Astoria → Draco Malfoy

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"no body - no crime"

Astoria awoke in a frenzy. "Daphne," she muttered before had she even opened her eyes.

"Daphne's okay." She felt a hand squeeze hers as her eyelids fluttered open. Draco smiled at her. "I told them all I would stay with you," she glanced at her surroundings in confusion "you're in the Hospital Wing, Professor Slughorn found you by the Standing Stones, they said you over-exerted yourself."

It made sense, "I feel like I had a funny dream." She sat herself up slowly, taking a deep breath in before the panic overwhelmed her, "Daphne!" She threw the covers off her body, "Daphne."

"Daphne is okay." Draco placed the covers back over her pale body, "she's at Quidditch with everyone else, you need to lie back." He took her hand back in his, "please. You need to rest, it's okay."

And with his words, she felt like it was.

As soon as her head hit the pillow again, she was out. She was transported to a world she would much sooner avoid, a world of nightmares that plagued her.

She was surrounded by people, but they all had his face. Everywhere she turned, she saw her father staring down at her, everyone she passed shooting her the same look, that look that could make her crumble under his grip.

And then, the faces all began to speak.

"Be in the Room of Requirement tomorrow at midnight with five invisibility potions. If you aren't there Daphne dies."

"Daphne dies."

"Daphne dies."

"Daphne dies."

The words rang through her mind like an endless alarm.

"Daphne dies."

"Daphne dies."

"Daphne dies."

Echoes of her biggest fear, playing on repeat.

"Daphne dies."

"Daphne dies."

"Daphne dies."

She shot up, awake and alone. Darkness surrounded her, not a single other person in the hospital wing. Everything from her nightmare played on repeat in her mind, she had to warn somebody, she had to save Daphne.

Astoria jumped straight out of the bed, she had to find McGonagall. McGonagall would keep Daphne safe; she would keep them all safe. She ran straight out of the hospital wing and into the corridor, making her way towards the Headmistress' Office.

"Professor!" She called out to the gargoyle guarding the office. "Professor," she pleaded with such urgency, that the gargoyle moved aside, revealing the circular staircase.

Astoria took up off them, not even bothering us to knock, instead throwing the door straight open to reveal the circular office. "Professor?"

"Miss Greengrass?" She turned to see a startled Professor McGonagall staring her down, "what on earth are you doing here?"

"It's about my father." And that was all she needed to say for McGonagall to step aside, beckoning her to the seating in the front of the office.

"I think I saw him yesterday, at first I thought it was a dream, but I-I think he's back."

"And what did he say?"

"He-" she paused, "he said to meet him in the Room of Requirement at midnight with potions. He wanted my help sneaking into the castle, I don't know what he's going to do."