Astra

LXVIII - The Ending of the Tournament

WHEN ASTRA OPENED THE door to the hospital wing, she was immediately swarmed by people. She could see the Weasleys stand up, most likely to check whether Harry was there before sitting down, though Hermione and Luna came quickly to pull her to a bed.

She was slightly numb after all the stress of the day, so she easily sat down, grabbing one of the pillows and holding it close to her. She was able to smile slightly that Regulus, and only Regulus, was there because as much as she loved the others, she didn't really want to see them at the moment.

"Hi Reggie," she murmured, not really caring that there were others who didn't know her secret in the room.

Hermione and Luna pulled up two chairs next to her, sitting in silence, though it seemed the others weren't as patient.

"Well... what happened?" asked Mrs. Weasley. It was obvious that she was concerned, and Astra was actually glad, as Harry definitely deserved a mother figure in his life. However, at the moment, she was far too exhausted to say anything, and rather just mumbled a trail of incoherent thoughts.

"Barty Crouch Jr... polyjuice potions... Mad-Eye Moody... portkey in the cup to the graveyard... Harry and Voldemort duel... Wormtail... Vision... Cedric dead...Should have known," she yawned even though she didn't want to, "Should have told Marlene to follow Mad-Eye..."

Luna seemed to be the only one who understood as she gasped, though the others looked at Astra as if she were crazy (Hermione not as much, though she was still confused.)

"Can I tell them?" asked Luna softly, and Astra looked around the room. There was only Ron, Mrs. Weasley, and Bill Weasley. She supposed Ron would find out eventually, though she didn't know any of the other Weasleys that well. She hesitated, "Part of it."

Luna nodded and understood - the parts that didn't include her talking to the dead, and only Crouch's story. So, she went into her story telling mode, which really wasn't as different as her usual voice, and told the story of Barty Crouch, his son, Mad-Eye Moody, and the portkey.

They all gasped, and were clearly asking the question of how she knew in their eyes, yet they didn't voice it. Madam Pomfrey came in at one point, bringing in Moody and bustling around Astra while trying to force her to take a Dreamless Sleep Potion, though she vehemently refused as she still wanted to see her Dad that night and make sure everything would work well.

Finally, Dumbledore pushed open the door to let Harry in. Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Ron, and Hermione whipped around as Harry, Dumbledore, and the black dog entered, and Mrs. Weasley let out a kind of muffled scream.

Of course, Astra was glad to see Harry, but much more excited to see Snuffles, as he came bounding over immediately.

"Hi Snuffles," she said sleepily and nodded towards Lily and James who had entered as well.

"Harry! Oh Harry!"

Mrs. Weasley started to hurry toward him, but Dumbledore moved between them.

"Molly," he said, holding up a hand, "please listen to me for a moment. Harry has been through a terrible ordeal tonight. He has just had to relive it for me. What he needs now is sleep, and peace, and quiet. If he would like you all to stay with him," he added, looking around at Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Bill too, "you may do so. But I do not want you questioning him until he is ready to answer, and certainly not this evening."

Mrs. Weasley nodded. She was very white. She rounded on Ron, Hermione, and Bill as though they were being noisy, and hissed, "Did you hear? He needs quiet!"

"Headmaster," said Madam Pomfrey, staring at the great black dog that was Sirius, "may I ask what - ?"

"This dog will be remaining with Harry and Astra for a while," said Dumbledore simply. "I assure you, he is extremely well trained. Harry - I will wait while you get into bed."