Astoria → Draco Malfoy

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

"remember it all too well"

"Stay behind us!" Blaise called out to Astoria, "remember, you don't have a wand."

Astoria protested, "I can do non-verbal spells!" She didn't want to be excluded as they attempted to find her sister, she wanted to be the one leading them front and centre.

"It's not the same," Pansy said from beside her, her arm still holding Astoria up, "you know it isn't."

As much as she knew, she wished she was wrong. Her wandless magic had never been the strongest, it might have been better than Daphne's, but it was no challenge to someone with a wand in their hand, especially when her father was involved. He knew far darker spells than she could ever imagine, and she knew he would have learnt more within the ranks of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

"Right," began Blaise , raising his arm to point at the building before them, "that's the station - they should be just in here."

"Hopefully just them..." Astoria whispered under her breath, she needed so see her sister.

"Pansy, go ahead," he nodded at her. "You have the strongest stunning spell of the both of us."

Pansy gulped. "Okay," she took a deep breath in, "take Astoria."

"No-" Astoria pulled her arm away from Pansy, wincing, "it's fine! I'll just stay a bit behind you..."

Blaise glanced over at Pansy. "I guess," he paused, "it would be better to have the two of us."

Astoria smiled at him, nodding, "it's fine. I promise."

Reluctantly, the pair of them stepped forwards into the station, their eyes darting across every surface. Blaise made a hand gesture to Pansy, and she nodded, following closely behind him through the darkness of the inside of the station. Although called a station, it was more of a platform, the interior barely the same size as the Slytherin common room.

Astoria peered her head through the door, watching out for Pansy who nodded upon spotting her. "She's not here, is she?"

Blaise shook his head, "no sign of Theo either."

"Maybe they just moved on, Hogsmeade is bigger than you might think...." Pansy suggested as they stepped out onto the platform.

"Maybe not..." Astoria's voice was rushed as she peered into the train tracks, her heart sinking in her chest. "Theo!" She jumped down to him, his eyes barely open.

"Shit."

"Theo, can you hear me?" She asked him quickly, "Theo?" She pressed her hands against his chest, feeling for his heartbeat, "Theo, you're still alive, you're okay."

"Pansy, get someone!" Blaise called out to her, "go and find someone now!"

She didn't question him, darting out of the station hastily, quickly disappearing from their vision.

"What do we do?" Blaise looked at Astoria, his face panicked, "I don't know what to do!"

"It's okay," she tried to reassure him, but she couldn't keep her hands from shaking.  She reached out into Theo's pocket, taking his wand in her hands. "I-I can try. Theo," she whispered gently to him, "where does it hurt?"

He didn't respond. The life from his eyes draining by the second.

"Fuck Astoria! Just do everything!" Blaise took Theo's hand in his own, "don't you even fucking think about dying!"

She took a deep breath,  "Episkey, Reparifors, Rennervate." Her hands traced across his body, moving with each spell she said. "Episkey, Reparifors, Rennervate."