"how's your family"
"Draco!" She cried out as soon as she laid eyes on the blonde boy, rushing towards him and pulling him in an embrace. "Are you okay?" She whispered lightly in his ear, peering over his shoulder to see Lucius Malfoy stood over her sister's body.
Astoria pulled away rapidly, "get back!" She called to the man, raising her wand, "get back from her!"
"Astoria, all is well." He nodded at her, staring down at Daphne, "Rennervate."
Instantly, the light entered Daphne's eyes as she shot up, eyes wide. It took her a few moments to regather herself, but once she had, her face was panicked. "Astoria!" She said, rushing towards her sister. "What the hell is going on?" Her eyes scanned her surroundings, pausing on her stunned father's body on the ground.
"Draco?" Astoria looked up to him, waiting for an explanation, her wand still raised at his father.
"You can drop the wand." He called to her, "he won't hurt you."
Lucius raised his arms in a surrender, "please, hear us out."
Draco stepped closed to the Greengrass sisters, "he won't hurt you." He reassured her, but Astoria kept the wand in her hand. "Do you-" he glanced over at his father.
"I believe it may be better if you fight my corner."
"My father was broken out with yours," began Draco, "but he didn't leave with them."
Astoria nodded, "that's what my father said."
"So you see, he hasn't been with them. He's been with my mother-"
"How?" Daphne cut him off. "Your mother has been under watch by the Ministry ever since he broke out!"
"We had a friend take a Polyjuice Potion to replace her, while she was with him. They just wanted to say a final goodbye - they never got that chance." He thought back to the final battle, how his father had been quickly taken away by the Ministry for a trial, his mother pardoned for her actions. "He just wanted to say goodbye, he was going to hand himself back in to the Ministry, on the promise of a fair trial, but then he couldn't find the right time to hand himself in."
"You see, my intentions were always pure." Lucius said, finally dropping his hands.
"And then there were all the problems with your father," he motioned to the stunned man on the floor. "He thought it best if he lie low, but then the Lethifold struck, and he heard of what the others were planning."
"I had to come," said Lucius, placing his hand on his son's shoulder, "I heard of their plans, and I had to stop them." He led their gaze to Adrian Greengrass, "I knew he would try soon, and the others would follow him. I found Perseus by the Hog's Head, so I stunned him, and that's when I realised the plan was in motion, I was lucky to be able to get Draco."
Draco smiled lightly at his father, "we saw the Ministry as we were coming through here, they already apprehended Perseus."
"What about Theo? And his father?" Astoria asked him, thinking back to the state she had left both of them in. Theo's father had been burning alive, trapped in a smoke-filled room, and Theo himself was only marginally better off.
"Theo was with the Ministry, he'll probably go to St Mungo's, but he'll be okay. I heard them saying he'll live."
Daphne squeezed Astoria's hand in hers, both of them breathing out a sigh of relief.
"He-he's, okay?" Astoria asked them. She felt guilty for leaving him, but she had done just what Blaise had, she had done what she had to do.
Draco nodded, "he looks like he will be."
"What about Theos' father?"
Lucius spoke next, "I haven't seen him, but I did see both of your professors with the Aurors, they were arranging some searches of Hogsmeade."
"How about everyone else?"
"That's all we saw..." frowned Draco, wishing he had more information.
"Pansy went off to get help for Theo," began Astoria, "so she'll be okay. She will be with the Ministry. I mean, likely threatening to stun them if she isn't allowed to come back and find us, especially Theo, but okay."
Daphne interrupted her, "what about Blaise?"
"He ran down the tracks," Astoria looked down the train tracks that ran back to Hogsmeade Station, "he was chasing his mother..."
"We are on the side that leads back to London," Draco said, "so he would have been running back to the castle."
"What about his mother? We need to find him..."
"Would she hurt him?" Daphne questioned, causing Lucius to nod.
"Emelda is vicious, but I believe Mr Zabini would be safe, I could-"
Draco nodded at his father before he had even finished, "take the cloak." He pointed down the discarded cloak on the floor.
"Should I come?" Astoria questioned, unsure as to what to do.
"No, no Astoria." Lucius shook his head at her, sliding the cloak onto his shoulders and disappearing into thin air. "Do be safe you three," he said to them, his voice the only way that they still knew where he was.
"Now what?" Daphne asked the pair, "should we wait here with our father?"
Astoria pointed her wand at the sky, "Periculum!" At once, red sparks shot form the end of her wand into the night sky. "That should help them find us, I suppose we let the Ministry do the rest."
"Will Blaise be, okay?"
Draco glanced over in the direction that his father had gone. "Blaise will be fine, the Aurors and the Ministry should be here soon...."
"What will happen next?" Astoria was confused, what happened to them? To Hogwarts? To their parents.
"Our parents will go back to Azkaban, I suppose..."
Draco gulped, "I should hope my father is given a lighter sentence."
"I'll vouch for him, if they let me." Astoria walked over to him, taking his hand in hers.
Daphne nodded, "me too. He saved Astoria, and he saved me."
"I hope the Wizengamot take it into consideration." Draco just wanted his family together again, even if it was in a few years' time. He might not have forgiven his father, but he had suffered enough. He had made awful decisions, but so had so many others who received far lesser punishments. All Draco wanted was some fairness.
A few moments later, the quiet that had settled between them was removed by the sound of marching.
"Wands on the ground!" Called a loud voice, booming through the air.
Astoria obliged, nodding at Draco and Daphne who dropped their wands in an instant.
"Please-" she looked over at her father, "that is Adrian Gr-"
"Quiet! Hands in front of you!"
Again, they obliged, knowing it best not to question the Auror. In an instant, three Aurors approached them, wrapping their hands together with the flick of their wands.
One of the Aurors stepped over to the man on the ground, "who is this?"
"Adrian Greengrass." Daphne said simply.
The Auror nodded, "my name is Gawain Robards, state your names." He held is wand high at them while another Auror levitated the Greengrass fathers' body off the ground.
"Astoria Greengrass."
"Daphne Greengrass."
"Draco Malfoy."
Robards nodded at them, "follow after me, we still need to secure the area." A team of Aurors followed closely behind him, herding the three Slytherin children to follow him. He led them back down the train tracks, taking them through the abandoned station before they arrived at the clearing opposite the Three Broomsticks. Hundreds of Aurors were gathered around them, stood in groups, dotted around the clearing
"Pansy!" Astoria exclaimed once she saw the familiar dark-haired girl, her hands also tied together in a similar manner.
Pansy rushed forward towards them, a group of Aurors following closely behind her. "Are you okay?" She asked, "oh Merlin Draco, you're okay!"
"I'm okay." He smiled at her, "we're okay."
Daphne and Astoria nodded at her, "we're okay," they repeated.
"They took Theo to St Mungo's," she told them, "He's being looked after. Where-where's Blaise?"
"Is he not back?" Astoria looked around the clearing, but she couldn't spot him.
Pansy shook her head, "where did he go? I left him with you!"
"He-he," she took a breath, "he ran after his mother, but it's okay!"
Draco nodded, he knew he couldn't mention his father's name, but he still needed to let her know he was safe. "Pansy," he said slowly, "I promise he is okay."
"Students!" They turned to see McGonagall rushing towards them. She glanced down at their wrists, "Merlin, Robards release them at once!"
Robards shuffled awkwardly on his feet, "Minerva, they need to be searched, they pose a threat."
"They pose no threat!" She informed him angrily, "they are my students. I will take responsibility for their actions, now unhand them."
He paused, before eventually nodding at the Aurors stood behind the students, "release them."
With a wave of their wands, the ropes around the Slytherin students' wrists disappeared, allowing them to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Thank Merlin!"
Astoria headed straight for Pansy, wrapping her arms around the girl tightly. Daphne and Draco followed closely behind her.
"Where is Mr Zabini?" McGonagall said as she scanned the trio, "we have Mr Nott, where is Zabini?"
"He's still out there," Draco said, "he's on the tracks."
She turned to face Robards, "have you sent someone to find my student?"
He paused, "there are search parties out, I assure you."
"Send another!" She turned to the students, "you know where he is, yes?" They nodded, "then Robards, listen to those students and send out another group."
"Yes," he nodded at her, directing a group of Aurors with his hands, "listen to these students, and search for a Mr Zabini."
Draco took charge, directing the Aurors as to his appearance and location. "He was following his mother too." He was careful not to overload them with information, he didn't want his father being found, not of his own accord.
"You four," McGonagall nodded at them, "ought to head up to the Hospital Wing." She gestured at the burns creeping up Astoria's bear arms, wincing as she saw the deep, dark scar. "Madame Pomfrey can do something about that Miss Greengrass."
Astoria grimaced, doing her best to conceal her left forearm, holding it against her chest. "I want to wait for Blaise."
"Me too," added Draco.
Pansy and Daphne nodded.
"I already waited for these three, I can wait a while longer," said the largely uninjured Pansy, "when he's back, we can go."
"I suppose," McGonagall nodded, "I cannot force you, but do not leave this clearing, or the Aurors will be able to stop you!" She smiled at them lightly before heading off to speak to another group of Aurors.
In the darkness, the students waited, their hands interlinked as they waited for Blaise's arrival.
"He'll be fine," Pansy said after they had been waiting for what felt like hours. She wasn't sure if it was true but saying it out loud made her feel better.
"He knows how to keep himself safe-"
Draco agreed, "and so does someone else." He kept his voice quiet, aware of his company.
Although the clearing was bustling with noise, it was clear to all when the level abruptly increased. Astoria turned to the group of lively Aurors all facing the direction of Hogsmeade Station. She peered over their heads at the dark-skinned boy emerging from the shadows.
"Blaise!" She called out, the group of Slytherins rushing towards him at once.
"She-she's dead." He said, his eyes filled with tears, "she was going to kill him." he gulped, "I had to."
Draco took Blaise into a warm embrace, "you saved his life Blaise. I owe you, my life."
Blaise let the tears fall as he hugged his friend, "she didn't move. She didn't move when I left her. They came to get me, and she- she was stuck."
Nobody knew what to say, "Blaise, you're okay." Pansy tried to reassure him, unsure if he could even hear her from buried in Draco's shoulder.
"We need a Healer!"
He pulled himself from his friend, glancing over at the voice. "Wha-" He rushed back towards the direction he had come from, dropping to the floor once he saw it. His mother's eyes were open. "Merlin." He placed his hands on his face, "oh thank you Merlin."
Everyone placed their hand on his shoulder, saying nothing. Instead, they just let him sob, they let him cry out as he needed to, until he finally pulled himself up from the floor, taking Draco into another hug.
"How-how's Theo?" He quivered as he pulled away.
"Theo's okay," Pansy informed him, "he's in St Mungo's. He'll be okay."
"What abou-"
Before Blaise even had a chance to ask his question, his attention was quickly diverted to Lucius Malfoy, who had now revealed himself, dropping the cloak by his feet.
"My name," he called out, raising his hands in surrender, "is Lucius Malfoy. I surrender myself to you."