Astoria → Draco Malfoy

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

Theo didn't stir.

"Try something stronger!" Pleaded Blaise as he watched his best friend fading.

"I don't know anything else!" Astoria felt the tears in her eyes, she needed more. "It must be some kind of dark magic, I can't-"

"It-"

Blaise and Astoria looked at the semi-conscious Theo, "Theo, keep talking!"

"It's okay." He whispered, so gently that it could barely be heard over Astoria's panicked breaths.

"Oh Theo!" Blaise let himself  cry out, plating a kiss on his best friends' forehead. "Don't even think about dying on me!"

Astoria grinned, tears streaming down her face, "Theo, stay still." She warned him as she squeezed his hand.

"More-" he called out.

"More what Theo?"

"More..." Blaise trailed off, "you want another kiss? I'll fucking snog you Theo if you stay alive!" He stifled a laugh.

"Spells."

"Shit sorry!" Astoria said, realising she had stopped healing him. She lifted his wand once more, moving her arms over his body, "Episkey, Reparifors, Rennervate." She knew it wasn't going to fix him completely, but clearly, it gave him some relief. "Episkey, Reparifors, Rennervate." She kept repeating the trio of spells, watching as the colour came back to Theo's face, the grey slowly fading as he grew more saturated.

"Blaise..."

Astoria and Blaise paused, "what was that?"

"Blaise..."

He turned behind him, but no one was there.

"What is that?" He huffed in irritation.

"Blaise..."

This time, he saw it. In the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of red hair, hair that could belong to no other than his mother.

"You bitch!" He screamed, jumping to his feet and sprinting away.

Astoria reached her arm out to grab him, "Blaise wait-" but she couldn't reach him. He was long gone, his dark figure fading into the night sky in an instant.

She squeezed Theo's hand in her own, "it's okay - I'm here." She listened in as his breaths became raspier, gulping. "Pansy will be back soon." But thinking of Pansy made her realise what she had been forgetting - Daphne. "Fuck, Daphne!"

Taking a deep breath, she lowered her body closer to Theo's, whispering to him, "Theo, where's Daphne?"

He stirred, his eyelids fluttering.

"Theo, come on, wake up." She shook him gently, so as not to  worsen his health. "Please." Tears began to fall down her face, dropping onto his skin.

She pleaded with him, "come on Theo...you can do this. You can save her, just show me where she is."

"Da-" he stumbled, "Daphne," his eyes were still closed.

"Where is she?" She glanced around the station, "is she here?"

He shook his head gently, gulping.  He paused, for far longer than Astoria would have liked "that...way." He motioned down the train tracks with his head, "quick."

"Theo, I-I have to go."

She knew he would understand, even if he couldn't say so.

"Please." He grabbed her hand, holding it tightly.

"Theo," she squeezed his hand back, "I-I have to find her. Please, please understand."

He whimpered, afraid.

Astoria felt a lump forming in her throat. "Please." She had to choose between one of her best friends, and her sister. "Please Theo, Pansy will be back soon, the Ministry will find you. You have to let me go," she whispered to him softly.

She paused her breath, listening out for any sound, "Theo, look, they're coming. Listen closely." Although she could barely hear anything,  she knew they were coming. She didn't know how long it would be, but soon someone would be here.

"Look," she raised his wand. "Incendio." A small fire lit itself before her, "they'll see this, and they'll see you. I promise, I'll come back for you Theo, I promise."

She gave him one last look, squeezing his hand. "I promise."

Astoria kept his wand in her hand, glancing back at him as she made her way down the train tracks. She sped up to a jog, her feet pounding against the uneven ground, her legs turning inwards as her body almost fell to the floor. She ran down the tracks as fast as her body could take her, adrenaline coursing through her veins, strong enough to numb the pain she had been feeling.

She had left Theo, and she knew she had to get back to him, but she also had to find her sister. She had made an impossible decision, one she wished she had never had to make. But it was made now. Astoria couldn't change her mind -  she couldn't turn back.