text stringlengths 12 10.4k |
|---|
He stopped her. Both his arms were on her shoulder. She lost her words. He said something, but she was suddenly deaf. He had consuming eyes. Green with a spark, yet a beautiful dark shade of the color. Like a forest to lose yourself in. |
"Did you hear me?", Harry repeated, "I don’t believe any of that." |
Somehow, she now was even more convinced it was true. |
"What are you going to do about the Tournament?", she asked suddenly in despair to take back the conversation towards him. |
His hands left her, and the cold air took their place. She shivered. Harry noticed but didn’t reach out again. He looked through the window in the forest. |
"I’m going to train and compete. I have no choice. Ron thinks I cheated and is somehow mad at me", he sounded irritated. |
"He’s jealous", Astoria said coldly, "He’s insecurities always get the best of him and that makes him a liability to you. Maybe this is for the best." |
He clearly didn’t share her opinion as he looked at her with disbelief, almost disgust. He loved them, Ron and Hermione, he loved them more than her. She knew and she figured in this instant that it was maybe she who was jealous. |
"Don’t ever say that again", Harry said, to her surprise, softly, "he is my friend. I know why you might think that, but you are wrong. I know Ron can be an ass, a pain in the ass, but he is my friend and I know that in my heart". |
"I hope you are right and he also finds the same in his heart", Astoria tried to response as emotionless as possible, yet her sarcasm was still visible. Harry chose to ignore it. They had other subjects on which they never met eye to eye, this wasn’t new. |
"He will. It will take some time, but he will." |
"Who is training you?" |
"Alastor Moody. He volunteered to help me", then after some quiet seconds he added, "I think I want to be an auror one day." |
"I wish you the best for that", Astoria said. It would suit him perfectly. And he would probably look very handsome in those uniforms they had - |
"Have you given it any thought?" |
"To be an auror?" |
"Maybe. Anything, really? " |
The question caught her off guard. Astoria stood silent for a minute. She never actually thought about that. There was no life after Hogwarts in her mind. She was always stuck here. Caged. |
"I don’t think I’ll live that long", she confessed and flushed red as it was somehow embarrassing for her to be this vulnerable. |
"Don’t say that!", Harry almost shouted and she shushed him. "You’re being dramatic." |
She didn’t response. He knew she wasn’t being dramatic. They never discussed it before, she never brought it up and it somehow seemed wrong to do so now. It was a mistake in her part. |
"I can’t explain it, but I an certain of it", the words slowly leaving her lips. |
"I sometimes feel as if I’m not going to live long as well", Harry said quietly, "But I need to, for my friends and for those I love. Sometimes I think I won’t make it. In my fears Voldemort wins." |
That was new to her. Fear was never an emotion she associated to Harry. Reckless, stupidly brave, naïve, careless – that was him, no debate there. But now Astoria recognized doubt he buried deep in his heart. |
"You already defeated him once. As a baby. Then stopped all his attempts to hurt you. You will do it again", Astoria meant it and that eased Harry a bit. |
"I know, I don’t think there is another choice", Harry said with obvious sadness and then looked up to her and surprisingly added, "I think you will make a good auror as well." |
"I don’t think so", Astoria chuckled. |
"Moody told me he could train you as well. For a bit, just to learn to control your power." |
Astoria blinked in disbelief. |
"How? Dumbledore, he – ", she said, not understanding what he meant. |
"Together. Tomorrow in his office, after class. And Dumbledore knows, he proposed it". |
Her eyes lowered with sadness. More secrets that she had to learn through his favorite child – Harry fucking Potter. |
"He still hasn’t spoken to me". |
"He will come around, I’m sure", said Harry and smiled sincerely. |
The last class for the day was potions with Snape. Harry always hated the class, as well as everyone else expect Draco Malfoy who seemed to be the professor’s favorite. They pared Astoria with him as well as Theo Nott on a healing potion. |
Draco was looking at Harry. When their eyes met he ran a finger across his neck and whispered "Good luck, Potter". Snape noticed Harry’s anger and slapped him on the head with the cover of a book. Then raised an eyebrow towards Draco and called him with a gesture. |
Theo and Astoria were left alone, waiting for the potion to brew. |
"Have you given it any thought?" he suddenly said. She didn’t quite understand that. |
"Of course, everything is according to the textbook. We should be okay", she said affirmative, but she wasn’t sure if this was the correct answer to his question. |
"No", he chuckled, and two dimples formed on his face. He had beautiful, big eyes that always seemed sincere to Astoria. She always thought he was probably a great liar. A natural advantage in Slytherin. |
"Are you going to the Yule Ball?" |
"I –, I guess I am", Astoria answered. She stepped back as she felt her face turn red. She hadn’t thought about the ball at all recently. |
In fact she avoided the event in her mind and on her calendar because she was sure she wouldn’t go. That was better than suffering the humiliation of going alone and standing in the corner all night, watching everyone else have fun and dance and kiss and all other normal things teenagers did. |
"Do you have someone to go with?", he got closer to her. |
Theodore wasn’t exceptionally tall like Draco or Blaise but had a large frame. Everyone who played Quidditch seemed in a great shape but being athletic was more a natural advantage to him. Like his sincere eyes that probably covered all his lies. |
Her head was spinning. No one had asked her before. Not that there was any similar event before, but even if there were, Astoria was sure this would be the first time someone would ask her. Theo smiled, seemingly enjoying watching her blush. His hand reached for her and she tried to move, to do something – anything really. |
Their hands met and he gave her a shy smile. He had rough palms that indicated a tight grip and unlike Harry who only barely touched her skin with the tips of his fingers as if he’d burn himself, Theo seemingly wasn’t afraid of fire. It was Draco Malfoy who separated them in that moment. He pushed trough them and then looked at each them raising one perfect eyebrow on his face. |
"What is going on? Am I interrupting something?", he said towards Theo who smiled back at him kindly and shook his head. |
"We were just checking the potion’s mixture. All well, according to textbook, right?" |
A great liar, indeed, Astoria nodded, watching him wink playfully to her. She thought she was pretty good at lying as well, yet words just couldn’t come out. When Draco turned to stare her down with his icy blue eyes, she just looked away, hoping he wouldn’t notice her red cheeks. |
"Don’t forget all students have a scheduled meeting in one hour with the Head of the House for preparation for the Yule Ball", Snape announced then looked around all Slytherin students as his eyes squinted, "Don’t. Be. Late". |
Theo approached Astoria and Draco seemingly tried to block him. However, she didn’t notice as her eyes widened with the realization that she probably won’t make it. |
"Fuck", she said to herself while both turned to look at her with surprise. No explanation was provided on her side as she had just stormed out of the room. |
Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. The nickname did strike fear but seeing it up close was terrifying. Astoria and Harry stood awkwardly next to each other, trying not to be rude by staring. Only there was no way not to stare. |
He looked back at them for a long time. Almost like a test who will flinch away first. Astoria felt that could be unpolite and bit her tongue but did not move. And Harry was a Gryffindor, bravery was a must there. |
Alastor Moody came closer, studying both with his synthetic eye that circled and twisted in a terrifying way. Blaise Zabini said one time between classes to the boys that Moody could detect dark magic with his eye. Those words came to Astoria immediately and panic filled her. Maybe he could see it in her and then there would be no room for doubt. Her future – doomed. |
"I never met him", Moody finally said. |
"Who?", Astoria asked as her voice trembled. |
"Your supposed grandfather. The last flame.", Moody said calmly as the words sank into her. "I don’t know any of his techniques to practice with you. The last living person who has ever fought your grandfather and lived, he, well, that’s not an option". |
Astoria stood frozen and silent, swallowing his words. It felt as if the training had already begin and she was already bleeding, naked and vulnerable. |
"We’ll have to figure out what to do with the dragons", Moody suddenly turned towards Harry who looked equally terrified, "It’s good that you learned the information, but facing a dragon is not an easy task. Many don’t live to tell". |
Many don’t live to tell – an echo in Harry and Astoria’s mind. |
"You’re going to fight a dragon!?", she snapped when the realization came, turning to Harry who looked as if he didn’t have it in himself to react. |
"Yes, he will", Moody answered for him, "We will work more with him on this. Let’s start with you". |
Astoria instantly regretted speaking. When bravery pushed her to face him, to speak, to do any minor action that could keep her dignity – he made her regret it. A man that truly stroke fear in his opponent’s heart. And Astoria turned with shaking legs wondering what to do as his opponent now. |
Harry stepped back, visibly uncomfortable himself. |
"Hit me with something", he commanded. |
All she remembered from dueling lessons with Lockhart was how to put her feet in the correct stance. Astoria lifted her wand, but before she even thought of a spell to cast, he jumped towards her, grabbed her hand and twisted her wrist. The wand fell of her hand as she screamed in pain. |
"You’re so slow I could kill you even without magic!", he shouted at her and pushed her back. |
Her back crashed into the wall. She whimpered from the pain, her face red with shame and with anger. |
"Are you seeing red already?", he joked. |
Fear held her tongue back. |
"Disarm him", Harry whispered next to her. |
That worked as her fingers quickly found her wand and snatched it off the floor. Alastor Moody didn’t seem please and stopped to stare at her with such – disgust, one might say, if appropriate. |
"You should use your hands. This is how you will fight me". |
"What?", and the wand fell from her hand following the defensive charm Expelliarmus that gave her a reply. |
"It’s an old technique, quite outdated, yet hard to dodge during a fight. You could say it could be your advantage." |
"No one fights like that", she blinked again with the feeling she forgot to study and do her homework. An annoying embarrassment that came with being ignorant. |
"Your ancestors fought like that exactly because no one else did. How do you counter an attack you have never seen before? How do you adjust in a duel to an opponent who moves completely unexpected and new to you?" |
Ancestors, the words spinning in her mind. |
"I-, I can’t do it", her voice shook as she stood there awkwardly. |
"Then you die", Moody cut her off as he lifted his wand. |
The spell landed on her chest. Air forcefully left her lungs as she struggled to catch it back. It hurt. Her chest, her head too. And the pain just grew into a dry scream. |
Harry gasped but froze with one look on Moody’s side. |
"You’re weak", he spat at her, "You’ve been weak for a long time". |
The pain felt good, Astoria realized. It made her angry. She couldn’t get up, but she didn’t need to. She blew off the hair in her face and her dark eyes met his. Her hand pushed forward, and the words fell out of her lips – Bombardo. |
An explosion erupted in Moody’s office. Things started falling off the shelves. He, however, was intact. Bad aim. Astoria tried to get up, but Moody smiled sadistically at her. He was enjoying this and seeing it made her angrier. |
"Pain, so you like pain?", he said as he grinned, "Oppugno". |
All the objects on the floor headed towards her. Astoria tried to doge them, but she failed to do so. |
And then their eyes met. He was furious. "You’re like a snail. So slow and no backbone." he shouted. |
Astoria couldn’t do anything. She stood there in pain and tried to move only to fall again on her knees. |
"Pathetic", he said as he sighed. "Crucio". |
When you use one of the unforgivable curses, you must mean it. |
Her mind went blank with pain. There was no sensation quite like it, nothing to compare it to so the mind could understand it better. Harry shouted behind her, or at least she imagined so, as Astoria heard his voice distant. Maybe it was a dying wish. Her whole body shook in pain and she screamed again and again. |
"Concentrate on my voice", Moody shouted at her, "Catch me with your eyes and try to repel it". |
She listened. It wasn’t hard as they were standing in a small room, but the pain was a constant distraction and her mind couldn’t ignore. It took a while. The more time passed, the harder it became to reach back for control. She saw him, but her eyes couldn’t hold him in place. The pain was eating her alive. |
You’re going to die like this, a foreign voice whispered in her mind. |
The though sank through her mind and she suddenly saw him clearly. Her eyes dark with rage. As her hands twitched from the pain she flinched and two of her fingers pointed at him. She hit him and the cursed disappeared. Blood painted his clothes red from his shoulders. She cut him, wishing him dead. |
Harry was gasping for breath next to her, pulling her up from the floor. She rose on her feet. Moody seemed satisfied. The Cruciatus Curse was broken. |
"We will continue to work from there, though I think outside will be better than this small room", he said out loud but didn’t look at either of them. |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.