"Are you a healer?" Ron asked. From her seat, Astrid looked back and forth between Ron and Hermione and nodded.
"Something like that. I'm a doctor, but I specialize in magical injuries."
"And do you know what happens in all muggle hospitals?" he insisted, a little abruptly.
"Ron, that's enough," Hermione grabbed him by the sleeve. "Sorry, but I had a question," she said to Astrid, looking at her nervously. She had met the woman in the middle of her rage fit, and she didn't know what to expect from her.
"Ask whatever you want," Astrid encouraged her, smiling kindly.
"It's about my parents," Hermione told Astrid about the torture that Mr. and Mrs. Granger had suffered, and their critical condition. Astrid listened very seriously, without interrupting, and finally asked for the name of the hospital where the Grangers were admitted.
"It is not a bad place, but I am afraid that in that clinic they will not be able to treat them properly, because their doctors do not know of the existence of magic, or the wounds caused by them."
"And what can I do? They have offered to take them to St. Mungo's, but I'm not sure they can help them there. Besides, they're muggles, I don't know if... I'm worried that they're not safe."
"You're right, let me take care of that," Astrid stood up. "If you want, I will arrange for them to be transferred to my hospital, where we can do the necessary tests to find out how we can help them. We have a special unit dedicated to magic, we call it Diseases Without Known Treatment, and it has a team of healers and doctors specialized in magical injuries who will take care of them. I am part of the supervision team."
Hermione was speechless and nodded shakily.
"Thank you," she whispered, sincerely grateful and relieved.
"Don't give them to me," Astrid said. "Not until your parents walk out the hospital doors."
OOO
Astrid had gotten a scholarship to study medicine, and the money also allowed her to pay for her accommodation and personal expenses. That was a great relief, because after the encounter with the death eaters at the orphanage, she and Severus and grown apart.
Severus did not want to put her in danger, afraid that they were spying on him, and furthermore, his insecurity and lack of trust made him think that Astrid felt obliged to remain by his side, due to the guilt and gratitude she felt for having saved her life.
On the other hand, Astrid had a hard time accepting Severus' new role as a death eater. She felt immensely guilty for having caused his entry into the dark side, and she also did not like knowing about the missions he was forced to do.
On many occasions they quarreled about it, neither of them wanting to understand the other's point of view, and finally, when she came of age and was allowed to leave the orphanage, Astrid moved her things to the university's dorms, instead of moving to Spinners End, and the two cut contact for a while.
However, they missed each other greatly. They had never been separated for so long, and the sudden estrangement was terribly painful.
And one day, after being away on a mission, Severus returned home, injured, and discovered to his surprise that Astrid was sitting on the steps of the front door, waiting for him.
She was crying, hugging her knees, but as soon as she saw him approaching, she jumped up and threw herself on him, hugging him tightly. Severus didn't know how to respond, astonished as he was.
"I thought something had happened to you. I was so worried..." she sobbed.
Gently, Severus guided her into the building, without leaving her side.
"Astrid, what's happening? why did you come?" he asked, once he was sure they were safe.
She wiped her face, trying to hold back her sobs, but she didn't dare take her hands off him. It was as if she was afraid he was going to disappear.
"I dreamed about you... I saw you hurt; I saw how..." Astrid covered his cheek with her hand. "I saw how he hurt you. I had to know... I had to know that you were okay."
"It was just a dream, Astrid," Severus gently removed her hand, but she shook her head vehemently.
"No, I've seen you... how you are now. Those wounds... I've seen how he did those to you," Astrid pointed to the cuts on his face. "You have been tortured ..." she whispered.
Severus felt a chill run down his spine, how could she possibly know?
"I'm fine now," he murmured dryly, putting distance between the two of them. "You do not have to worry."
"Please don't leave me aside," she begged, taking his hand. "I'm very sorry for what I said, I was very angry, and I didn't understand anything, but I never meant to imply that you–"
"It doesn't matter," he interrupted her. He didn't want to remember their last argument. They had both said terrible things.
"For me it does," Astrid insisted. "I love you, Severus. I love you more than anything. I'm so sorry for having hurt you," Astrid squeezed his hand, her eyes filled with tears. He didn't have the strength to make her let go. He hated seeing her cry. "Forgive me, please."
"There is nothing to forgive," he whispered, moved despite himself. "You didn't say anything that wasn't true."
"That's not true," Astrid had approached him. "I know you would never hurt me."
Severus did not move away this time, but instead caressed her tear-streaked face and leaned his head to rest his forehead on Astrid's.
"I'm sorry for what I said too," he murmured, and for a few seconds they stayed like that, almost hugging, trying to control their emotions.
Severus didn't want to let her go. He had missed her a lot. Only when Astrid stopped crying did he dare to take a step back, to look at her face.
"Do you... do you want to stay for dinner?" he asked hopefully, wanting to extend her presence as long as possible.
Gratefully, she nodded.
During dinner, they talked non-stop, and the hours passed without them realizing it. He told her about his life as a death eater, and that time, Astrid showed no displeasure, but compassion and concern.
She helped him heal his wounds, while telling him what college classes were like. Severus looked at her, as if he still couldn't believe she was there. Only the contact of her hands convinced him that it was not a dream.
"There's one thing I don't understand," he commented, while she disinfected his eyebrow with a potion. "How could you know what was happening to me?"
"I already told you, I dreamed about it," Astrid remained thoughtful, trying to remember. "Actually, I was dreaming about something else, but suddenly I heard your voice. You were calling me from very far away, and somehow, I flew to where you were, and I could see... I could see what he was doing to you," she looked at him again with fear and concern. "That was...?"
"The Dark Lord," he murmured, still not understanding what had happened. "But I didn't call you at any time."
"Maybe you didn't realize."
"I would never put you in danger like that. No one knows you exist," they both remained silent, while Astrid collected the potions and the bloody gauze. "Although it is true... there was a moment when I thought about you," Severus confessed. "I thought I would never see you again, and I wished I could... see your face one more time."
"I'm here," she whispered, with tears in her eyes, caressing his face. "And I'm not going anywhere."
He took her hand and kissed it, not wanting to separate from her. Astrid settled next to him, looking at him tenderly. They looked into each other's eyes, conveying all their love in one look. That pleasant closeness had eliminated in one swoop the pain that their previous separation had caused them.
Attracted to each other, they brought their faces together, and gently, they began to kiss. They had both missed that level of intimacy, and they sighed as a chill, like an electric shock, ran through them.
Before they knew it, they deepened their kiss, and let themselves go, as if there was nothing in the world but them. Their caresses became more daring, and the growing desire made them forget everything else.
Without stopping kissing, they ended up going up to the bedroom, undressing along the way, unable to separate, surrendering to passion and desire. And to love.
OOO
Harry and Snape returned in the evening, accompanied by Dumbledore. The three of them were exhausted, but satisfied, which seemed like a good sign.
As seemed to be custom, Snape and Dumbledore took Astrid to another room, to discuss in private. Harry stayed with the others, and was subjected to interrogation.
"We destroyed the Horcrux," Harry was very happy, despite his exhaustion, and proceeded to tell them what had happened.
Harry, Snape and Dumbledore had reached the black lake, and were walking on the stone walkways, careful not to trip and fall into the water.
They arrived at the same place where Ron, Hermione and Harry had been attacked by the Inferi-vampires, and Snape used the locator spell invented by himself, as he had agreed with Dumbledore. The headmaster remained alert as Snape guided them to what seemed like the very center of the lake.
The Inferi-vampires did not appear at any time, and Harry thought that perhaps the professor's spell was much less sloppy than his own and could go unnoticed, or perhaps Snape did really know how to find what he was looking for.
The stone paths converged on a round platform, on which they found a solitary stone block about a meter high, black, smooth and without any type of inscription on it. Snape probed the stone carefully, looking for any protrusion, and Dumbledore inspected the platform, which was deserted except for the stone.
"Well, I have to say I'm glad I don't have to drink anything," Dumbledore joked, winking at Harry.
"We don't know that yet," Snape replied dryly.
Harry looked around, in case the Inferi-vampires were approaching, but everything was very quiet. Snape finished his inspection and stood up, shaking his head.
"There is nothing. I can't think of what to do with this."
"Try with your Mark," Dumbledore suggested.
Snape rolled up his sleeve and moved his arm closer to the black stone. It emitted a small flash, as if taking a photograph, and when Snape withdrew his arm, they saw that the Mark had remained replicated in the stone, shining. The skull image began to hiss, and its surface bubbled like acid, corroding the stone.
Harry, Dumbledore, and Snape watched as the stone became more and more hollow, until suddenly, a crack was heard, and the block cracked and separated, revealing a square opening in the floor of the platform.
Peeking out cautiously, they saw that it was a vertical tunnel, apparently empty of water, although it was so dark that they could not see much else. Snape bent down to climb down the tunnel, but Dumbledore stopped him.
"We don't know what's down there."
"I was trained for things like this, there will be no problem."
"Even so, no one is going to come down without having taken the necessary precautions," the director insisted.
The first thing he did was create a ball of light to illuminate the tunnel, and he dropped it into the darkness. The three of them waited for a few seconds, to see if anything out of the ordinary would happen.
Then, a very intense light came out of the well, blinding them, and a dull noise began to be heard, like that of stone sliding. Something was coming out of the tunnel. The three stepped back, covering their eyes, and heard something fall next to them.
Harry felt cold, strong hands gripping his clothes firmly, and he understood that the Inferi-vampires had decided to act, and that if he didn't do something he would end up in the water. He resisted and struggled to remove his jacket, temporarily freeing himself from his captor, but he still had not regained his sense of sight.
Above the little colored lights that blinded him, he thought he glimpsed a flash created by Dumbledore, but he sensed that the Inferi-vampires were showing the director that they could cancel his fire with complete ease.
Harry ignored the little lights when he saw how the Inferi-vampire were attacking Dumbledore, and wanted to run to his aid, but Snape pushed him away and stood between the headmaster and the creatures, with his arm raised and the dark mark clearly visible. The Inferi-vampires retreated, hesitant and threatening, not daring to get closer to the death eater.
"I have never encountered anything like this," Dumbledore commented grimly. "How can they be eliminated?"
"I have no idea," confessed Snape, who had never been so happy in his life to have that horrible mark on his skin.
The Inferi-vampires raised their arms, raising the fireballs above their heads, and at the same time, powerful blue flames crossed the air, in the direction of the magicians. Snape and Dumbledore crouched down.
"Harry, be careful!" Dumbledore shouted, although it would not have been necessary, because Harry, following his instinct, had already thrown himself to the ground, narrowly avoiding the blue flame. However, the boy understood the headmaster's warning when the fireball passed over his head again, in the opposite direction, and with more power than before.
Harry turned and saw that an antique mirror, as tall as a person, had emerged from the trapdoor in the floor. When the flames hit the glass again, Harry realized that this was no normal mirror, as it returned the fire with even more intensity, as if it were an enhanced reflection.
That was surely the explanation for the intense light that had blinded them earlier.
The Inferi-vampires were intelligent and began to direct their blue fire against the mirror, so that the flames bounced off the three figures that were shrinking on the platform. Dumbledore and Snape protected themselves with magical shields, and created one for Harry, but other than that, they couldn't agree on what to do.
Harry watched his shield crack from the effects of the fire, and wondered what kind of magic that was. He noticed that sparks were coming out of the tip of his wand, as if it were reacting against the strange fire.
Dumbledore stood up and approached the mirror, trying to cover it with something that would prevent its reflection, while Snape covered his rear, threatening the Inferi-vampires with the dark mark. One of the creatures stood in front of him, hissing through its sharp fangs, and shot him directly into his left arm with blue flames.
Snape gasped, and although he tried to control himself, it was clear that the mysterious fire was doing him terrible pain. Still, he faced the creatures, throwing every curse he could think of at them. Dumbledore did not improve in his efforts to cover the mirror, and the glass continued to reflect the increasingly powerful flares.
Harry felt more like a hindrance than a help. His left hand, still injured, kept burning with a dull pain that ran through his entire arm. However, Harry tried to ignore the pain and protect the two men with protective shields, but the mysterious blue fire broke his defenses as if they were made of paper.
He thought quickly about what he could do to get out of that situation. It was clear that using hexes was not the most appropriate solution, since not even Snape's dark arts were doing much good. No, the answer was in the mirror.
Dumbledore wanted to cover it so that it would not reflect the fire, but the mirror would not allow itself to be covered; There was no spell or mist capable of completely covering it and holding on. Snape couldn't do anything either, he had enough to resist the fire that consumed his arm and that he couldn't put out, because if he put his arm in the water, he would wake up the Inferi...
The water! Harry realized that the only way to insulate the mirror was to throw it into water, where it couldn't reflect fire as easily. Without thinking twice, he ran and threw himself against the mirror, without hearing what Dumbledore was shouting at him.
The mirror bounced him like a spring, and instantly, the Inferi-vampires launched a barrage of blue flames at him. Harry scurried behind the mirror, where the fire couldn't reach him, and studied the situation again.
He noticed that the mirror had three legs, like painting easels, but what caught his attention was the engraving of an R on its back, accompanied by the drawing of an eagle with open wings. That mirror had belonged to Ravenclaw.
Gaining momentum, Harry pushed its hind leg with all his might, to no avail.
On the other side of the mirror, Snape and Dumbledore were having problems, so Harry forced himself to push to the side with all the weight of his body, and after a few seconds of effort, he managed to turn the mirror, diverting it from the path of the flames.
Giving himself courage, Harry continued pushing, listening to the spells of the two men, who intended to keep the creatures away from him. He was sweating and his shoulder hurt from the effort, but Harry forced himself to keep pushing, little by little, meter by meter, in a journey that seemed eternal and exhausting, until he reached the edge of the platform.
Making one last effort, Harry leaned all his weight against the mirror until he felt it fall. He moved away so as not to fall too and saw how the mirror was submerged in the water. However, contrary to what he had expected, the mirror did not sink, and remained floating, with the glass facing up, although the layer of water made it difficult for it to reflect the flames so easily.
The Inferi-vampire let out a screech, and with an energetic leap they rose into the air, levitating to get lost in the darkness of the cave.
Snape fell to his knees, gasping at the pain of the blue fire. Dumbledore crouched down next to him and tried to put out the flames, but it was completely impossible. Harry approached cautiously and noticed that the mysterious flames gave off not heat, but cold. Snape's arm was burning with ice.
He heard a strange noise behind him, and when he turned, he realized that the Ravenclaw mirror was beginning to rise out of the water, as if something was pushing it from below. Running to the shore, Harry knelt down and tried to push the mirror underwater, but the force holding the mirror was stronger than him.
Desperately, he looked at his hands resting on the glass, the glass that had to be broken to destroy the Horcrux, and remembered what had happened to his protective shield when the blue flames had hit it.
"Professor!" he then shouted. "Push the mirror! The flames could break it!"
"It will make them bounce," Dumbledore protested.
Snape, however, was willing to do anything to end the pain slowly consuming his arm, and he crawled to the edge of the platform. He placed his hand firmly on the mirror and pushed. At first nothing happened, but little by little, very slowly, the flames passed from his hand to the surface of the mirror, which fogged up due to the cold.
Snape pushed harder, and the blue fire continued to spread, leaving his arm and freezing the glass. A faint cracking sound could be heard as tiny, faint cracks appeared, spreading like spider threads across the surface of the mirror. It was so cold that it froze the water around it.
The cracks in the glass deepened and the cracking became louder again, and then, as Snape pushed the mirror again, the glass shattered and flew into the air. The frame that held it and the back also broke, as if they were made of paper, and the three men thought they heard a kind of hiss, like the wind through a poorly closed door, and the echo of a faraway scream.
Snape stood balanced, his trembling hand in the air, suspended above the water, motionless, breathing heavily, visibly relieved, but also in pain. Without realizing it, he touched the water with his finger.
Instantly, the Inferi came out of the water and grabbed his arm, pulling him into the depths.
Dumbledore and Harry rushed to catch him and pull him before he lost his balance. Harry cast a Incendio, and the spell wiped out the creatures, causing them to release Snape and return to the safety of the water.
The three got up with difficulty and prepared to run out of there, but then they saw that everywhere more Inferi were coming out of the water, occupying all the walkways, and completely surrounding them.
"I want you to run without stopping until you get out of here," Dumbledore ordered. His eyes shone with determination behind his glasses. Waving his wand, he made a very powerful flame appear and opened a path for them through the sea of Inferi.
Snape and Harry advanced, following the trail of fire, but they couldn't get very far, because the Inferi-vampires appeared again. The creatures floated in the air, which made it very easy for them to summon their blue fire and consume Dumbledore's fiery spell.
"Damn them, they're not afraid of fire," Snape muttered, backing away.
"But they fear the Mark," Harry remembered.
"I can't use it now," Snape showed him his arm, wounded and immobile, completely bruised by frostbite. It was impossible to see the Mark.
"What about the one that death eaters use as a signal?" Harry then asked. He earned a surprised look from his professor, but Snape did not hesitate to raise his wand.
"Morsmordre," he invoked with a powerful voice. The gigantic green skull occupied the entire space above their heads, illuminating the enormous cave with its light and driving away the Inferi-vampires once and for all .
Dumbledore and Harry summoned the Incendio and this time they did manage to make their way through theInferi once and for all...
"And so, we sealed the door and came back here," Harry finished his story and looked around.
Everyone looked at him with their mouths open, without saying a word, totally amazed by what they had just heard. It took them a while to break the silence, but they finally ended up congratulating Harry on the destruction of the Horcrux. Even Draco didn't have anything offensive to say to take the spotlight off him, and that was no small thing.
The adults returned shortly after. Snape's bandaged arm was in a sling, and Dumbledore's beard looked a little shorter.
Greeting Harry properly, Astrid noticed his injured hand, and asked him about it. Harry tried to make light of the matter, but the woman still took it to heart that Harry had not been attended to earlier, and she pointed this out to Snape and Dumbledore while she examined Harry's hand.
"Are you telling me that Harry's hand had been like this all day and you haven't done anything?" she asked, very angry.
"They didn't know," Harry protested.
It was true that he had barely had time to rest since he had left the Burrow with Ron and Hermione that morning, and he had barely exchanged a word with Dumbledore and Snape before starting the mission.
"That's no excuse," Astrid insisted. "I imagined that the most powerful wizard in England and Mr. death eater would be smart enough to realize that the young man who should defeat the Dark Lord is seriously injured," the woman cast a poisoned look on her husband and the headmaster, and both of them had the common sense to look embarrassed. "What a disaster, your hand is destroyed, Harry, how do you handle the pain?"
"I think it's falling asleep," Harry could barely move his fingers, and his limb felt numb.
"What I feared. You are at risk of suffering an infection. You should take antibiotics tonight," Astrid made him sit down, and began treating the wound with various potions. "We must be very careful, you can still develop gangrene and lose your hand. And you two, weren't you supposed to help him?" the woman again directed her anger against the two wizards. "Doesn't that include bringing him back with all his limbs intact?" but they didn't have time to respond, because Astrid was once again focused on Harry's wound. "I can't believe it... damn wizards," she muttered.
Astrid's tirade continued for several more minutes, and the two men endured her anger stoically and without changing their expressions, but this did not happen to Celine, who had to leave because she could not hold back her laughter.
Draco watched the scene, smiling inwardly as he saw how the woman handled the situation as she pleased, and Hermione's eyes widened, wondering if everything Astrid was saying was true, and Harry would end up losing his hand.
Harry, on the other hand, sensed that Astrid was exaggerating. If the situation was as serious as she said, he would have been immediately taken to the hospital. He said nothing, however, as he found it amusing to see Snape and Dumbledore cowering. He couldn't help but compare Astrid to Mrs. Weasley when she was angry with her husband.
Even Ron leaned towards Hermione and commented openly. "That Astrid would get along very well with my mother."
The scene, however, did not last long, because Dumbledore, reacting to a silent look from the professor, approached Ron and Hermione.
"It's time for you to return to the Burrow. Molly and Arthur will be worried about your unexpected absence."
Ron and Hermione barely had time to say goodbye to Harry before being led out of the house.
"What a strange day," Ron said to Hermione. "Nobody is going to believe us when we tell them."
"Ron, I don't think we can say anything," she warned him.
"Why did they let us come then? Besides, Harry would have told us sooner or later."
But Hermione didn't seem so convinced. Then, Dumbledore turned to them, an apologetic smile on his face.
"Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, I apologize in advance, but I'm afraid you can't remember what has happened in the last few hours."
"What do you mean?" Ron asked. Too late, he noticed the black-clad figure approaching him from behind.
"Obliviate," Snape pointed at them, and carefully erased their memories.
"It is not necessary that they forget everything. I would like them to continue remembering the search for the Horcrux," Dumbledore warned, his voice calm.
"I already know it. But now they will think that it was you who saved them. You should disappear with them before they start asking questions."
Dumbledore nodded silently and took the student's elbows. With a barely audible sound, the three of them disappeared, as if they had never been there.