Day 19: Draco-

It occurred to Draco, one Wednesday after his shower, that there was a world outside the walls of his prison cell. He had been there over two weeks now, but it felt like years. The time crept by, he never knew the time unless he asked Astoria for it, and there was never a radio to be heard or paper to be read. The thought struck him only as he heard the prison guards discussing news at Hogwarts as they lead Astoria and him to the showers.

Hogwarts. He hardly thought of the place since the night the Dark Lord died. It had been months since he thought of anything except for his own survival and well-being, in the most primitive of turns. His stomach turned when he thought of the Slytherin common room, the hours he had logged in potions, the firebolt his father bought him but Draco had never been able to use…

He remembered, with a jolt, that Astoria had gone to Hogwarts too. He knew some of her history there, the awful story she had once spat at him. He knew she had recognized him. But he wondered what significance the place had held for her, too.

"What are you thinking about?" Astoria demanded, breaking his thoughts. She leaned against the wall of her cell, and placed a hand to her hair, which was still drying. "You're unusually quiet."

"Am I?"

"You're always asking questions."

"I just thought of the world outside, that's all. Hogwarts." Draco sighed and wrinkled his nose. "I didn't think I'd miss it."

"But you do," Astoria confirmed, and Draco didn't reply. "Of course you do. Anyone would have guessed that." Draco raised an eyebrow at her and she sighed as she said: "Oh please, Draco. You strolled around Hogwarts like you owned it. Maybe you owned a wing or whatever, but that's how you treated the whole place. And it was obviously not out of disrespect, because anyone could tell how fucking gleeful you got when something at school was going right for you." She rolled her eyes. "I don't think I've ever seen a prefect so smug, except for Percy Weasley."

Draco let out a bark of laughter. "True, I suppose."

"Well, aren't you going to ask me about my Hogwarts experience?" Astoria prodded.

"Oh," Draco said. "I wasn't sure you wanted to share."

"I don't have much of a choice who I share information with, at this point," Astoria sighed. "But I do want to talk about Hogwarts. I miss it as much as you do."

"Place you miss most?"

"The Astronomy Tower. Or the Quidditch Pitch. It's hard to say."

"The Quidditch Pitch?" Draco frowned. "But you weren't on the-" He paused. "Tryouts. That was you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Astoria mumbled.

"The first year who almost fell off her broom. That was you, wasn't it?"

"You helped me," Astoria pointed out.

"I'd do anything to help a Slytherin," Draco muttered, turning a slight pink. There was a beat of silence before he said: "Favorite and least favorite subject?"

"Transfiguration or Astronomy. And, er, divination. And you, snake boy?"

Draco felt himself blush harder at the nickname she had given him. "Potions. And I'd almost agree with you on that last class, if I hadn't almost been slaughtered in Care of Magical creatures."

Astoria burst out laughing, and Draco turned to stare at her. "Slaughtered? Oh, shut up. The Hippogriff scratched your arm, it didn't bite you. From what I hear, you insulted it."

Draco chuckled a bit too. "I called it a great, ugly beast. Asking for it, wasn't I?"

Astoria laughed so hard that tears streamed down her face. Draco joined in, their laughter bouncing off the walls of their lonely cells.

Day 147: Astoria-

Draco had made her laugh. She was laughing so hard that tears were running out of her eyes and splashed on the floor without apology. Her ribs were cracking, her abdominals were burning. And Draco was laughing right there along with her. In any other world, any universe, at any other time, they would be somewhere else. They might be laughing in her apartment, his, a coffee shop, even at Hogwarts. But they weren't in any other universe or time period. They were stuck here, in this fixed bubble of time. But Astoria knew, deep down, that despite the setting, she was a smidgeon grateful for it. For if they hadn't been placed here at all, then this conversation simply wouldn't have happened.

She was just wiping away the tears from her eyes when she heard the door at the end of the hallway open. She ignored the sound of the guards approaching.

"I always wondered, how did you tell Crabbe and Goyle apart?" Draco seemed to sober up for a moment, his mouth froze—agape. Astoria instinctively shrunk back, wondering if she had prodded an open nerve. The battle of Hogwarts had not spared everyone, she knew that.

"Get up." Enid was at her cell now, unlocking the door and speaking gruffly to Astoria.

"Oh, what now?" Astoria shot back. "You still can't speak to me that way."

"Can and will," Enid grunted. "You have a visitor."

Astoria exchanged a quick look with Draco, who was staring, wide-eyed at her.

"Visitors?" Draco asked. "We can have visitors?"

'

"You never told me that!" Astoria exploded at Enid, rocking her body upwards and glaring at the large woman.

"Didn't have to tell anyone." Enid yanked on Astoria's upper arm and began to lead her down the hallway, back towards the room with the showers. Astoria's heart began to race. Who was here to see her? Her parents and sister, presumably, were dead. She didn't have many friends, and even those who she was close to would probably have no idea she was here. She wondered if it could be her aunt, but she doubted it. Her aunt was fragile and hardly travelled from her bedroom to the front door of her own home. Enid lead her by the nurse's office, and then by a large set of reinforced glass doors, marked with studded iron. They provided a view of the landscape beyond—green, rolling hills as far as the eye could see, marked only with dead patches of weeds and a few loose boulders. Astoria noted, with a glance, that the door had been left slightly open, though it seemed that the sunset was beginning to set in. Two of the guards were outside, sharing a cigarette.

Enid lead her further down the hall, and then stopped outside a small door, that was marked "Visiting Room" in nondescript letters. Astoria was shoved forward, through the door, and found herself standing in front of a metal table complete with a chair sunk into the ground, as if she were about to steal it. On the other side of the table sat her sister. Astoria's heart skipped a beat, and then began to hammer wildly in her chest.

"Daphne?" She whispered, stepping forward. Her older sister stood abruptly, clutching at a small, pink purse. She had aged abruptly since the battle of Hogwarts. She had cut her espresso colored hair dramatically, into a short bob that accentuated her long neck. Her eyebrows pointed and quivered upwards, as if she were perched on the brink of crying. She wore pink lipstick that made her look pale and drawn. "Daphne, oh my god." Astoria rushed forward, but a hand seized her and pulled back sharply. Enid shook her head as she plunked Astoria down in her chair.

"No touching."

"I can't hug my sister?" Astoria demanded. Daphne made a little whining noise across the table, and Astoria immediately turned away from Enid. "Daph, I thought you were dead."

"And I, you," Daphne replied, her voice a little quaky, a little wheezy. "But this is important, Astoria. I travelled here as soon as I found out where you were."

"Of course this is important," Astoria said. "We're both alive. You're here to get me out, aren't you?"

"Of course, but not during this visit." Daphne shook her head sadly. "Astoria, I need you to tell me everything Draco Malfoy has said or done in the past couple weeks, and before."