Astoria → Draco Malfoy

CHAPTER FIVE

"What a shame she went mad. You made her like that."

Astoria walked silently out of the dungeons, her bare arms chilling as they felt the dungeon air hitting against them. Her previously scorching red forearms had begun to blister, the anger that boiled within her had fizzled out and the pain was enough for Astoria to want to cry out. The walk from the dungeons to the Hospital Wing was far longer than Astoria had anticipated, with every step more blisters began to appear across her arm.

With nobody else in the corridors, Hogwarts felt larger than usual, and usually, it felt ginormous. There wasn't a single sound other than the pitter-patter of Astoria's shoes hitting the cobblestone flooring. It felt exactly like what Astoria needed.

After several minutes of looping through the corridors, Astoria arrived just outside the Hospital Wing.

"Oh Miss Greengrass, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Madame Pomfrey smiled at the girl with sympathy. Astoria barely had the energy to respond, instead, she lifted her blistered burning arms to show Madame Pomfrey. "Potions?" She questioned. "We haven't had a potions related accident in a very long time, Miss Greengrass, this is rather surprising."

"It wasn't my fault."

"No, no. I suppose it never is, is it?" She retorted, "now sit yourself down on that bed and I will be with you in a few moments."

Astoria was irritated to be spoken to in such a way, but she had to remember that she was simply the student, she had to deal with it. Authority shouldn't be questioned and as much as she wished to, she hadn't been raised to do so. Especially with everything that had been blamed on solely Slytherin students over the past few years, she didn't expect anything from those around her.

She perched herself on the end of one of the empty beds and stared. Tapping her foot ferociously against the cobbled floor, Astoria watched whilst Madame Pomfrey began to mix a strange concoction of ingredients until they formed a peculiar looking orange paste.

Astoria was lucky enough have never ended up in the Hospital Wing prior to today and for that she was grateful. When she was injured during the Battle of Hogwarts, she was tended to by a stranger in a dingy looking room, and although it wasn't the most sanitary of environments, it made her less anxious than here. Everything in the Hospital Wing was pristine, not a single bed had been touched since the start of term, the floors glistened, reflecting the light from the various candles scattered around the room; it was too perfect.

As Astoria waited, she felt an electrical storm brewing in her brain. The pain from the burns had begun to fade and now all that she was left with was the anxiety. Everything felt too perfect, she couldn't see exactly what Madame Pomfrey was doing, there was nobody around her if something went wrong. Every thought rushed around her brain faster than she could process it and before she knew it, she left. Astoria jumped from her bed in the Hospital Wing and simply ran; she bolted out of the door and ran as far as she could before her body felt broken.

Astoria ran until she was just outside the castle and as soon as she was, her body began to crumble over. Her entire torso lost its strength, and, in a few seconds, she was leaning over like a ragdoll. "I am okay. I am okay. I am okay." She repeated to herself like a mantra, over and over again inside of her head until it worked.

She waited outside the castle for what felt like hours until she could cope again. Only when she had fully regained her breath did she return her torso to its usual position and as soon as she did, she spotted Draco Malfoy stood leaning against the castle walls only a few metres away.

"How long have you been there?" She called out, causing him to turn towards her as though he had only just spotted her.

"Not long," Draco said as he took a few small steps towards her. "But long enough."