Hermione was still clutching Margaux's body as another wave of pain seared through her chest, now worse than before, and Hermione couldn't help but let out a gasp of pain. The air was thick with tension as Astoria stepped over Cormac's corpse and raised her wand toward Hermione's temple, her lips curling into a cruel smile.
"Beg me to spare you," Astoria hissed, her voice dripping with malice.
Hermione's chest heaved with the weight of her fear and the pain, but she steeled herself. She couldn't let Astoria see the full depth of her terror, not now. She needed to stay strong—for Margaux, for herself. "Astoria," Hermione began, her voice steady despite the trembling in her limbs, "You're making a mistake. Draco and I... we're nothing. We're just partners. I promise."
She let the lie roll off her tongue, and for a brief moment, she could almost believe it herself. Her mind raced as she tried to find the right words to diffuse Astoria's anger. "If you let us go, Draco will forgive you," she continued, desperately trying to appeal to whatever remnants of reason Astoria might have left. "He's not cruel. He'll understand why you did all this. He could still—"
"Understand?" Astoria cut her off with a sharp laugh. "You think he'll understand? After all the effort I've gone through? You have no idea what I've sacrificed for this." Her wand was trembling in her hand now, the intensity of her emotions threatening to unravel her.
Hermione's breath quickened. She needed to say something, anything, to keep herself alive. "He talked about you," she blurted out. "I mean, Draco talked privately about how much he liked Margaux at work all the time, but in reality, he was talking about you, Astoria."
For a brief, fleeting moment, Astoria hesitated. The glint of fury in her eyes wavered as Hermione's words sank in. It was almost as if Astoria wanted to believe her, wanted to believe that there was still a chance for her and Draco.
Astoria eyed Hermione sceptically. "What did he say, exactly?"
Hermione took a steadying breath, trying to ease the ever-growing pains in her chest. She knew that each word she spoke could decide her fate. "He said you were funny and smart," she began, carefully choosing her descriptors and watching for Astoria's reaction. "But he always mentioned that his type was more… raven-haired." The lie rolled off her tongue smoothly.
Astoria's eyes softened, a strange glimmer in them as she twirled a piece of her dark hair absentmindedly. She seemed almost entranced, hanging on every syllable, desperate for validation.
"And when he rejected you, Astoria", Hermione continued carefully, her voice low and steady, "he told me it was one of the biggest mistakes he's ever made. That he regretted it more than anything."
Astoria's expression faltered for a moment, disbelief and hope warring on her face. She blinked rapidly, clearly trying to process what she was hearing. Hermione could feel the shift, the emotional vulnerability breaking through the walls Astoria had so carefully constructed.
"He said that?" Astoria whispered, her voice shaky. "Draco… regretted rejecting me?"
Hermione nodded. "Yes," she said slowly, watching for any flicker of doubt in Astoria's eyes. "He told me that no one else compared. That after you, the perfect pureblood woman, it was like everyone else was... lacking."
Astoria blinked, her lips parting slightly as if she was trying to process what Hermione was saying. The tension in her shoulders loosened a fraction, and her grip on her wand slackened.
"But why—why hasn't he told me this?" Astoria said, her voice tinged with anger.
Hermione swallowed, carefully constructing her response. "Draco has always been… stubborn. You know that. He's never been good at admitting when he's wrong. And then, when Blaise kept confessing his love for Margaux, he thought it was too late for him. I was only his second option."
Astoria's gaze snapped back to Hermione's, her eyes alight with a mix of longing and anger. "He's such a fool," she whispered, more to herself than to Hermione.
"You're right," Hermione validated, her voice soft but deliberate. "He is an idiot."
The pain that had settled in her chest now spread to her temples, throbbing dully as she raised her hands to rub them, and Hermione finally reached her breaking point. Her face scrunched up in pain, and tears started to make their way down her cheeks silently. She was trapped in a cold basement, stripped of her magic, and surrounded by two bodies. And at the heart of it all was Draco, unknowingly tied to the web of madness Astoria had spun around them.
Through the haze of pain and tears, Hermione's voice trembled as she continued, forcing herself to speak. "All the things you've had to do to prove your love to him…" she started, her voice thick with emotion. "None of it matters. Not in the way you think. What matters is what you do now, Astoria. You still have a chance to stop this."
Astoria's cold expression faltered for the first time since this nightmare began. The fury that had consumed her began to waver, replaced by something softer, something hesitant. She looked… confused, vulnerable, as if Hermione's words had touched a nerve. It was as if she was contemplating the current situation, as if some part of her still longed for peace.
Astoria's eyes darted around the room, her mind clearly racing as she struggled to make sense of everything. She turned to Hermione, and for a moment, there was something almost human in her gaze. She looked lost. She could see the struggle written all over Astoria's face as the witch's eyes darted between the bodies and Hermione.
For a fleeting moment, it seemed like Astoria might actually break. Her hand wavered, her wand dipping ever so slightly. It seemed as though she might let go of the madness that had been consuming her, and try to salvage something of herself. There was a sliver of hope, a fragile thread that maybe this could end without any more bloodshed.
Neither of them spoke.
Suddenly, the air cracked with the unmistakable sound of apparition. The echo reverberated through the basement like a gunshot, jolting both Hermione and Astoria away from their conversation.
Before Hermione could fully process what was happening, she heard the heavy footsteps pounding down the stairs. Draco appeared first, his face tense with urgency, followed closely by Theo, Blaise, and Harry, all with their wands drawn and pointed at Astoria.
Draco's eyes found Hermione immediately. He stopped short, his expression shifting from determination to fear as he took in the sight of her—chained, weakened, and desperate. His chest rose and fell heavily as if the air had emptied from his lungs. For a moment, the world narrowed to just the two of them, his grey eyes locking onto hers with an intensity that made her heartache.
Before either could speak, Margaux shifted beside her, and the sharp edge of her wand pressed harder into Hermione's temple, the wood digging into her skin with renewed force. Hermione winced, her gaze snapping away from Draco to the wand that now threatened her life.
"One step closer, and she dies," Astoria spat, her voice trembling with barely controlled fury. Her earlier vulnerability vanished, replaced by a blazing hatred, as she gripped her own wand tightly.
Draco's expression darkened. He took a careful step forward, his wand still raised, though he kept his movements slow, deliberate. "Astoria, don't do this," he said, his voice low but steady. "We can end this now. You don't have to hurt anyone else."
"Don'tI?" Astoria's laughter was sharp, hysterical. "Youdid this, Draco!Youleft me! All of this—" She gestured wildly around the room, her hands shaking. "All of this is your fault!"
Hermione's heart pounded in her chest, her body frozen in place. She wanted to scream, to tell him to leave before Astoria lost her last shred of control. But she couldn't move, couldn't speak. The wand pressing into her skull felt like a ticking time bomb, and with each passing second, she feared it would go off.
"You don't understand!" Astoria's voice was shrill, teetering on the edge of hysteria. "I did everything for you! I sacrificed everything because I loved you! And now, now you show up forher?"
Draco's eyes flicked to Hermione for the briefest second before returning to Astoria. His voice softened, almost pleading. "Astoria, please. This isn't the way."
"Shut up!" Astoria screamed, her wand hand trembling with the weight of her emotions. She glanced at Hermione, her gaze filled with hatred once more. "It'sherfault. It's always been her. If she were out of the way, you'd come back to me. You'd see it's always been me."
Astoria's words were like a knife twisting in Hermione's gut. She felt Draco's gaze on her, the silent weight of everything unspoken between them pressing down on her, but she couldn't meet his eyes.
"Astoria, don't," Draco said again, his voice firm now, all pretence of pleading gone. "You don't have to do this. I'm here now. Let Hermione go, and we can figure this out."
Astoria's eyes narrowed, her grip tightening on her wand. "No. No, I'm done with that. I'm done being the one who has to compromise. This is aboutmenow, Draco." Her eyes flicked to Hermione again, and this time, there was no doubt in her expression. "I'm going to kill her, and then you'll never have her. You'll know what it feels like to be me."
"No!" Draco's voice rang out, panic finally breaking through his calm façade. He took another step forward, but Astoria's wand whipped toward him in warning, her face twisted in manic rage.
"Don't come any closer!" Astoria hissed, her voice trembling with the force of her emotions. "You think I won't do it? You think I won't make you suffer like I've suffered?"
Draco remained still for a moment. Then, something shifted in his demeanour. His expression changed, softening in an almost imperceptible way, and his voice, when he spoke, was no longer filled with urgency but something else entirely.
"Astoria…" he said quietly, almost gently. "Do you remember when we first met?"
Astoria blinked, momentarily thrown off balance by the sudden change in his tone. "What?"
Draco took a careful step closer, his voice so soft it almost didn't belong in the tense, claustrophobic room. "It was at the Malfoy Christmas ball. You were wearing that green dress. You looked… beautiful."
Astoria's grip on her wand loosened slightly, her expression faltering as she was pulled into the memory. "I… I remember," she whispered.
Draco took another step, slowly closing the gap between them. "You were twelve, and I was fourteen. I asked if you and your sister, Daphne, wanted to join us outside for Quidditch. Do you remember that?"
Astoria's eyes softened, her rage momentarily overshadowed by something gentler. "I remember," she said, her voice almost wistful.
Draco took another step, his voice lowering even more. "Don't think you have been the only one suffering, Astoria." he paused. "It's you. It's always been you, Astoria. My mother was wrong to end the arrangement. I wanted to marry you. I've always wanted to."
The wildness in Astoria's eyes dimmed, her wand dropping a little lower. "You… did?"
Draco nodded slowly, his expression unreadable. "Of course. You're the one who understands me. You've always been the one."
He was close now, close enough to touch her. Astoria's breathing had slowed, her eyes searching his for the truth. She seemed to believe him, if only for a moment.
But then Astoria's gaze hardened once more. "If that's true, then why do we need her?" she spat, her wand jerking back toward Hermione. "She's a waste of space. If she means nothing to you, we should kill her right now."
"No," Draco said quickly, stepping even closer to Astoria, his voice calm but urgent. "There's no need. Why should we bother? We can just leave her here. We can walk away, you and me."
Astoria's eyes searched his, wavering between doubt and hope. Draco held her gaze, his expression soft, his tone gentle. And then, without warning, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug.
Astoria froze, caught off guard by the sudden closeness, but Draco tightened his hold, his eyes never leaving Hermione's over Astoria's shoulder. "It's always been you," he murmured softly, the weight of his words not aimed at Astoria.
Before she could react, Draco subtly shifted his hand, raising his wand behind Astoria's back. "Stupefy."
A flash of red light erupted from his wand, striking Astoria directly in the back. She went limp instantly, her body collapsing into Draco's arms as her wand slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor. Draco lowered her to the ground with little effort, his gaze still locked on Hermione.
Harry immediately stepped forward, moving swiftly to bind Astoria using magic. Behind them, Blaise and Theo rushed to check on Margaux and Cormac, searching for signs of life.
As soon as Astoria was secure, Draco rushed to Hermione's side, dropping to his knees beside her. His face was pale, his eyes wide with worry. "Hermione," he breathed, his hands trembling as he reached for her. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Hermione tried to respond, but the room was spinning around her, her vision blurring. The effects of the Nullis Elixir were overwhelming her. She could feel her strength slipping away, her body too weak to keep fighting the pain.
"Draco..." she whispered, her voice barely audible as she reached for him. But her body gave out before she could say more.
"No, no, no!" Draco's voice was panicked now as he cradled her, his arms tightening around her as she lost consciousness. "Hermione, stay with me, please."
But it was too late. The world went dark, and the last thing Hermione felt was the warmth of Draco's arms holding her tightly as she slipped into unconsciousness.