Split (1)

train · 7.48k rows

text stringlengths 12 10.4k
"I never imagined", he said firmly, his eyes refusing to let her go, "You were a girl, that’s why they gave you up. I imagine no one could have known, as girls never lived long, whether that was fate or force".
Tears pushed through her eyes. A sharp gasp tore her lung apart as another scream found itself free from her mind. Dumbledore once warned her what a son could mean. Magic society probably suspected and feared the same – the nameless son to come. They whispered in fear, awaiting for a new Dark Lord to rise and challenge the current tyrant that had claimed himself god and crowned himself Lord of the magical world.
Only no son rested in her womb, but the magic was there and if someone found out, they would hunt her like a wild beast for sport and for revenge. Dumbledore used to call it "In the name of the Greater Good" – a way to excuse his own atrocities. Maybe it was that very same thing that motivated him to take her in. And hearing it now – she knew, Astoria always had a bitter sense of déjà vu, but knowing and seeing it coming, never made a difference when the reality hit.
It took her a while to figure this one out. Why she was the first girl. Why all girls died young. That’s how she realized memories didn’t come to her because Nicola was suppressing them. Or maybe someone else. It didn’t matter at this point what name she wore then. As Astoria Elroy, she knew all girls died for a son. Only sons were left. A long grow of pain tore from her lings. It was freeing, to cry and to hate and to be yourself.
"Finally", Dumbledore said in awe as he watched the lightning split around her and corrupt the ground below it in decay.
"What if I’m just like him, Albus?", her desperate voice tearing him apart from the inside.
Albus was not a name she used before. Nicola Elroy called him that, never professor or whatever title and honor he earned for his name, to Nicola it was always Albus. At first he thought it was aristocratic arrogance, later he learned it was a sign of the intimacy between them.
"Even if you are, I couldn’t do it again", he said softly. It was like seeing a ghost. His friend. His dearest, "It will be up to someone else to meet the challenge. I am old, Astoria, and I am dying".
She froze. There it was – the sharp pain. A new kind of pain. A new breath of air to take in. One of helplessness and desperation. She knew, in a way. He was always older, he was always going to be first. Yet, she hoped, she refused to give in.
"What do you mean?", she whispered and she already knew precisely what he meant.
"I am happy I got to meet you again", Dumbledore replied and smiled politely.
They stared in silence for a while, finally seeing each other again for the first time.
"What was I like?", her voice trembled, "Back then?"
"You were astonishing."
"I am going to die young", she suddenly screamed like a plea for help. Another leftover from previous lives, previous people, yet a truth she held in her heart.
"I think so too", Dumbledore said softly as he put his heavy arm on her shoulder. She flinched and moved back, he looked sad. It was such a new emotion; she never saw him look at her like that. As if everything had changed.
"It was unnatural to reach such old age in your previous life, I know you paid a price for it. The faster you develop, the quicker you burn".
"I don’t want to die. I don’t want you to die either", the words felt ridiculous to utter in hysteria.
Dumbledore laughed and the sound of it made her go still. It wasn’t like that chuckle he made when he was being silly and vague, like an old man, pretending to be silly and helpless. There was power in his voice and it made him seem younger, full of life still.
"How many times do we have to have this conversation?", he said, still laughing. "Do not fear death, my sweet girl. Maybe we will meet again. Maybe we won’t and that will only moment more special. Now I know I lived this long only to help you once more".
"Help me?", Astoria kept moving away from him, "You killed me!"
Now he was scaring her more than he ever did before. Nicola told her things, warned her. The papers told of a glorious battle and all she saw was sadness in him, no hate, no danger, nothing. That wasn’t the way a killer read in her mind. And it wasn’t Dumbledore either, not the one she knew, he was new, vulnerable in a way she had never before seen.
"It is strange seeing you like this. I watched you grow from a helpless child, and I think you still are that helpless child. I wish I could stay and see you, but I don’t think I will. Times, as you probably have found, have changed. You no longer fit into this world and neither do I", he said and his fingers carefully pulled out his wand.
"What are you talking about?", Astoria raised her voice in panic, watching him carefully.
"They will try to take you down once and for all. It was always going to happen. It was inevitable."
"I’m going to make it", Astoria insisted. "I’ve outlived all my enemies."
"I wish you a long life that you could enjoy, my dearest friend. And I will do my best to give you this chance. Let us train. No holding back this time".
He turned away from her and took out his wand. There were tears in her eyes, yet the anger that usually accompanied them was nowhere to be found. That was her strongest emotion. A source of magic that Astoria couldn’t reach now. She trusted her rage to be there for her as it had been from the very beginning, but now it abandoned her. And with it gone Astoria understood Dumbledore’s words that it will never be enough. The burning emotion left her empty and in that emptiness there was a calm precision.
The tears dried. He hand stretched to the sky in a familiar call and a bright light answered it as the sky split opened. Thunder roared and lightning twisted around her like a whip. The power no longer misbalanced her and the pain was gone as Astoria opened her fingers and electricity flowed in her skin like blood in the veins. The pain was gone. The rage as well. And magic became one with blood.
One strike as her eyes moved with her fingers. Faster than ever. Dumbledore was expecting the hit but struggled to meet the attack. Dodging it wasn’t an option like the rest of them. The magical bond was like a knot between them, pulling them in for destruction. Astoria pushed her feet in the ground, he was still stronger and she could feel him pushing her to kneel.
Each generation is better –
Nicola’s voice echoed in her mind. That was true. A fact like human evolution. And as Dumbledore pushed with his will, Astoria finally pushed through, because her mind was stronger. Then they met again, a door was standing in front of her.
It was Hogwarts. An angry scream reached her from afar. Someone was shouting behind her as she watched through Dumbledore’s eyes. Everything was blurry and if she didn’t knew the halls of the castle like the lines on her hand, Astoria wouldn’t recognize it.
Light grabbed her attention. In front of him ran a boy with Slytherin’s uniform. He was clear as day. And her feet naturally moved, following him from behind. They managed to reach the end of the corridor and hid behind the corner, running short on breath. Astoria turned, her lips dry and her heart pounding with adrenaline, next to her was her grandfather Nicola Elroy, who was no older than sixteen. He had brown eyes like hers and an almost identical face, smiling mischievously.
The connection broke and Astoria found herself on the ground. There was still much to learn as her hands felt weak. Lightning abandoned her and with it the light. Dumbledore stood a few steps away from her, holding his chest with one hand as to grip his heart.
It gets to him, Astoria realized, observing carefully the aftermath effects of the connection.
"It’s good you managed to break in my mind. If it was your enemy, you shouldn’t get lost in thoughts and memories. Look for him inside and strike", he said calmly. There was a sense of fatigue about him still.
Astoria nodded and tried to compose herself. It was she who rose to her feet first and went to help him. A leftover feeling of a strong emotion was still left inside of her. One of great happiness.
"You really were friends", she said between breaths, surprised by that.
Dumbledore turned to her with a smile, "We still are".
Mail arrived as usually at breakfast just by the end of it at 10 am and owes willed Hogwarts’s great hall. A piece of wrapped paper fell next to Astoria. This was her fifth year and she never before received mail. A strange owe dragged itself out of sight with brownish wings. The animal also wasn’t familiar.
Theo Nott leaned in, stretching curiously a finger at the package. It was Pansy that slapped his fingers away as she gave him a piercing look.
"Go on then", the black-haired girl said.
As Astoria’s fingers began to tear apart the paper a note slipped out of the packaging.
"To my dearest" – the handwriting strange, fast, leaning a bit on the left side. She couldn’t put a name on it. As far as she knew Draco Malfoy was the only person she was dear to and that also came hand in hand with doubts.
When the paper finally fell and the inside of it shined like a opened flower, Astoria’s heart skipped a beat. In the palms of her hands was a red pin of a crawling dragon-lizard.
"A crest", said Blaise Zabini as he peaked at the girls hands like the rest. "Those are given in noble families for special occasions."
"Like what?", Astoria asked eagerly.
"Like weddings. They are also exchanged between bloods as a symbol of friendship, love or loyalty."
"My father gave me mine when they sent me to Hogwarts", said Theo and he quickly met Astoria’s gaze who was immediately invested in the story. "Said I’m a real man now and with it rests the reputation and prestige of my family on my shoulders."
"Eleven is a bit early to get one of these", noted Pansy and Theo said nothing in response. "My father never gave me one", then added the girl and all looks were now drawn to her.
"Sometimes it’s better for your father not to love you, Pans", Theo replied and that ended the conversation.
Harry and his friends were just finishing with Quidditch. Ron was buzzing with excitement about the upcoming match. Ginny was having a serious discussion with Oliver Woods a few steps behind, continuing the heated debate they had earlier from a disagreement on strategy.
It was Harry that felt it first. A heat-wave shocked his body and he could almost feel the warmth on his skin like standing too close to burning fire. A silhouette grabbed his attention, no, maybe two, coming towards them.
In a second he recognized her. Astoria Elroy was headed his was as she walked through the crowd of students. Her hair was up in a braid and there was no eye-patch to hide her eyes. One glowed red and the other faded into a familiar brown. She was dressed in her black clothes with the Slytherin’s robe on top. A red pin shined on the material. Her whole image was different and his first thought was how regal she looked. Not in the sense of beauty, her own was fading under her cold gaze. Next to her, a step behind, walked a boy. An almost identical twin, yet not real. Nicola Elroy also wore his Slytherin uniform like Harry had seen him before. His eyes were both red like two bloody wounds on his face, the redness spilling out of the eye’s frame. There was a mischievous smile on him as they passed through the hallway. Everyone stared. Everyone saw.
"Harry, are you seeing what I’m seeing?", Ron asked, his eyes glued on the figure that seemed to come closer and closer to them.
"I am, Ron", Harry replied as his hand reached down to his wand. His limbs were stiff with fear.
It happened in seconds. Astoria didn’t look at them as she passed but Nicola locked eyes with him and held that gaze as their shoulders brushed. It was a horrible look, one of bloodlust, yet so captivating. The similarities in their facial features were also unbelievable and as Harry turned to take another look, fitting pieces together, there was no Nicola Elroy. Astoria walked alone as she gazed back at him, behind her shoulder, still moving forward.
Something was changing inside of her and it made him fearful and sad, as he felt he was losing her. His friend seemed gone.
It was Wednesday.
Worry kept her awake and she’d read about her ancestor Ivan the Cruel who fought many battles and was a proclaimed warlord. This is what she needed to become. To remember. There seemed to be a broken thread in her mind when it came to that. Nicola promised her that memories would start re-appearing, and some did, but the emptiness inside only grew into a gaping abyss, still unfilled.
At sunset Astoria went alone. Deep into the forest, to pretend to train, meaning dance with lightning. That was the plan. Nicola was walking beside her, he didn’t leave her side all day since she got that pin. He stayed in classes, glared with arrogance at students and exchanged mean looks in the hallways, whispered in Astoria’s ear and kept repeating to her words that were now prayers in her mind. It was like he was possessing her. The connection never seemed logical to anyone else. Harry, for example, tried to understand it, but gave up rather quickly. It was Dumbledore who explained it to be a natural phenomenon for her family – a string that managed to remain unbroken through time. .
Sirius, Lupin and Tonks all agreed to help him. They knew Astoria Elroy was the bait and that two dangerous Death Eaters would come for her. It took Harry all night of pleading and lying to convince them not to tell anyone else and he still had doubts he succeeded to keep it a secret from Dumbledore.
They didn’t see Draco Malfoy anywhere and that made Harry suspicious, he couldn’t trust him, knowing now for certain he was a Death Eater.
The sun began to set and a clock ticked in Harry’s mind. Astoria moved and lightning followed, scorching the ground beneath. It was probably green with grass before, Harry thought, as he observed how destructive she her magic grew.
Three shadows fell to the ground. They all wore masks. Astoria turned to face them as her hand stretched out from the sky and lightning surrounded her, twisting like a whip.
The first one removed his mask. An old man near his forties stared at her with a smile in his face. There was sings of aging that came with stress – a specific set of wrinkles that always appeared to unnaturally age faces who still had youth in them. He had brown eyes as well but black of hair and he stared at Astoria as if he was seeing light for the first time. Her father, Harry concluded and tried to move, but Tonks grabbed him firmly.
"Not yet", she whispered, pulling him back.
Astoria didn’t look like him. He was significantly taller and slim, with greasy black hair that reached his neck and he looked like he hadn’t shaved for three days straight as his beard was pushing through on his lower part of the face. He made a step forward and Astoria moved two behind.
"My dearest", he gasped with delight.
The words reached her and froze her body as lightning sunk in her skin and twisted slower around her. Harry could see her shake in fear. It was panic, he realized but Tonks wouldn’t let him go.
Ilay Elroy tried again to come forward and Astoria quickly stepped back. Another mask fell out and Bellatrix moved next to her father. This one really terrified Harry as he had read and heard about this mad woman. An experienced killer, a sadist and a madwoman herself.
"Let’s get the girl and you could talk later", she hissed at him. It displeased her partner.
"Quiet", Ilay shouted enraged back at her and Bellatrix coward behind. He then turned to his daughter as a smile appeared again on his face, "I see you wear my gift. Do you like it?"
It was terrifying how fast he switched emotions. He looks unstable, Harry thought with horror and he couldn’t help himself think that was a similarity. Astoria also had this dualistic nature that shifted unpredictably and you never knew when the coin is tossed, on which side it will land for you.
Astoria suddenly became conscious of the placement of the pin, that was held by the fabric of her robe but somehow she felt the needle itch her skin regarding the layers of clothes she had. Her fingers moved immediately, trying to scratch it away but she couldn’t get them to move properly as her hands shook. Fear paralyzed her. It happened before, it was happening now at the most inconvenient time.
She could instantly feel the connection. His door was open, staring at her, as Astoria could read that he himself was inviting her. There was no opportunity to surprise him, it was like he knew her already.
"I don’t want it", Astoria whined. She didn’t mean the pin on her.
"It belongs to you. It was my father’s", Ilay said softly and smiled. "Only an accomplished wizard of our family could wear it. It’s status, my dear".
"No, I –", she tried to speak but he interrupted her.
"I am so proud of you.", he said as he stepped forward her, reaching for her hand, "I will never let him separate us again. Let’s go home."
A scream was building up inside of her but no sound made it past her lips. Her legs failed her as she fell on the ground, staring at him in horror because all she could see was his open mind, almost reaching for hers. No other had ever invited her like that, all doors were open for her before, but this one opened for her by choice. And Astoria shut her eyes, refusing to see the door, rushing to close her own, even though Nicola had said no one else could do what she did, have the access she did, but inside of Astoria was raising a strange feeling of trust, pushing her to open up as well. All of her willpower was concentrated on refusing this feeling.
He will know me, he will kill me, she thought with fear.
Another figure approached, this time behind her. The members of the order were also surprised because no one noticed him approach, no one even detected him. Astoria opened her eyes. His mask was ugly, scary, but she knew who was behind it. Draco Malfoy had a distinguished walk, a specific presence that was so authentic to him you could spot him under any disguise. But it still felt strange and her heart twisted, seeing him in such clothes. A Death Eater’s attire. Both her mind and her body couldn’t assimilate the look of him.
"We’re not safe, her friends will come for her any moment. It would be best to get her before that." he reminded them.
"When could we expect them?", Bellatrix asked.
"I’ve already delivered", was Draco’s answer.
And that’s when it sinked in – the betrayal. It all made sense now why it was important to keep Dumbledore out of this. Not to protect him or her, but because they thought they could kill the rest and get Astoria. Maybe even Harry. One as a guest and the other – a hostage.
A spell shined. Sirius stepped in and Lupin followed him. They managed to push them back but none of them looked surprised to see them. Astoria was still on the ground as she looked around confused. All her fierceness and power – faded away to leave a little girl, shivering on the ground.
They kept pushing but each attempt was met with equal willpower. Astoria never witnessed wizards duel like this. Her father was swift, he didn’t use a wand as well and he moved fast with a certain trained grace that made him appear light and swift in duel. Bellatrix in comparison was all over the place, her movements were unpredictable simply because they were. And the witch laughed hysterically as she sent one curse after the other towards them.
"Harry", Lupin shouted, looking back from his shoulder, "get the girl and run!"
And Harry ran towards her like he did when he found her locked in a black space inside her mind. A red light flashed behind him. He could see Draco’s wand following him. He was moving faster and casted spells with intense power one after the other – sharp and fast. He was quick about it, almost deadly. Harry didn’t manage to doge all of the attacks and fell on his knees in front of her as a scream of pain left his body. His hands still found her, grabbing her and pulling her away from the ground. She was burning hot and shivering as if she had a fever.
Astoria screamed as she shook him off. Her body moved on itself, unnatural in a way. Every movement looked forced and she struggled and screamed angrily, fighting against the pull that came from the inside, but all control was lost. Her fingers touched Harry’s neck and an electrifying sensation ran through his body as he fell on the ground. Pain took over him and he couldn’t feel his legs.
"You seemed surprised", Ilay said while looking at her with curiosity.
Panic took over Astoria who was sure she had control over her mind and she searched and scrapped in herself but he was nowhere to be found. Her door was shit yet somehow he had broken the barrier between them. No trace was left, nothing to follow and her consciousness was clean, all hers, yet he was there. The intruder was in control.
"It’s blood magic", he said coldly and that left her with a blank stare in disbelief, "I modeled it on my father’s own technique. The difference is that he uses the mind while I can slip into the body".
"How?", Astoria screamed as she felt her feet betraying her, stepping towards him.
"It’s a difficult technique to perform, it requires you to be smart with it. Time is needed to execute it, you must plan and wait. It does require for the user to taste the victim’s blood. But in our case, there is no need - ", he explained and Astoria instantly knew the answer.
"My blood is your blood", she uttered to herself as the realisations sank it.
It instantly made her weak and vulnerable to his attack. It was the ultimate match for her and she couldn’t fight it. There was no other opponent like that to disarm her and Astoria had never faced something even alike before.

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.