STRANGE LOVE | O. WOOD ✔

[42] : OLIVER

Leo didn't want to leave her mind, whenever she slept, she saw him. Whenever she tried drawing, she drew him. Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw him. Leo haunted her mind, he haunted her body, he haunted every dark room in the house where her demons had been housed in ever since she learned about her insecurities, he haunted every movement she made, every breath she took in, every tear she let escape. If she felt like this, how did Colette feel? He was the father of her child after all, wasn't he?

"Ell, you have to eat. It's been three days." Remus argued three days after the incident. Astrid shook her head. Remus was naturally right of course, she was loosing weight and she was loosing it at a rather quick pace. Her collar bones stood sharp, and her cheek bones as well.

The fact that Leo looked, acted, smiled, spoke like Cedric and died as well just tore her apart. Wasn't it torture enough to loose a friend who felt like family? And now to loose the one person who looked like him too? Leo was right, the world was a cruel, vile and unforgivable place.

"I can't uncle Remus." She softly argued. The smell of bacon and something sweet dancing through the air alone was intoxicating. It made her want to puke whatever was left inside her out, maybe if she puked enough, she would puke her heart out and finally stop hurting so bad.

"She met a boy in our last year. Benjamin Crane. I grew jealous of their friendship because wasn't I all she needed to thrive on? So out of spite, your father and I dated, this lasted only a few weeks of course. Sirius and I loved each other, but not in that way. She killed herself shortly after that." Remus sighed. "I'm the reason Ophelia killed herself. I'm the reason there's only one Lourdes left. I'm the reason Ophelia had that messed up life. If only I had the time to explain to her why we avoided her."

"You see uncle Remus, the tricky thing about time, when you have it, is that you can't stop it, or control it." Astrid replied, though she was still eyeing the food in a manner Remus couldn't fathom. "I had time to save Cedric, to save my father, to save Leo, but did I do any of those things? No, I merely hid myself in the darkness, waiting for my demons to capture and enslave me."

"Ell, I'm a grown man, but I'm scared. How would Nymphadora ever love me?"

"If she truly loves you for you uncle Remus, she'll look past that and help you." Astrid gave him a sad smile. "Gryffindor or not, bravery isn't something that comes easily. Loyalty on the other hand, comes just as easy as breathing comes."

"Where do you find such wisdom?"

"Oliver used to tell me things when I would fall asleep and when I would wake up." Astrid sighed, she hadn't thought about Oliver much, or Charlie. Leo was stuck in her head. "I'm going to lie down."

*

Astrid knew from the moment that she woke up in tears, sweat and something that looked like blood, she had a dream. She couldn't really remember what had happened in it, just that Leo, Cedric and her father blamed her for their deaths. She had said it herself, she had time to save them, why didn't she?

"Ell, you have a visitor." Remus softly said outside her door and Astrid sighed, telling him she'd be out in a moment before she went to rinse off the sweat and blood.

At first, Astrid was sure she was dreaming again. But Cedric wasn't here, neither was her father nor Leo. Oliver was alone, clutching a bouquet of flowers, looking extremely nervous but still as good looking as ever. Astrid furrowed her brow in confusion, what was he doing here? Didn't he take the breakup so well? Wasn't he already with someone else?

"Hi." Oliver breathed out. "I saw these and I thought of you and then I tracked down your uncle. With a little help from Harry of course." Oliver sighed. "Listen, I'm sorry for being the world's biggest asshole for a boyfriend. I don't know big, fancy words like Charlie, I don't have an awesome and dangerous job like Charlie, I'm not friends with your sister like Charlie, I'm nothing compared to Charlie. I'll always be that next to him. But I love you, I always have and always will Astrid. You can throw me out and I'll still come back, signing some cringe song you will hate, rocking away on a guitar I don't know how to play, dancing horribly and violently, declaring my undying love for you, all the while dodging the eggs your uncle will eventually hurl my way."

Astrid laughed at that, tears already escaping her eyes. "I'd love to see that."

"So are you saying you want to give us one last shot?" Oliver asked and Astrid blushed.

"Yes, but this time, let's take it slow." Maybe Oliver was the perfect thing to take her mind off Leo's death.

*

Albus Dumbledore was dead. Astrid already knew who had done it and she can't believe that Draco did it. She thought he'd chicken out and Snape would have to step in, but clearly Draco had matured over the years. With Dumbledore out the way, the school was taken over by Death Eaters as well as the Ministry. The only thing to look forward to was Bill and Fleur's wedding.

Astrid had attended Dumbledore's funeral, and just like Cedric's someone spoke about him as though he knew Dumbledore inside out. Even the ghosts came, though they were barely visible in the bright light. Dumbledore's casket had erupted in fire. Before the funeral, there had been a battle. Astrid had joined her uncle in fighting but when her eyes fell upon her aunt, the one person who murdered her father, she had froze, allowing a spell to hit her. Luckily it was only the Expelliarmus spell.

"Now what? The one person who Lord Voldemort fears is dead." Astrid sat beside Oliver, as he spoke to someone who had introduced himself as Cormac McLaggen to Astrid.

"It pains me to even think about it but our faith rests in Harry Potter now. He's the one who started this all, now he must make like a man and face You Know Who." Astrid was barely paying attention to what he was saying, she hated his face. "We're all doomed now, Muggle-born or not, doomed."

"Just put a little bit of your faith in Harry, when the time comes, he'll defeat You Know Who and our world will be just fine once again."

Astrid hoped so, but then again, hope didn't save Cedric.