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Astoria closed her book and put it aside. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and leaned back into her pillow. Her mind was wide awake, but she felt dizzy, and her eyes could not focus on the words in front of her. It was frustrating, really, but there was nothing to be done about it.

She had to admit that she had spent more and more time in the Hospital Wing lately. However, she was uncertain whether it was because the blood curse showing up in her was growing worse, or if it was the stress and torture of her everyday school life. She was usually not the only one in there these days, although she assumed that some students were just avoiding classes by feigning illness. The twins had a whole repertoire of innocent-looking "candy" for those who needed a break from their lovely professors.

Astoria certainly did not enjoy going to classes. Snape's Potions class was alright, as were Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid, Ancient Runes with Professor Babbling, and Arithmancy with Professor Vector. But the rest of the classes were a living nightmare. The new professors were as cruel as the Carrows, but unfortunately not as stupid.

Still, she would rather go to classes than stay in the Hospital Wing. It made her feel useless. She hated herself for thinking that way, but she could not help it. Daphne was a strong-willed fighter. She'd protect those who could not protect themselves. She'd fight He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named if she had to. She'd make a difference in this world they lived in. And Astoria would wither away in the Hospital Wing.

The door was opened and shut again. A new patient had entered. Astoria only opened her eyes to look over to the new arrival when she heard him speak to Madame Pomfrey. It was Draco.

She closed her eyes again, pretending to be asleep. It was the beginning of April. It had been weeks since the night at the Astronomy Tower. They had barely talked since then. Draco had spent more time with his housemates than ever before. Astoria understood why, but it hurt, nonetheless. And he'd joined the Inquisitorial Squad, a select group of students who were supportive of the new teachers, hand-picked by Professor Umbridge. Or at least that was what they told everyone. In reality, most of them abused their power to report students so they would get tortured.

His eyes sometimes caught hers in the Great Hall. She usually pretended she did not notice.

Neville had told her of Snape's plan to restore Draco's memories. She had supplied him with plenty of memories of her own, but she would not dare to hope for her Draco's return.

"Mind if I take the bed next to you?"

She opened her eyes again. Draco was standing next to her, apparently not fooled into believing she was asleep in the middle of the morning. "Suit yourself."

He sat down on the bed next to hers and studied her. Eventually, he asked, "Are you alright?"

Astoria laughed. "This is the Hospital Wing, you know."

Draco smirked. "I've noticed."

"It's just a headache. It'll pass, but it's a bit hard to follow along in class like this."

"Oh, should I stop talking then?"

"It's mostly light, today. So, you can talk, but don't be offended if I close my eyes."

He nodded.

"You don't seem all that unhealthy," Astoria commented.

Draco looked around the room before he replied, "I just did not sleep all that well and…"

"Needed a break?"

"Something like that." He leaned back on his bed. "What were you reading?"

Astoria glanced at the stack of books next to her bed. The top one she had just put aside was one that had quite a few spells in it that they were practicing in their Defense club. Draco did not need to know about that, though. It also had a chapter about something else, though, which was perhaps something that she could tell him. "It's a Charms book. I was just reading a chapter about the Patronus… but the words started to move before my eyes, so I'm taking a break."

Draco stayed quiet for a while. "That's the one you can use against Dementors, right?"

Astoria nodded.

"Do you want me to read it to you?"

That was… an incredibly sweet offer. And rather unexpected. "Sure. If you don't mind." She opened her book at the chapter about the charm and handed it to him.

Draco took it and started to read, his voice filling the sterile room with life and color. "The Patronus Charm, incantation Expecto Patronum, is one of the most powerful defensive charms known to wizardkind. It is an immensely complicated and extremely difficult spell, that channels the caster's positive emotions into a powerful protection and evokes a partially-tangible positive energy force known as a Patronus (pl. Patronuses) or spirit guardian. It is the primary protection against Dementors and Lethifolds, against which there are no other defenses.

"While there is a widespread and justified belief that a wizard who is not… pure of heart cannot produce a successful Patronus, a rare few witches and wizards of questionable morals have succeeded in producing the Charm. However, there are also examples of the spell backfiring spectacularly. The most famous example of the spell backfiring is that of the Dark wizard Raczidian, who was devoured by maggots…"

When Draco did not continue, Astoria looked at him. "Everything alright?"

"I…" Draco hesitated. "Do you think that's true? Do you think I'd get eaten by maggots if I tried to…"

"Oh no!" Astoria said hastily. "I'm not sure if that part is even true. And Raczidian was a terrible human being. The Dementors actually listened to him like he was one of theirs. He unleashed them on an innocent village. You'd never do anything like that!"

Draco just stared at her. "How can you be so sure?"

Astoria shrugged her shoulders. "I just know." The other Draco had felt such remorse for his actions… she could not believe that even when he was a Death Eater he would have done anything like Raczidian.

Astoria's eyes wandered to Draco's arms, wondering if there was once more a Dark Mark below his sleeve.

"I don't know anyone who can cast one."

Astoria pondered this. "Perhaps some could do it but have never tried… I'm sure you could learn it if you wanted to," she said, "without any maggots."

He looked uncertain. "Can you cast one?"

Astoria blushed. If he did not know how to cast the spell, he probably also didn't know how deeply personal this question was. "Not… a corporal one. But I'm getting there."

He nodded. "I'm sure you will… Could you show me? If your headache isn't too bad?"

"Oh- uhm, sure. I can try." Astoria reached for her wand. Her headache wasn't the problem, but Draco's presence was making it hard to focus. Using memories of him to fuel the spell had led to mixed results in the past. On a good day, she could draw on all the happy memories they shared. On other days, those same memories only made her feel a sense of loss that made even the smallest wisp impossible.

Now she chose the memory of her last birthday. It had been an all-around perfect day. Draco had been there, yes, but so had Daphne, Neville, Theo, Luna, and Ginny.

"Expecto Patronum." A thin sliver of silver escaped her wand and hovered like mist between them.

Draco reached for the mist, but it dissolved before his fingers could touch it. His eyes lingered where the mist had been before they settled on Astoria again. "That is incredible."

Astoria shrugged. "Thank you. But it's really not that much yet."

"Much more than I could do," he replied. "What do you do have to do? Just use the incantation and circle your wand?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that," Astoria said, shaking her head. "It sounds a bit weird… but you just have to think of something that makes you happy. More than happy. It has to be the happiest memory you could possibly think of. And… and you'd think that would make it easy, but it also can't be something that was happy back then but is now more complicated than that…" He was looking at her and it was in such an intense way that it made her rather uncomfortable, so she added, "Take Hogwarts, for example. My first day here – I was so incredibly happy. But now… Hogwarts isn't what it used to be, and I can't think of my feelings back then without feeling a certain sadness too, you know."

Draco looked thoughtful. "Can you also make something up? Or does it have to be a real memory?"

"Huh- I don't know. I've never tried." The end of the war would certainly make for a happy memory. Or the sacking of half the staff. Or… her eyes met Draco's and she thought of Snape and Neville and of…

That glimmer of hope she usually stifled was there again and she knew that if she let it burn it might burn brightly enough. She could try it… Intense fear took a hold of her. Fear of what would happen if she let go of the protective wall she had built around her heart. The fear was paralyzing, all-consuming. Drowning out any other thoughts or emotions; it left her stranded in a sea of terror.

"Astoria?"

Her eyes caught his and she managed to calm her racing heart.

Draco studied her for a moment, concern etched into his features. "Everything alright?"

Nervous laughter escaped her. "Yeah, no… My headache makes it hard to focus. I'll try some other time."

It was a lie, and they both knew it. If anything, the Patronus practice had reduced her headache – which certainly was something she would have to investigate later.

"Alright," Draco replied, but she could tell he wasn't convinced. Hopefully, he did not know what she had been thinking about. But he probably did. For someone who did not remember any of their shared past he could read her surprisingly well.

"Why don't you give it a go? You know how it works now," she suggested, trying to steer the focus away from her and towards him.

"In theory," he said skeptically.

Astoria rolled her eyes. "You won't be eaten by maggots, I promise. Just try to come up with a memory that makes you truly happy."

Draco hesitated, still doubtful. "I've been told that someone has erased my memories," he reminded her.

"Not all of them. And it's been months since that happened." Of course, Draco had been through a lot in those months - his childhood home had been burned down before his eyes, and he had been forced to torture students in class. Perhaps his new memories weren't ideal for this task. "Or just make something up. Test your theory," she suggested.

She observed him as he grabbed his wand and stared at it with a look on his face that she could not place. Astoria rolled over so she was no longer facing him. She didn't want to think about what - or rather who - he was thinking of now. She closed her eyes, trying to relax.

She could hear him trying the incantation behind her. About half an hour had passed, and Astoria had nearly dozed off, when she heard a "Whoa, look at that!" from behind her. She turned around, catching a glimmer of light before it disappeared.

Draco was grinning from ear to ear, and she couldn't help but smile as well. "See, no maggots," she joked.

"You were right," he said, holding her gaze. "I could not have done this without you."

Before she could reply, the door to the Hospital Wing opened and Neville walked in.

"Good morning," greeted Draco.

Neville's step faltered and his eyes met Astoria's.

"He's been thinking happy thoughts," she explained.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Lovely of you to visit me, Longbottom."

Neville laughed. "There is the sarcasm. For a second you had me really worried. The sarcasm, however, is misplaced – I did actually come here to talk to you. Well, the both of you."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

Neville looked around the room. "Perhaps not here. Are you two well enough to leave?"

"No one here but us," replied Draco. "Pomfrey left a while ago and hasn't returned since. And we are the only patients today."

Neville nodded but did not continue.

"What's going on, Neville? Is everything alright?" Was one of their friends in trouble? But why then would he need to talk to both of them… "Oh Merlin," she breathed. "It's happening today, isn't it?"

"What's happening today?"

"Yeah," replied Neville, ignoring Draco's question. "Snape found me about half an hour ago. He gave me this." He held up a small vial, then his gaze returned to Draco.

Astoria jumped out of her hospital bed and walked up to Neville. "This is it?"

Neville nodded, his eyes still on Draco, who had by now also gotten up.

"This is what? I hope you two don't think I'll drink that!"

"Draco…" Astoria started. "This… it can restore your memories."

"What?"

"She's right," agreed Neville.

"Impossible…"

"Snape created it," replied Neville. "Are you saying that he doesn't know his potions?"

Draco stared at the vial, then at Neville. "But why would he help the two of you?"

"This is not supposed to help us. It is supposed to help you!"

"You make no sense! You said I knew things that the Dark Lord wanted to torture out of me. Things that could get me killed. Why would you work together with Snape to get me killed?"

"We'd never hurt you, Draco. And neither would Snape. He is your godfather, isn't he? And he did help you with your headaches and nightmares, right?"

Draco stared at her, mouth agape. He blinked a couple of times, then he said, "Either you have secretly been Death Eaters all along… or Snape is one of you."

Astoria looked at Neville. This really wasn't the kind of revelation they had hoped for.

"He is part of the Order," Draco continued, "and there will be an ambush today."

Astoria laughed nervously. "Whyever would you think that?"

"Because I believe you when you say that you would not hurt me. Neither of you. And if something is happening today and you don't think getting back my memories will get me killed, then you think the Dark Lord is going to fall today."

"We hope so," Neville admitted, but his voice was barely above a whisper.

"And if he doesn't, then you probably won't be around much longer to give me this option?"

"Yes," confirmed Astoria. "So, what do you say?"

Draco stared at the vial again, then at Astoria. "What makes you think I won't tell a teacher about this? I could warn them of the ambush. I'd be a hero."

Astoria felt nauseous. "You could. Then Neville and I will be tortured and killed, as will your godfather, who put a lot of time and effort into finding a cure for you. The school will continue to be run by murderers and imbeciles. You can marry Pansy and celebrate Voldemort Day each year with her and Crabbe and Goyle, who will continue to lie to you every time you ask about the last couple of years."

"You won't do that, will you?" asked Neville.

"You are placing an awful lot of trust in me."

Astoria didn't think Draco would betray them. He might refuse to help them, might refuse to drink the potion, but he had saved Luna. He had saved her. For Merlin's sake - He didn't even manage a proper Cruciatus in class and still he was worried about being eaten by maggots… "You were just practicing the Patronus charm…" She felt light-headed, fear and hope fighting for control of her, but she pressed on, "And it worked. What memory were you using? One of your precious Dark Lord? One of torturing others? Is that what makes you happy?"

"No," he whispered.

Neville's eyes were wandering from her to him. "What were you thinking of?"

Draco blushed, but his gaze never wavered when he said, "I was thinking of you."

Astoria fought the urge to squeal and ignored Neville grinning like an idiot. "Then why threaten us with betrayal?"

Draco broke their eye contact, looking at his feet. "What will happen to me, if you win today? What will happen to my family?"

"We don't know," replied Neville, his expression subdued again. "But I can promise you this: Our side doesn't kill for no reason. We don't torture others. We are not vengeful or cruel. I don't think anything will happen to you or your mother. I'm sure Sirius would take the both of you in. Your father… he has always known what consequences his actions might lead to."

For a long time, Draco did not move. Eventually, he nodded. "Thank you for being honest." His eyes set on the vial. "So, you both think I should do this?"

"It's up to you," said Astoria. "We just wanted you to have this option. You don't have to drink it right now. If we lose today… you could just get rid of it."

Draco took a step closer to her, reaching out for her hands and she let him take them. "Are the memories good?"

She smiled up at him. "Most of them are amazing."

"What the hell is going on here?" screeched a new voice from behind them.

Astoria winced. She had not heard anyone approaching at all.

"We're just talking, Pansy," replied Draco without letting go of Astoria's hands.

Pansy stalked from the door towards them. "It doesn't look like you're just talking. And what do you have to talk about anyway? Are you two ganging up on him?"

"I came here to make sure two sick friends of mine are okay," replied Neville, "just like you, I assume."

"You aren't his friend. I am."

"I can have more than just one friend!" growled Draco. "And you can't dictate who is a friend and who isn't."

"Can't you see that I just want what's best for you, while they keep trying to get you into trouble?"

"We're trying to help him," replied Astoria hotly. "We're trying to give him all the information he needs to make informed decisions. You are trying to manipulate him into doing whatever you want! That is not help!"

"You don't know what he needs. Why are you here? Longbottom, what is that in your hands?"

"Uhm- nothing," he said, "a potion Astoria needs."

"Oh really? Then I want to see her drink it."

"I'm not a pet that will perform tricks for you," growled Astoria. Why did Pansy always have to ruin everything?

"You are terrible liars, the lot of you," replied Pansy. "Don't drink that, Draco. They are trying to poison you."

"Don't be ridiculous," huffed Astoria.

"They are trying to help me get my memories back," said Draco.

Perhaps Draco had thought that that statement would deescalate the situation. Perhaps he had thought that Pansy wanted him to get better and that they could have a calm conversation. That was, however, not what happened.

"Give me that!" yelled Pansy and grabbed Neville's arm.

Astoria slung her arms around the other girl to keep her from attacking Neville. But Pansy threw back her elbow and it landed right in Astoria's stomach, making her keel over. She landed on her knees, out of breath.

Pansy pulled out her wand, pointed it at Neville, and yelled, "Crucio!"

It seemed as if time slowed down. Neville fell backwards, his hands letting go of the vial. The vial made its inevitable way towards the ground. Astoria watched it fall, unable to say or do anything, unable to even form a coherent thought.

Upon impact, Astoria's hopes and dreams shattered along with the glass. Fighting broke out all around her, but it barely registered through the blinding white-hot rage that crawled its way through everything else.

"You," she hissed through clenched teeth while she stood up. Her arm shot up. Her wand pointed straight at Pansy. "You."

Pansy's smug countenance dropped, and she took a step backward.

"You. Ruin. Everything." Each word was accented with a sharp gesture of her wand towards the other girl.

Pansy raised her wand, but Astoria had cast Expelliarmus before she could utter even the first syllable of the hex she was going to cast, sending Pansy on her back.

Astoria felt a certain spell coiling inside of her like a snake ready to strike.

"Crucio," she whispered and watched Pansy scream and cry.

"Astoria, stop this!" That was Draco. But it wasn't her Draco, and that was Pansy's fault.

"Listen to him!" Neville.

Suddenly, Draco appeared in her line of vision, shielding Pansy from her with his body.

"You are still on her side? You protect her?" she asked, stunned. "After everything?"

Draco's eyes widened. "No- I… It's not that. But this," at that he gestured towards her, "is not you. You aren't… this." He brought his hands up and closed them around hers again. "You are kind. To everyone. Even those who don't deserve it… You see the good in people, even if they don't see it themselves. Perhaps especially when they don't see it themselves… Don't let her take that away from you. Don't let your anger consume you."

Something inside of her softened and her eyes fell on the tear-stricken face of Pansy. "Oh my God… what have I done?"

Draco shook his head. "It's fine. It's going to be alright."

"How? Things just keep on getting worse." And now she felt tears welling up. "Now you won't remember."

"I don't need to. You and Neville… and your friends… you've made me realize how wrong all of this is. You see good in me, even though I have been terrible to you. And you make me see the good in others, too. You make me question things I have taken for granted… I don't know much about this other Draco, but I envy him. He must have been an incredible person if he inspired such devotion and loyalty in such kind and brave people such as you." His gaze flickered to Neville, before it settled back on Astoria. "But I don't need to remember to know who my real friends are. I don't need to remember to know what's right and what's wrong. And… Astoria, I don't need to remember you to know how I feel about you." He pulled her to him and gave her a gentle kiss.

The moment seemed to last an eternity and she felt as if something broken inside of her was put back together. They pulled apart. "Why is one of us crying every time we kiss?" Astoria laughed.

Draco chuckled softly and wiped away one of her tears. Then he turned towards Pansy, who was sitting on the ground, crying hysterically. "I'm sorry, Pansy. I know you really want to be with me… but I don't think you actually know me or have any interest in getting to know me."

"That's not true," she whined in reply.

Draco shook his head.

"It is, though," said Neville. "You've lied to him and are actively trying to keep him from remembering who he is."

"But not because I don't like him with his memories!" She got back up to her feet. "It's just that he doesn't seem to like me when he remembers…"

"Well, lying to me had about the same effect."

Astoria elbowed Draco. "You don't have to kick her while she's down." Then she turned to her, holding out Pansy's wand. "This is yours. Take it. And stop trying to help Draco. You are only hurting him."

"I wasn't trying to… I'm not a bad person, you know?"

"You have tried to kill me… perhaps your intention wasn't to hurt me but to help Draco, but you didn't seem to have much of an issue with murder being your means to an end."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Astoria shook her head. She hesitated, but only for a moment. She took Draco's hand in hers. "Let's go."

Together with Neville, they left Pansy behind and made their way out of the room.

They did not make it very far before two red-heads came running towards them.

"Guys, there you are!"

"Fred? George? What is it?" asked Neville.

"I don't know – the Prefects told us to gather everyone in the Great Hall – whoa!" Fred's eyes had fallen onto Astoria's and Draco's joined hands. "I did not see that coming."

"Well," Astoria felt a little sheepish.

"You are back on our side, mate?" asked George. "That's amazing!"

Draco smiled uncertainly.

"That means you can help us with our next prank!"

"I prank people?"

The twins shared a look, then Fred said, "We have much to tell you."

Their group made its way to the Great Hall. Fred and George were talking non-stop to Draco. Astoria and Neville did not say much. Astoria assumed that Neville was as nervous as her – their gathering in the Great Hall could only mean that the ambush was over, and they would learn of the outcome.

They were some of the last students to arrive in the Great Hall. Snape was standing in front of the students, looking haggard. In the corner of the room were some dark figures Astoria could not identify, as their faces were in the dark.

"I have gathered you here," Snape started, his black eyes scanning the room with a piercing gaze. "To share some exciting news with you. I am honored to announce that a very special guest is going to be staying with us for the foreseeable future. He is a man who commands great respect and admiration, and I am sure that you will all show him the greatest courtesy and deference that he deserves. There is much that we can all learn from him, and I have no doubt that his presence here will be a great benefit to us all."

The air in the room grew thick with tension, and all eyes turned to the dark figures in the corner. As one of them stepped forward into the light, Astoria felt a cold shiver run down her spine.

"Please welcome Lord Voldemort."

AN: Plottwist! I love it! What do you think? Do you hate Pansy as much as I do? What do you think of Draco finally switching sides in this one? And what about him being back together with Astoria? Let me know in a review! (This story is only 10 reviews short of 900, so if you wanna leave a review - or 10, or, you know, 110 - I would be ecstatic.)