"Hell was the journey but it brought me heaven."
For the entire evening after their detention, Draco didn't speak a single word to Astoria, he barely even spoke to Blaise or Theo, despite their best attempts.
"Merlin, I am so glad detention is over!" Pansy exclaimed from her bed, stretching her arms out with a yawn.
Astoria clambered onto the bed beside her, "at least you got to leave early!"
"How bad was it after we all left?"
She considered telling them the truth, but something in her heart stopped her, "it was boring, but I am still definitely better off than Blaise or Theo, us girls got off much better in terms of detention!"
Pansy cheered, "sometimes, I do enjoy sexism."
"Are you both coming to Quidditch trials tomorrow?" Daphne asked the pair.
"I might try out for Beater!"
Astoria's eyes widened, "well, you certainly have the aggression they need,"
"Hey!!" Exclaimed Pansy, squaring up on instinct.
"And that," she gestured to Pansy's stance, "is exactly what I am talking about."
"I have to agree, Pansy you do have the talents they usually want in a Beater," Daphne added, avoiding mentioning Pansy's violent streaks during her previous years at Hogwarts. "Well I think I might go for a Chaser!"
"Really Daphne?" Astoria's eyes widened; the pair hadn't played Quidditch in years.
"Yes, I think so," she nodded, "I think Quidditch would do us good this year."
"I think you're right Daphne."
"We all need something good this year and I think it's going to be Quidditch, why don't you join us Astoria?" Pansy asked with an uncharacteristic smile, "it might be food for you too."
Astoria had previously considered trying out for the Slytherin Quidditch Team, but her lack of coordination had never made it seem like too good an idea. "I think I'll pass, Quidditch isn't really my thing."
Pansy glanced over at her with a puzzled expression, "what on Earth is your thing then Astoria?"
"Astoria likes her Astronomy Club," Daphne chimed in, "you'll keep doing that this year, won't you?"
"Probably, unless the workload gets too much with our NEWT exams." Astoria liked the idea of returning to Astronomy club, it had been difficult to keep going once the Carrows took over Hogwarts, it was one of the few clubs they allowed to remain open, but Astoria still feared them too much to attend. Every club was overseen by either Alecto or Amycus and although she was a Slytherin, she wanted to avoid being near them at all costs.
"Well, goodnight, Astoria, I'm hitting the hay now!" Pansy laid herself down on her bed with a yawn, "we'll all have to be up early for Quidditch tomorrow, even you Astoria, we need the moral support."
Astoria let out a loud sigh.
Daphne threw a soft pillow her, "hey! We would wake up early for you, show us some love and do the same for us!"
"I will, I will!" She insisted.
"Night Daphne and Astoria,"
"Goodnight!"
"Night everyone."
With that, their lights went out and the trio fell into an uneventful slumber. And when the girls awoke, they were ready to face the day, fresh faced with gentle smiles.
"Why do the Quidditch trials have to be so early?" Pansy sighed, stretching out across her bed, "I am going to eat so many breakfast."
"Don't eat too much, we don't want you being sick!" Daphne warned her, recalling several events in which Pansy had certainly eaten too much.
Pansy rolled her eyes in response, "alright mum!"
In a few short moments, the trio got themselves out of bed, Daphne and Pansy changing into their Quidditch outfits while Astoria changed into her warmest clothing. "Ready for breakfast everyone?" She called out to them.
"I certainly am!" Pansy, who usually had no energy the morning exclaimed.
"Well, let's get down to the Great Hall while it's not busy and get something to eat," Daphne smiled down at her as she began to lead the trio down to the Great Hall.
"Good morning, ladies," Theo tilted an invisible top hat at them, "breakfast and then I finally get to see those Quidditch skills of yours Pansy and Daphne.
Blaise and Draco appeared from behind him, Blaise in his old uniform. "I am starving."
With a smile, the group strolled into the Great Hall and sat themselves down at their usual table, with the girls on one side and the boys on the other. Astoria helped herself to some sausages, eggs and toast, scooping them all onto her plate before setting it down on the table and sitting back to observe Theo, Blaise and Pansy all stacking their plates high.
"Got enough food there?" Daphne's eyes darted between her bowl of porridge and the trio's large selection of bacon, sausages, eggs, tomatoes, and toast.
Blaise looked down at his plate and then back up at the platter of bacon, "oh this is only starters," he smirked.
Theo nodded in agreement. "We need at least two courses at each meal if we want to reach full potential."
"Oh at least," Astoria chuckled lightly, "you, know you are looking bigger since the beginning of term." She leant over and gave Blaise's biceps a joking squeeze, "so strong!"
He raised his eyebrows, "oh I know."
"I thought you wanted to get toned this year," Pansy shot the pair a puzzled look.
"Well, we got hungry."
After the group finished off the breakfast, Theo and Blaise having three helpings, they made their way out onto the Quidditch pitch.
"Not a bad turnout this year Theo," Blaise looked at the group of students on the pitch. "You aren't nervous about being Captain this year, are you?"
"Nervous? Not at all." Theo chuckled, his face reddening.
Daphne patted him on the shoulder, "you'll be fine, you know most of the people trying out. It's nothing to worry about Theo."
"I know, I know!" He rushed forward onto the pitch where Malcom Baddock, Graham Pritchard, Ismelda Farley and Reanna Tuttle waited patiently. "Good to see you all here, is everyone ready for practice?" Malcom and Ismelda nodded approvingly. "Right, Pansy, Blaise and Daphne get on the pitch now and Astoria and Draco go sit somewhere if you want to watch." Theo almost turned into a different person when he stepped onto the pitch, he was more than happy to take control of his team but as soon as he came off, acting authoritatively was harder.
Astoria waved goodbye to her sister before making her way up to the stands alongside Draco. For several moments, neither Draco nor Astoria said a single word, they simply sat in silence, watching as Theo made the other Slytherin students wish they had never turned up to trials.
"Astoria."
"Draco."
They both spoke at the same time.
"No, you go first," Astoria smiled at him.
"I just wanted to say sorry," he paused, "for yesterday."
He didn't have to elaborate; Astoria knew what he meant. "You have nothing to apologise for Draco."
He cut her off, "but I do, not just for yesterday, but for everything over all the years."
"You did nothing to me..." It was true, Astoria was by far one of the people least affected by Draco's antics over their years at Hogwarts.
"But I still did things. To everyone. I did bad things. Things that I am truly sorry for, and things that I need to apologise for. I think now is the perfect time for this." His lip began to tremble lightly, "I have to tell you how sorry I am."
"It's okay. Draco, it's really okay. We have all done things we aren't proud of, we have all followed along with plans that we maybe didn't want to, plans that derailed our lives." It was true, Astoria had done things for her father that she wasn't proud to admit, but she had done them, it was something she had to face up to. "You know, when you weren't here last year," she began, "things were different."
"I know-"
"No, you don't. There are things I didn't tell you either, things I didn't tell anyone," She thought back to all those dreadful months ago.
Draco looked her deeply in the eyes, "you don't have to tell me anything."
"I do."
"Okay then, I'm listening."
Astoria cast her mind back. "I helped them you know, I helped Amycus, and Alecto torture those students. I chained them up, I watched as they used the Cruciatius curse," by this point, her eyes were brimming with salty tears, "I even- I- I even used the curse myself. It was unforgivable, truly unforgivable. I finally understand why they called them that."
"But you have been forgiven, you deserved forgiveness and so it was given to you." He took her cold hand in his, squeezing it lightly.
"What if I don't deserve it?" She trembled as the tears began to drop onto her rosy cheeks, "what if I shouldn't be forgiven? I did things Draco, really bad things last year and- an- I don't think I can escape that."
"Astoria, we can escape this. We both have pasts we want to forget, so let's use this year to forget them. Let's escape."