinced-excepting Harry, of course. Now the rest appeared frustrated by the difficult task of convincing Harry to place his trust in Draco.
"Is all of this true, Draco?" The Professor asked in a broken voice as she tied a bandage over a stinging cut on my palm.
"Is what true?" He asked in a numb voice.
"I overheard Remus telling Nymphadora-Tonks- about the two of you, how you were both secretly working with Dumbledore half the year, how you both are to become members of the Order," she said briskly.
"It's true," Draco replied softly, locking his eyes on mine as she dripped dittany onto a gash on his right shoulder. I was so exhausted, so weighed down with the happenings of everything that had happened tonight, I just wanted to crawl under the covers of any of these beds and fall asleep.
When McGonagall deemed us well enough, she left us alone and returned to Madame Pomfrey's side. Draco and I twisted around to watch the conversation: it appeared that everyone was now convinced; it was only a matter of telling them the story.
"How do you think it's going?" Draco whispered anxiously, turning his head back to me, worry in his eyes.
"Everyone seems convinced," I replied. "What's going to happen to us this summer, Draco? I can't go back to my home now, not after I openly fought Death Eaters here-"
"They attacked first, you could say that it was only in self-defense-"
I gave him a look that clearly said, really?
"...maybe not. But we've both been offered a place at the Headquarters and Weasel-ah, the Weasley's house," he tried to reassure me.
"And you," I plowed on, my mind racing. "You'll have to be so careful, Draco! One little slip, especially now, could get you killed!" With this I put my head into my hands and began to cry at all the pent up emotions from tonight, and now the newest, worry for Draco's safety.
Draco wrapped his arms around me, pulling me towards him as I continued to sob into his chest, shaking silently.
"Sh...it's okay, love...we'll be alright..." he stroked my hair with one hand as the other arm was wrapped protectively around my back.
"What if we're not?" I whispered, attempting to still my gasping breaths, wiping at my eyes and pulling back to search Draco's face.
"We are going to be fine, both of us. We're in this together," he told me, his own eyes a bit watery. "And if it comes to it, we'll both run away together to South America," he said with dead seriousness.
I have a watery laugh, wiping my eyes and looking at him. He gave me a swift kiss on my cheek, feeling like a promise.
Harry walked silently up to us with everyone else slightly behind him, as Draco and I looked away from each other to turn our gazes to him.
"I want you both to know I appreciate what you've done. And I'm happy to see you both become members," he held real acceptance in his eyes-I was amazed. Whatever Lupin and Tonks had told him-they must have done a very good job.
"Draco," he held his hand out to him. I gave him a little nudge to jerk him out of his shock, and he put his own hand in Harry's and they shook. At this, the room burst into applause, and I smiled hugely. Both men quickly pulled their hands back and looked stubborn, but I could see the silent alliance they had just formed. Not anytime soon, I knew, but someday...maybe someday, that could even blossom into a friendship.
"Welcome to the Order, Draco," Harry said as the clapping died down.
"You too, Astoria," he said, giving me a quick, one-armed hug. I saw the look on Ginny's face over his shoulder and smiled reassuringly, reminding her that I had Draco. She smiled back as Draco and I stood up and were enfolded into the small crowd-it felt like acceptance, at last. I was just striking up a conversation with Hermione about the memories Dumbledore had left us as Draco began to speak with Tonks when the door burst open to reveal what must have been Ron's parents, and a beautiful girl behind the with a look of sheer terror on her face-I recognized her immediately-she had been one of the champions in the Triwizard Tournament two years ago.
"Molly-Arthur-" Professor McGonagall jumped up and hurried to greet them.
In the midst of everything being explained to everyone, I made my way silently over to the bed containing the body that had been covered up by the sheet-I wanted to check and make sure it really was-but I couldn't bring myself to disturb what I convinced myself was a peaceful sleep-if I looked at her, I would be forced to acknowledge that Dawn was not just sleeping.
I turned back to see Mrs. Weasley and Fleur sobbing and hugging each other-something about a goblin-made tiara. I assumed that all three had been alerted to the fact that Draco and I were going to be in the Order because Mr. Weasley had a hand on Draco's shoulder as he looked between his son with a sad look on his face, to Mrs. Weasley and Fleur with a confused expression, similar to Harry and Ron.
However, Tonks was glaring at Lupin with a furious look on her face. Draco looked around, searching for something, stopping when his eyes fell on me. He held his arms out and I walked into them, immediately feeling safer, happier, as I felt his arms around my waist.
"You see!" Tonks said happily, in a strained voice, still glaring at Lupin. "She still wants to marry him, even though he's been bitten! She doesn't care!" And then she looked to Draco and my embrace. "And they still love each other even though he was a Death Eater! He doesn't break her heart by saying he's too dangerous!" Suddenly, something Dumbledore had said to Lupin in the penseive made sense-that he could sympathize. Maybe Remus had his own love that was somehow being attacked upon by the impending war-or maybe it was a different war altogether.
"It's different," said Lupin, barely moving his lips and looking suddenly tense. "Draco is on our side now, and Bill will not be a full werewolf. The cases are completely-"
"But I don't care either, I don't care!" Said Tonks, seizing the front of Remus's robes and shaking them. "I've told you a million times..."
"And I've told you a million times," said Lupin, refusing to meet her eyes, staring at the floor, "That I am too old for you, too poor...too dangerous..."
"I've said all along you're taking a ridiculous line with this, Remus," Said Mrs. Weasley over Fleur's shoulder, patting her back.
"I am not being ridiculous," said Lupin steadily. "Tonks deserves somebody young and whole."
"But she wants you," said Mr. Weasley with a sad smile. "And after all, Remus, young and whole men do not necessarily remain so," he gestured sadly to his son, lying between them.
"This is...not the moment to discuss it," said Lupin, now avoiding everyone's eyes as he looked around distractedly. "Dumbledore is dead..."
"Dumbledore would have been happier than anyone to think that there was a little more love in the world," said Professor McGonagall curtly as the hospital doors opened again and Hagrid walked in.
All of his face was either covered by hair or beard, bruises or cuts; not a centimeter of skin was left untouched. He was shaking with tears, a vast, spotted handkerchief in his hands.
"I've...I've done it, Professor. Well, I s'pose you're headmistress now, aren't yeh? Well, anyway...I m-moved him, Professor Sprout's got the kids back in bed. Professor Flitwick's lyin' down, but he says he'll be alrigh' in a jiffy..." his eyes lingered over to where Flitwick was, in fact lying. "...and Professor Slughorn says...the Ministry's been informed."
"Thank you, Hagrid," said Professor McGonagall, standing and turning to look at the group clustering around Bill's bed. "I shall have to see the Ministry when they get here. I have alerted Dawn's parents as well. Hagrid, please tell the heads of houses-Slughorn can represent Slytherin-that I want to see them in my office. I would like you to join us too."
As Hagrid nodded, turned, and shuffled out of the room again, she looked down at Harry. "Before I meet them I would like a quick word with you, Harry. If you'll come with me..." Harry stood up, murmured- "See you in a bit-" to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny and followed McGonagall back down the ward. After a while, when I stopped staring into space and thinking about Dumbledore, I realized after a double take at what they were putting on Bill's face that I could be of service.
Unfortunately, I had experience with werewolf scratches. Over the summer, Fenrir had been keen on Daphne, and when she struggled against him, her back got completely covered with scratches. Shallow, but enough to be of concern. We didn't tell our parents, but rather had experimented with mixes of medicinal ointments ourselves-finally, we had managed to complete a rather potent mix-if I only remembered it-
"What is that stuff?" I hopped up, walking to who still surrounded Bill-Remus, Bill's parents, Pomfrey, and Fleur-the rest had moved a bit away-
"Eet iz curing salve for magically een-flicted bites," came Fleur's throaty, French-accented voice as she turned her ocean blue eyes down to the bottle and then up to me. I frowned.
"Madame Pomfrey, where are your medicines?" I asked, turning to the healer who looked at me, confused.
"In the blue cabinet over there behind that curtain, but why-" I dashed over, not waiting to answer.
Flinging open the door revealed various bottles, tubes and beakers of many assorted medicines-thankfully, they were alphabetized, of my idea would take less time to complete than the actual searching.
Grabbing the correct tubes and beakers in each hand and closing the door with my foot, I raced back over after grabbing an empty vial.
"Miss Greengrass, what are you-" Pomfrey started as I uncapped and unscrewed the tops, pouring and mixing the contents until it was a thick, pasty gel. Then, finally adding what was already being dabbed on Bill's face, I shook the vial, receiving several odd looks, but a flash of understanding crossed Pomfrey's face.
"What are you doing, Astoria?" Draco demanded as I knelt next to Fleur (making me feel very plain looking indeed next to the beautiful part-veela), uncapping the vial.
"Just watch," came my short answer as I smeared some of the cool salve onto two of my fingers, gently pushing Fleur's wrist out of the way.
Gingerly dabbing at what appeared to be the deepest gash proved immediate success-the wound already was looking less green, and it closed slightly, slimming up.
My motions elicited several gasps as the creation continued to work-it would never heal completely, but this would get it as close as was possible with scratches like those. I placed the rest in Bill's fiancee's hand as I felt her arm twitch toward me, anxious to return to the job of tending to her future husband's wounds.
"Thank you, dear!" Mrs. Weasley engulfed my in a huge hug, leaving me surprised but pleasantly so as I hugged her back.
"Tonks tells me how you helped save Bill," she beamed down at me in a motherly way, and I couldn't help but grinning back, already feeling affection toward the Weasley mother.
"I didn't do much," I blushed, lowering my eyes.
"That's not what I heard," she lifted my chin, smiling. "You aren't in Gryffindor, are you dear?"
"No," I shook my head. "The sorting hat almost put me there, though-I was a hatstall, I took five minutes to sort," I smiled shyly. She nodded thoughtfully.
Her husband next congratulated me, thanking me even more than his wife had, and then-
"As I'm sure Remus has already told you, you will always be welcome at the burrow should you ever need it. Both you...and Draco," he added a bit reluctantly.
"Thank you, sir," I beamed at him, already considering if I would be forced to take him up on that offer.
"Please, call me Arthur," he insisted, and I nodded.
My smile faded as he walked away and I began to imagine what traveling home would be like. Would I even be able to do so? That's ridiculous, I told myself. Of course I'd be able to go home! The Death Eaters didn't have that much control over my family...did they? But something was nagging at me, something Amycus had shouted at me just before I had cursed him-
"I see you've chosen to disobey your parents' orders, girl, now you will pay!"
But what order had he been talking about? And what did he mean, I would pay?
Ginny must have noticed my out of place frown because she came over to stand next to me.
"Astoria? Are you okay?" she asked quietly, looking down at me with her soft brown eyes. I had always wanted brown eyes, I remembered vaguely as I looked at hers.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," I smiled distractedly. "Erm...Ginny?"
"Yeah?"
"If I were to, say...turn out to actually need to stay at the Burrow...would there be room for me?" I asked tentatively.
"Of course there is! Mum'll treat you like her own, you might even get a sweater next Christmas," Ginny laughed.
At once there was a pounding on the door, and immediately following, Julie strode in, carrying a letter.
"Julie!" I yelled, running across the ward to throw my arms around my best friend. "Are you alright? And Lucy and Sarah and Daphne, are they alright too?" I asked wildly as I pulled back to take in her dirty-but uninjured-face.
"They're fine, they're all fine," Julie reassured me. "Everyone's back in their beds, exhausted. But when we got back your parents' bloody owl was flapping around the room like it had gone bonkers, knocking things over, and it wouldn't stop until we caught it and took the letter. We think it's been here for a few hours. A second year let it in when she heard it smacking against the glass," Julie said in one breath. "I just came to give it to you-because apparently, it's 'urgent'"-she flipped it over to reveal the very word in red ink, underlined several times. "-and to see if you were alright."
"Okay, thanks. I'll be back soon. Tell the others I'm alright, will you? If they're awake?" I gave her one more hug and watched her walk out, turning the envelope over in my hands, wondering if this letter had anything to do with Amycus's comment earlier.
I turned back around and sat in a chair next to Hermione.
"Who's that from?" Ron asked suddenly. His mother prodded him, hissing-"Ron, manners!"
"It's alright," I nodded, scanning the letter down the the signature, paling at what I saw.
A\N Thanks to all you marvelous readers and reviewers, you all really make my day!
-Cassiaå