Chapter Twenty-Six: Astoria

January 1998

Astoria felt like a ghost walking in the shell of the person she used to be. The temporary nerve damage in her body, while not as dreadful as most Cruciatus curse cases, became something of a hindrance to her daily activities. She couldn't go down a flight of stairs without support from the railings or holding onto someone. Every time she needed a cup of tea, her hands shook, causing her tea to rattle under the shakiness in her body. Moving was all the more painful without potions to ease the pain temporarily. She didn't know if she'll ever get back to the way she was.

Madame Pomfrey had said she was lucky to be alive. Astoria wondered if she even deserved to be.

Ever since she woke up in the hospital wing, she had been scared of physical touch from just about anyone. The fact that she couldn't bear to be touched made it painful for her to see the people in her life recoil from her, as though she were a ticking bomb and at the slightest touch, she would explode. She wished she didn't have to be that way, but anyone attempting to touch her just brings back the horrid memories of her torture.

After she had woken up from her being bedridden for a month, she went home for the holidays. The moment her parents saw her in such a state, they felt all the regrets of sending their daughters to Hogwarts, but what choice did they have? Her parents had even considered that Astoria drop the second semester and stay home to recuperate, but she was immediate in her response.

"I know I need time to recover…" Astoria had said as she fidgeted with her hands, a habit she began to develop in the hopes of getting rid of her nerves. "But I can't just stay here while my friends are in trouble. I want to help. I need to help."

"You'll do no such thing! I am owling the school this instant!" Cassandra had exploded in a fit of rage. It was bad enough that her parents hadn't been allowed to visit Astoria during her month-long injury, it was mere torture then to hear their daughter want to come back. "The repulsiveness of it all! I always knew those Carrows were trouble. I always hated the lot of them back when I was in Hogwarts! I swear, if I get my hands on them—"

"Mum, you could go to the Ministry of Magic for all You-Know-Who cares," Daphne had intercepted then. "The Headmaster finds it grounds that her recuperating needn't extra care at home. She has potions to help her get to classes, and if it's not as contagious as that Weasley boy's spattergoit, she still has to go back."

Cassandra Greengrass still sent an owl the Headmaster to petition against his wishes anyway.

The holidays were a pleasant break from the horrors of Hogwarts. While at home, Astoria had managed to reconnect with Daphne, who had been cried every time they spoke, and had been keen on apologizing aimlessly for being selfish when Astoria needed her the most. Despite how much it had pained Astoria to have known her sister had not been much of a sister since the start of the school year, she truly couldn't stand to hate her. She was her sister, after all. And she cared more about rebuilding their relationship than letting past mistakes get in the way of things.

Since they came home, Daphne had been Astoria's matron. She checked Astoria's vitals, fed her whenever she couldn't make it down the flight of stairs to the dining room, helped her into her clothes—she was fine with the slightest brush of Daphne's skin against hers while doing this— and even fussing around at the merest grunt of pain. It was almost impossible to have some alone time, but Astoria appreciated her sister's concern nonetheless.

Perhaps what troubled her other than her shaking form was the fact that Luna had been abducted by Death Eaters from the Hogwarts Express. She had tried to duel the Death Eaters who tried to take her friend despite the circumstance she just went through defying the Carrows, but her body was still too frail to move, and it had been too late to do anything by the time she got to Luna's compartment.

These days, she's heard rumors about where the Death Eaters keep their captives prisoner. Often, she ignored such rumors, until the person involved to where the prisoners are kept confirmed it for her. She had been sporting painful contractions in her legs when she received the owl from Draco. Luna was at Malfoy manor, and they weren't the least bit pleasant with her.

Astoria felt as though she was asking too much of Draco for him to risk his life trying to protect Luna, and had not said anything about doing just that. But Draco had been voluntarily sending her owls to let her know how Luna was doing, which gives her some relief to know that she was still alive… at least, for now. She shook her head angrily at the thought. No, she will be alive. She has to be. Astoria would never forgive herself if anything worse than a Cruciatus curse ever happened to her friend.

She was startled from her thoughts when Hestia Carrow tugged at her robes. They were in their dormitory, getting ready for their first class of the second semester. Astoria had a tendency to space out with her thoughts these days, often finding herself in places she didn't remember getting to. It was always better form that she had somebody beside her at all times.

"Astoria, Professor Snape wants to see you," Hestia said as she pressed her books to her chest. "Something about you needing to skip the first class?"

"Am I in trouble?" Astoria asked before realizing how ridiculous it must have sounded. She's already been in trouble before the holidays, being used as a plaything by the Carrows and all. But she couldn't imagine what she must have done that she was being forced to skip first period.

"I don't think it's much trouble, and more about concerns on what happened to you." Flora said guiltily, avoiding Astoria's gaze as she shouldered her knapsack.

Lately, the Carrow twins had not been very vocal with Astoria. Though mostly it was because they felt guilty for what their aunt and uncle did, even more when they didn't do anything about it. Astoria had tried to affirm with them that there was nothing they could have done—but the twins have been distant ever since. It hurt Astoria for them to treat her that way.

The twins disappeared out the door before Astoria could say anything else. With a tired sigh, she moved her aching limbs towards the door, glad to find that Daphne was already there, waiting for her.

"What's this thing about you meeting Professor Snape during your first class?" Daphne asked as Astoria held onto her sister's arm. Lately, being able to touch Daphne wasn't much triggering as it had been the first time around. She had grown to crave her sister's gentle touch these days due to how much she had gotten used to her help over the holidays.

"I'm not really sure, but I'm worried." Astoria expressed worriedly. "Am I going to be expelled?"

Daphne frowned at her before they descended the stairs to the common room. "I'd like to see him try. You've been through a worst ordeal. It would be stupid for him to expel you. No, it's probably to talk to you about mum's letters. I've never seen her so worked up until now. Who could blame her? I damn well nearly hexed Draco after he and Luna brought you to the hospital wing."

Astoria felt a chill run down her spine. Draco. She hardly saw him in the train, and he made no effort to see her in her compartment. Was he avoiding her too like her roommates?

After breakfast, her sister helped her up the steps towards the Headmaster's office. At the professor's command for her to come in, Daphne wished her luck and made her way down the stairs. Shakily, she opened the door to the office.

The last time she came in here, she had spoken to Dumbledore and viewed a memory in his pensieve. It seemed like ages ago, and it felt so different seeing Professor Snape standing where Dumbledore had stood. Everyone knew it was Snape who killed the former Headmaster, causing Astoria to fear the worst as she entered the space.

The professor was clad in his usual black robes, piercing black eyes staring at her expectedly as she shut the door gently behind her.

"You wanted to see me, professor?" Astoria asked meekly as she carefully threaded her way into the office.

"Take a seat, Miss Greengrass." Professor Snape said as he motioned towards the seats available before the headmaster's desk. Astoria's feet moved automatically, soon taking an empty seat. "I am aware of your situation with the Carrows."

Astoria froze. She didn't expect things to start so bluntly.

"Professor, I—"

"Apologize?" Snape asked with a raise of his thick brow. She bit her bottom lip nervously to stop herself from talking. "It's unnecessary. Frankly, as much as my deputy headmasters claim their actions to be justifiable, I cannot say the same on their behalf. What they did is beyond school rules. The best I can do at this point is to have Madame Pomfrey check on your vitals considering your… condition."

Astoria blinked up at the professor. Another thing she didn't expect was to receive Snape's sympathy. But then again, she was her former head of house, and perhaps he must really care for his students still, despite everything that's been happening.

"My condition…" Astoria trailed off, screwing her face up in disappointment.

"I have heard of your tendencies to have a less than normal way of healing from one or two sources. Your weak immune system, for that matter." The professor drawled out lazily while he took out a vial from a small, intricately designed box. Her eyes widened in surprise. It looked like… "Ah, so you're familiar with this vial, Miss Greengrass?"

Astoria bobbed her head in agreement. "Sir, that's the vial I wasn't able to see in Professor Dumbledore's pensieve. I collapsed after the first memory before I could see it, and never got the chance to again after."

She could still remember the memory as clear as day. Even more reason for her hands to shake furtively as she stared at the second vial she's failed to view. All her nerves dreaded to see what was in there, but her mind was persistent in getting answers. It wasn't exactly the right time, given everything that was happening. But she wasn't about to sit around and wait.

"When Dumbeldore passed, he has left me a behest to allow you to see this memory in his pensieve," Snape went on then offered the vial to her. The glowing strings of her aunt Cress's memories danced dangerously inside. "Only if you wish to."

Astoria let out a breath before giving the professor a determined nod.

The last time she viewed her aunt's memory, she had collapsed and been sent to the hospital wing for a few weeks. She wasn't sure what to expect after doing so again, but she could only hope it won't be as definitively haunting as the first one. Though with the way her aunt's string of memories kept glowing angrily up at her, she had a feeling it might be worst.

But she screwed her courage to the sticking place and stood up once the professor took out the pensieve. It loomed in the middle of the office, bobbing gently as it lit up in swirling silvers. Astoria faced the floating basin, looking down on it nervously.

"Dumbledore has told me that the last time you saw a memory from your aunt, he had been with you. And with good reason, it appears." Snape started as he nodded at the pensieve. "He was able to pull you out as you seemed to have collapsed within the memory. But I am leaving the decision up to you, Miss Greengrass. Should you need my assistance…"

Astoria gaped at him. Of course. She would have been lost—stuck forever, perhaps, in that memory had Dumbledore not pulled her out just when she had collapsed. Her gaze shifted towards the professor's dark eyes.

"I don't particularly trust myself not to be at sorts when I'm in the memory." Astoria said honestly. "Your help would truly be appreciated, professor."

Snape nodded, looking placid. "Very well. Let's get on with it, then."

A nervous breath escaped her lips before she popped the cork of the vial open. She then tipped the swirling contents of her aunt's memory into the basin. With shaking hands, she pushed her face into the basin then. Suddenly, she felt a tug on the nape of her neck. Her entire form was transported into a scene one too familiar she's seen in Greengrass Manor.

She and Professor Snape stood in the drawing room of her home. It seemed to be daytime, and where the house seemed to be full with life than it wasn't these days. They faced the arguing figures of Cassandra Greengrass and Cressida Shafiq. In the memory, they looked younger, only ever touching into the start of their thirties. Her stomach churned as she caught the recognition of their altercation.

This was her aunt and mother's fight that had caused Cassandra Greengrass to kick Cressida out of her and her daughters' lives.

"—another one of your vile tricks to steal Cepheus away from me, no doubt!" Cassandra screeched mid-argument at her older sister. "Why can't you simply leave me and my family be?"

"Stop being delusional, you daft little girl!" Cressida exclaimed desperately, shaking a very old-looking vial in her hand. It seemed to date many years ago, decades or more, even. Astoria had to hold back a gasp. It was the same vial her grandparents had given her aunt in the first memory. "Astoria is sick! She must know the truth! If she can't, then at the very least her Healers must know—"

"NO!" Cassandra howled as she took her sister's wrist angrily, trying to shake off the vial in her hand. "I will not let the world know about whatever repulsive thing that's inside that memory! For all we know, it's a fake! And if it isn't, I would rather die than let you ruin the Greengrass name!"

"Forget your selfish pride and listen to me!" Cressida snatched her hand away from the younger Shafiq. "She must know the truth. I don't know what's inside this, but Cepheus's parents have given it to me to give to Astoria when the time comes. This vial may well have the answer to why she nearly caught her death! Has it ever occurred to you how healthy Astoria has been until she reached Hogwarts?"

This silenced Astoria's mother for the briefest moment. Cassandra's face screwed up in anger and concentration, and she wasn't sure which emotion was winning over the other. In the end, anger surfaced the better.

Her mother was practically breathing fire as she spoke. "It's nothing, I tell you! Nothing! I want you out, Cress—out of my life, out of my family's, out of my daughter's life!"

Cassandra shoved her sister, causing Cressida to stumble backwards, looking appalled as she stared at her sister. Cressida sported a look of pain, all her anger from earlier dissolving into something akin to regret.

"Cassie, you don't mean that," Cressida implored, choking on her words. "I'm your sister."

"You are no sister of mine." Cassandra said defiantly as she stood proud and rigid, though Astoria was certain she caught her mother's eyes twitch—likely stopping herself from drawing tears. "Get out, and don't ever come back. If I see you try to talk to my daughters again, it will be the last time you'll ever have to. Now leave."

Cressida looked horrifyingly stricken. She clutched the vial against her chest protectively before she stood upright, mimicking the same rigid posture her sister ensued. "You will rue this day, Cassandra. The day you've damned your own daughter. Remember that when she dies. Remember it to be on your hands."

Cassandra looked like she had been bashed with the whole Knight Bus, though before she could say her piece, Cressida had already gone in the shapeless form of apparition.

Suddenly, the memory began to shift, as though playing forwards. A myriad of memories surrounded them on all sides, swirling like mists. Then, as if whatever force had taken them there had made up its mind, they were transported into a random memory. The scenery changed.

They were now inside a small apartment. It was nightfall, and a ruckus ensued when they landed on the floor. The whole apartment looked as though someone threw a hex of sorts and missed its target by a number of times. All the furniture was upturned, and Astoria saw why.

Her aunt, Cressida, seems to be chasing, or rather, sending curses and hexes towards a small figure that ran around the perimeter of the apartment. The figure, she realized, was a creature; and not just any creature, but a house elf. Its large ears flapped as it hopped from one upturned furniture onto another, avoiding her aunt's hexes. Its tiny hands, she saw, held the same ancient vial she saw her aunt carrying in the first memory.

"Come back here, please!" Cressida cried helplessly, but not without the flame of her vexation. "You fiend! My niece, she needs it!"

"I is sorry, miss! I cannot fail my master!" The house elf squeaked terribly as it avoided a spell that missed him by a hair. Somehow, that spell seemed to have broken whatever barrier her aunt put up to trap the house elf in her home. Because the moment there came a loud explosion, the house elf had disapparated.

Cressida wailed in despair before Astoria felt herself being pulled back again into the sea of memories. They stayed there a moment longer than the last before they were finally pulled into another memory.

This time, they were transported into a spaciously large library. The smell of old books and pine wafted in the air. They were shrouded in the dark, but the light of the moon emanating from the windows gave her the sight of bookshelves of old lined up in perfect symmetry. She heard a voice talking to herself, and saw Professor Snape take out his wand attentively.

But when they found the source of the voice, the professor slipped his wand back in, but he did little to pull his hand back out. Astoria stepped further into the library's space. Then, she found her aunt Cressida, clad in silver gown, searching furtively through the titles on the shelves. When she pulled out a large title, Cressida looked like she wanted to scream in delight, but pinched her lips together as she opened the text.

In the middle of the book, pages were carved out into a small box like a hidden compartment. And within that compartment was the vial she had been seeing in all the memories so far. Her aunt took out the vial and fished it delicately into her bosom. When she seemed to think the vial safe, she started to sift through the pages of the book.

Astoria, in her greatest curiosity, stood behind her aunt and looked over the woman's shoulder to see what she was looking at. It was like being hit with the shockwave of an immensely powerful spell. Written on the page was not just text, but a family tree. And not just any family tree…

Greengrass Family

Dione Greengrass + Reginald Lestrange
Aether Greengrass

Aether Greengrass + Tatiana Longbottom
Persephone Greengrass& Achilles Greengrass

…

But before she could read much more, her aunt had shut the book close. There was a look of shock etched on her face, and Astoria would be lying if she said she didn't look the same as her aunt. The Greengrass family tree had been known to have burned in the fire of the east wing of the manor. How on earth was this library in possession of her family tree? The same question seemed to appear on the look of her aunt's face.

Astoria could feel her heart race angrily and painfully against her chest. Whoever had this book must have either stolen it from the manor or had fabricated a plan of something else entirely. Whatever the case, she felt her anger surge.

All this time she could have known about the Greengrass bloodline… and yet, why didn't her aunt tell her in her letters? At the very least told her everything when they came face to face? A pensieve memory in place of an actual conversation felt like her aunt was trying to escape from the mistakes she has made. It completely shattered the very fabric of respect she had for her aunt.

"How could you?" Astoria asked in a small, pained voice, even though she knew the woman wouldn't hear her. "Why didn't you—"

But just before she could go on, she saw Cressida take out her wand. She pointed its tip towards the book and said, "Geminio."

In a flash, an exact replica of the whole book appeared before them out of thin air. It landed with a loud thud against the library's wooden floors. This must have been such a noise, because the moment the sound reverberated throughout the room, Cressida made quick haste to shove the original book back in its place in the shelves. She bent to snatch the replica just as the library doors flew open.

Her aunt disapparated long before whoever had came in reached her. Astoria wished she knew who had come to see her aunt—it would have given her a clue as to who that library belonged to, but as Cressida disappeared, so did the memory. She felt a pull on her neck before her whole body was thrown backwards.

The memory faded, and then she was blinking through the bright lights of the Headmaster's office. Astoria was heaving great breaths, still trying to pull her thoughts together as Professor Snape helped her up. Her legs wobbled piercingly, likely due to all the movement she experienced in the pensieve memory. When the professor sat her down, she looked down at her hands angrily, feeling exasperated and confused all at once.

The pair was silent as the headmaster concocted a potion to the side. When he was through, he offered a goblet full of it to Astoria. She didn't even need to ask what it was as she hungrily drank the liquid. It tasted rancid, but she shoved the contents down anyway, even more when she felt the pain in her legs subside.

Once she was through with the potion, she placed the goblet down on the headmaster's desk.

"Professor…" Astoria trailed off to dispel the silence between them. Her green eyes shifted upwards to meet the professor's gaze. "That family tree… it can't be… it was burned down in the manor. I just… I just know it."

"Apparently, your aunt believes otherwise, having found a copy of it," Snape said as he took the seat of the headmaster's.

"How is it even possible?" Astoria let out a breath as she ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. "Whose library did she find it in? More importantly, why didn't she come to us when she had a replica of it this whole time? Granted, the replica would have faded by then, but I assumed she had copied down the family tree for herself and gave it to me, or at the very least to my parents. I don't understand…"

"Perhaps you should be concerning first as to whose library that was." Snape replied inquisitively, staring down at her. "As far as history goes, the eldest Greengrass in existence was Hyperion and Cassiopeia Greengrass, your father's parents. There is a record of your family name in the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but it's as though your entire bloodline was wiped out when given the opportunity to see any ancestors."

She felt a great need to hit her head with a broomstick. Why had she never asked to look into the Sacred Twenty-Eight records? Surely, an entire bloodline could be seen there. But even when she conversed back then with Dumbledore, even he didn't see a family tree from the records. It was all so confusing that it made her head spin.

Astoria blinked up at the professor, face pinched in concentration. "It seems strange, almost impossible. Who could ever do that? Pull up something so convoluted, and yet so cleverly placed, that it removed the history of the Greengrasses from any record at all? And having the only copy in existence in their library, hidden away so no one could see it? It's as though someone doesn't want to know about us, our history… I feel as though I don't even know who I am anymore."

Snape looked at Astoria expectantly, looking as though he wanted to say something more, but decided against it. She had a feeling Snape knew something, though she was wise enough not to press the professor on it. After a beat, she saw him open a compartment on his desk to take something out.

She nearly fell off her seat trying to get up when she saw the professor produce the very same ancient-looking vial she had been seeing in all of her aunt's memories, right from the very first. The bottle seemed to be stained with brown blotches, but she could see the silvery threads of a memory dance between the dirt.

"How—" Astoria started. Her aunt had bequeathed her that vial in her vault, but she couldn't claim it yet on the Gringotts rule that she was underaged to take the item from Cressida's vault.

"Professor Dumbledore has taken the liberty of releasing this vial from your aunt's vault and has bequeathed it to you should you ever need it." Snape explained before he held out the vial to her. "Your aunt has been informed of this, of course. It seems that when you're Dumbledore, anything is possible."

Astoria's chest tightened. She missed Dumbledore. And she couldn't very well blame Snape for killing the Headmaster. It was either Draco's soul be torn apart by murdering someone, or Snape. Suddenly, she felt a great admiration for the professor. In many ways than one, he had saved Draco from completely losing himself, and she felt grateful for it.

Her thoughts fluttered back towards the vial that still lay precious in the professor's hands. Her fingers itched and stretched themselves. Should she do it now? Finally see the vial everyone has been arguing and fussing about? Would she be the first Greengrass to ever view that ancient memory?

Suddenly, she didn't feel so good. She felt queasy and just about ready to vomit sick all over the headmaster's floor. But she swallowed down her uneasiness before she carefully procured the vial in her hand. She expected it to feel heavy, weigh many years of being unopened, but it felt like any other ordinary vial. Only this one displayed a sort of danger and urgency she's never seen in any silvery memory.

"I don't think I'm ready…" Astoria whispered to the vial, silently hoping it would answer back. But it merely lay in her hand, still looking very ancient. She whipped her head up to stare at the Professor. "I'm not sure if I'll ever be ready."

This was her chance to finally see the cause of her unknown illness, see the reason why she had such a delicate immune system unseen by any Healer existent, reveal half the person she was. But every time she felt a spark of determination, it was doused by doubt and fear. She simply felt it wasn't the right time yet. Her heart simply couldn't bear adding more dark into an already unpleasant world.

With finality, her fingers closed around the vial. "Not today, anyway."

The professor scrutinized her for the briefest moment before he nodded. "Very well. Should you wish to see it at a time; you can simply come here to see it for yourself."

"Thank you, professor." Astoria said gratefully as she stood up. Her head felt a heavy rush, likely a side effect of the potion she had taken, but her feet attempted a firm grip on the floor. The moment she turned away from the professor, she immediately looked back to face him. "Professor?"

Snape looked at her expectantly.

"What you did for Draco…" She trailed off, feeling the heat rise on her cheeks. A part of her wasn't sure it would be appropriate. The very thought of her feeling gratitude towards Snape felt misplaced, considering how he killed Dumbledore. But she couldn't help herself. "It was brave of you. If you hadn't… well, Draco, he'd be… he'd have lost his soul. You saved from that. I…"

"Say no more, Miss Greengrass," Snape said with a slight edge to his voice, but his eyes produced a different emotion she couldn't quite place. "It was either the boy's soul or mine, and contrary to popular belief, I don't particularly enjoy seeing a student of mine be placed under the circumstance he's been in."

Astoria bit her bottom lip nervously, and released it when she didn't receive the onslaught of anger she had expected from him. She gave him a placid smile, thanked him again, before she made haste to leave the office. As she travelled back down the swirling stairs, she opened her palm to reveal the vial once more.

It seemed to glare at her now, as though angry at her for not seeing the memory when she had the chance. But she held her ground. The days were far too dangerous to put herself first. Luna was still in danger. Hogwarts was still in peril. Her blasted immune system can wait a few more months… years, perhaps.

But there was a new determination to her step as she left the winding stairs. She needed to speak with her aunt immediately. But more importantly, to ask why in the name of Merlin was Persephone Greengrass and Dione Greengrass's names were bolded in harsh letters in comparison to the names of her other ancestors.

Fanfiction Writing Month: 5,112 words
Dragon-Breeding Club: Swedish Short-Snout - Evie

AN: If you don't remember about the first memory, you can head back to Chapter 15 to read it! But a quick recap is that the first memory showed Hyperion and Cassiopeia Greengrass, Cepheus Greengrass's parents, giving that old vial to Cressida Shafiq, Astoria's aunt. They had asked her to give it to Astoria should she start showing effects of a great illness. From the first memory here, we can see Cressida trying to give that vial to Astoria, which is nod to the first time Astoria had her illness in her first year at Hogwarts. That vial has been passed down through generations, but has never been opened (or so they think it hasn't been) because only the Greengrass who had the misfortune of a great illness can see it.

Anywho, I would love to hear your thoughts on today's chapter! We're slowly worming into the history of Astoria's strange illness, and I'd love to know any theories you all might have. Whose library do you think that is? Why do you think Cressida never gave that family tree to Astoria, or at least to her parents? Sound off in the reviews section below!

As always, thank you so much for reading, and for being patient. I have been reading your reviews and they give me so much motivation to keep writing. You're all the best readers in the world. I cannot be more grateful for your support. Thanks again for reading! Till' the next chapter!

See you all on the other side,
EMPG22HoPe