Day 147: Astoria-

She felt herself break out into a cold sweat and her skin prickled, as if a thousand ants bit her skin all at once.

"What? Why?" She demanded. She asked this too quickly, her voice shot up an octave. Daphne reached out and gripped Astoria's hands. Her touch wasn't comforting at the moment, but instead fueled Astoria's anxiety.

"There are accusations he's murdered people during the battle of Hogwarts. That's why he's here."

"Accusations?" Astoria shook her head. "That doesn't make sense. They can't lock people up on accusations only."

"It's for the public's safety," Daphne whispered. "It's all over the papers. He evaded arrest for months."

"That doesn't mean he did anything," Astoria protested. "Daphne, I'm scared. He's scared. Being here doesn't prove anything. I mean, I'm in here. Do you think I'm guilty?"

"No, of course not," Daphne replied, but she didn't sound entirely convincing. Astoria drew back.

"You think I did all those things I was accused of." Her voice grew poisonous. "Conspiracy to murder. That's the kicker." Astoria laughed hollowly. "Why would I murder our friends, Daph? Our parents? How could you think that's true?"

"A lot of things happened that night," Daphne said quietly. "I don't think you did anything wrong. I just think things happened. Accidents or not."

"I'm done," Astoria whispered, standing up from the table and backing away. From out in the hallway, she heard the click of the lock in the door as Enid came to fetch her.

"Astoria, please."

Astoria shook her head. "You're really sick. You know that? You come to use me for some mouthpiece, some informant, and you don't even have faith in my goodness? You think I'm a murderer, a liar. Why would you ask me to speak on a person's character when you don't trust my own?"

Daphne covered her mouth with her hand and coughed feebly, as if Astoria's words were making her ill.

Astoria rolled her eyes. "Fuck you, Daphne. I'd rather rot in here than lie to you and tell you just what you want to hear. You want to know what I think of Draco Malfoy? He's been nothing but kind and comforting to me, for years and years. If anyone here is incapable of being trusted, it's you."

"Enough." Enid gruffly stepped forward and gripped Astoria's shoulders, too roughly. Astoria wriggled, just for a moment, before breaking free and stepping back towards the wall, her chest heaving. Daphne stared at her as if she had just drunk a pint of blood. Enid grabbed Astoria again, holding her at the elbows, and pulled her into the hallway.

"Astoria!" Daphne shouted after her, and Astoria tossed her head, disinterested. "You know it's true. You know what he's done!"

Astoria closed her eyes and walked blindly past the open door, where the guards still shared a smoke. The wind was cold and bracing against her skin, and she breathed in deep, her lungs expanding with the fresh air. Her deep breaths were so calm and collected that one might have thought she was meditating, that she was unraveled. But if someone thought that, they wouldn't have known Astoria Greengrass.

Day 19: Draco-

Astoria returned only a bit later. She hadn't been gone maybe more than fifteen minutes. Draco heard her breathing heavily, as if trying to remain calm, when she was lead back down the hallway and placed in her cell. Enid hesitated, outside, the bars, as Astoria sat down quietly onto her bed, not screaming, not resisting. The female guard seemed unsure of how Astoria was coping, for on the surface, Draco supposed a stranger might think her calm.

Draco knew a bit better. In his sixth year, he had managed for some time, to put on a mask. His brave-faced, or as his girlfriend at the time had called it: his smirking mask. It was apparent, to Draco, that Astoria was not calm, she was on edge. Her back was straight as an arrow, her eyes flickered open with anxiety and burning rage, and Draco guessed, if she had opened her fists, he would see bloody crescents where her nails had cut into the skin.

"I'm not about to watch you gape at me all afternoon, Enid," Astoria snapped. "I'm getting really tired of the way you stare at me."

Enid frowned and then harrumphed as Draco let out an audible snort of laughter. She turned away and slowly shuffled her feet down the hallway. Draco waited, with bated breath, until the door had swung shut to speak.

"Who came to see you?"

"My sister." Astoria shot up instantly, and began to slide a hand under the mattress of her cell. "Doesn't matter now though."

"What are you doing?"

Astoria sighed and straightened up. In her hand, she held a small golden chain.

"Don't ask questions, Snake Boy. We don't have much time."

"Are you going somewhere?" Draco laughed.

"Yeah. And you're coming with me." Astoria pulled her shirt up halfway to reveal a wand held close to her abdominals. She pulled it from the waistband of her pants and pointed the tip at the lock of her cell. The bars crumbled to dust. Draco stepped backwards, blinking rapidly.

"How did you-?"

"I got accused of a lot of stuff when they threw me in here," Astoria interrupted, waving the wand outside Draco's cell. "Murder, treason. But none of it was true, you know?" The bars turned to dust just as Draco heard shouts coming from outside the door. "They've turned me into someone that steals, though. That much is true. Come on."

Draco ran to her side, glancing up and down the hallway. His felt suddenly alive, his feet were tingling with the urge to run. He bounced on the balls of his feet.

"Where do we go?"

"Outside," Astoria said simply, heading straight for the door where voices could be heard. The door began to clang, the hinges straining as a key scraped against the metal lock. She glanced up at Draco, and he realized just how short she was compared to him. He hadn't been so close to someone in weeks now, and he had almost forgotten what it was like to have someone's energy so close to one's body. He could almost feel the heat coming off her skin. "And then you're going to take us somewhere from there, okay? I bet you know good hiding places."

"I…" The door burst open at the end of the hall, and with a quick maneuver, Astoria stunned Enid, who lead a trio of guards. Draco moved to step in front of Astoria as the guards raised their wands, but she was gone, slipping under his arm in a blur of tan skin and the scent of gardenias. Draco found that she had tossed the wand to his chest, and he reacted quickly, deflecting the stunning spell of one of the guards and hexing him back. Astoria had taken it upon herself to use physical force—her pent up energy had turned her into a whirling mass of fists and fury. She punched the other guard twice in the throat, kicked him in the crotch, and then stole his wand from his loose grip before knocking him out with a right hook.

"God," Draco murmured, staring at her. Astoria stared back, her chest heaving. There was a split-second where neither soul said a word. Then Draco ran forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her along with him. He felt re-invigorated by this girl and her strength, and he wasn't about to loose her now.

They ran right through the main hallways as bells and alarms shrieked loudly. Draco heard Astoria let out a whoop, not of fear, but freedom. She tugged him through an entrance that had been carelessly left open.

"You sure you trust me?" Draco asked, his feet squelching against the moist grass. He could hear more shouting from inside the building. Spells began to bounce through the hallway.

"More than anyone else I know," Astoria confirmed. "Now come on, Snake Boy. Get us out of here."

Draco placed a hand on her shoulder, the grip falling into place naturally and comfortably. Astoria gripped the chest of his shirt, her hand curling around a scrap of cotton. Draco concentrated, his stomach bubbling with nerves and excitement. And then, as a spell zoomed right by him, he apparated without a second thought.