If I Lose Myself

Chapter Nineteen: Astoria

If I Lose Myself

by EMPG22HoPe

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Chapter Nineteen: Astoria

June 1997

Astoria had never felt more relieved to be returning to Hogwarts after the Easter holidays. She always did like coming back home at every opportunity there was possible because it would mean seeing her parents again. Now, she only wished to be as far away from them—specifically her mother—as humanly possible.

As soon as she came back from the holidays, she spent most of her free time in the library or the Black Lake reading through all the books she had purchased at Diagon Alley regarding her curse. She went so far as to buy dark arts books, books on healing uncommon wizarding illnesses—and even resorted a little trip to Knockturn Alley to buy a specific book—Magick Moste Evile—since none of the Professors were willing to let her borrow the book from the Restricted Section before Easter.

Literature, for once, had failed Astoria as she had found little to no semblance of ancestral illnesses from the book. She came across the word blood malediction, but it was only briefly mentioned before it was swept aside by another topic. A part of her felt that must have been it, or at least related to what she was going through, but that would mean a great deal of getting another book to find its full reference and ideologies. Fate, it would seem, liked to play tricks with her now that she was so close to figuring out what's been going on with her.

Never in her life had she been more desperately curious about her illness than she was now.

Then there was still the matter of Aunt Cress's second vial to which—since her unexpected downtrodden from the Headmaster's office—Astoria had not been able to view just yet. She had tried several times to get an audience with the Headmaster, but the great wizard seemed to be more occupied these days; much to Astoria's dismay. Although it was not to say that she had completely given up. Patience was a virtue highly required, despite her lack thereof now that she had some clue, some semblance of the reason behind her "weak immune system".

When Astoria entered a corridor after having left the library for dinner, she heard a loud crash from the end of the hall. A few girls from her year screeched and tumbled their way towards her, running away from something... until she saw it was someone.

Peeves cackled happily as he shot one dungbomb after another at the girls. As the last student rushed past her, Astoria looked up to find the poltergeist floating above her.

"Causing trouble again are we, Peeves?" Astoria asked calmly, a small smirk gracing her lips. She wasn't terrified of Peeves like most of the students. Peeves played little pranks on her, though from the last time she's seen the poltergeist—he had been pestering her during her drunken stupor after Slughorn's Christmas Party.

"The usual, ickle-little Astoria!" Peeves hollered delightfully, playing with a piece of dungbomb in his hand. "Where's your boyfriend? Ain't here to save you now, is he?"

Astoria's cheeks flushed. "He's not—"

"Works for me!" Peeves interrupted. Astoria only had a split second decision to dodge as soon as Peeves pelted the dungbomb towards her. She screeched, missing the putrid ball by a hair before she ran the other way to where the girls that Peeves had been pestering earlier went off.