Dead Girl Walking (Draco x Astoria)

Chapter 24 - Daphne

A Week Later

Astoria lay down on her bed, and Ella sat up beside her.

"He really likes you, I gather."

Astoria hummed.

"I can't believe he said that to you. You've tortured him just by visiting him," she smiled.

"A week more," Astoria said, not taking her eyes off the ceiling. "A week more, then I'll see him.." she trailed off, hearing footsteps outside her door.

Blaise knocked and entered.

"Manners, Blaise!" Ella scolded quietly.

"There's no time for manners, Ella. Daphne is at the door."

Astoria shot up. "No, no no, they can't come get me now. There's a week left until he's out! And not to mention, I'm nineteen for goodness sakes!"

Blaise walked up to the foot of the bed. "It's just her, and she just wants to talk. She won't tell us how she found where we were staying."

Fifteen minutes passed, where now Astoria and Daphne sat across from each other. Astoria had tea, and no one bothered offering anything to Daphne, who fidgeted with her fingers.

"You must come home." Daphne urged, leaning forward.

Astoria shook her head. "I can't even bare to look at you, let alone speak to you. You poisoned me. You could have taken mercy on me but you didn't."

"I did take mercy on you. I left you for over a month to hang out with your friends and care for that plant. You went without any poison."

Astoria scoffed. "You better go."

Daphne shook her head, leaning to the side to get something from her bag.

"For you, a gift. I'm sorry." She placed the red box of chocolates on the table between them, and not a second passed when Astoria whacked it away to the floor.

"Again! You're trying to poison me now? I won't take a thing from you."

"Those aren't poisoned! Do you think I'm that desperate?" Daphne huffed, collecting her bag as she stood.

Astoria thought for a moment. "Those chocolates that mother gave each of us. They were, weren't they?"

Astoria stood up, waiting for her sister's response.

Her sister scowled. "You weren't supposed to give them to Ella and her family." She snapped.

Astoria laughed. "You expected me to know they were poisoned?" She paused, becoming angry. "You poisoned my friend and her father!"

"They weren't meant to have them."

"But I guess it's fine," Astoria said. "If I have them."

She lead her sister out the door in silence.

"I won't be here when you tell mother and father where I'm staying."

Daphne crossed her arms as she watched Astoria slam the door on her.

Astoria tapped on her head a few times as she walked away. So that's why Ella and her father had been sick- the chocolates! They were poisoned. They had it all in one go, no wonder they became severely sickly.

She immediately went up the stairs to start packing. The others already had the same idea when Daphne had showed up. They all went to a small home Blaise bought on his own when he graduated, unknown about to the public. By that time, Ella was back at her parents for now, and it was just her, Theo, and Blaise. Only three days remained until she could go down and get him out.

"I'm sick of moving around, you know?" Astoria said one night by the fire place. She put a piece of paper to the flame and watched it burn slowly.

"When he comes back and it all blows over, and you start your job next year, it'll all be as if this never happened." Blaise assured, as he lounged on the sofa reading a book.

"I wonder if the ministry will still even offer him a job?" Theo wondered quietly.

Astoria slowly turned and stared at him.

"What?" He said. "He's been held there for a month, I don't think he'll be offered any position to work there anymore."

She looked back at the fire with guilt, at how she had ruined Draco's chances at having a normal life. He had everything- he had a job lined up, he had just graduated, and it seemed that she had taken everything away from him.

"Theodore Nott," she heard Blaise say from behind with quiet irritation.

She drowned them out as she sat with her knees to her chest, her eyes burning into the fire.

She thought about her last visit with Draco, and couldn't slightly make herself believe that they had actually kissed. It was so unforeseeable, she never had such thoughts about him like that, or to even do anything like that. In her mind he was just her friend that helped her, and even deeper than that. But not a lover, until two weeks ago.

She leaned back away from the fire, her hands propping her body up behind her as she felt the cool marble seep through her skin.