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"Can we stop?", Harry asked hesitantly and was also punished for it with a curse on him. |
"What did you do to him, Elroy?", Moody’s voice screeched unnaturally. She never heard it sound like that and it made her scared. |
"I don’t know! I panicked!", she finally shouted back at him. |
"Panic? We can do panic", he said and started raining curses on her. |
Physically, she was in a better form. Thanks to that Astoria managed to dodge them all. Harry didn’t as he fell on the ground. Astoria turned with doubt, he wasn’t her problem, yet there he was – screaming from pain, dragged into this for no apparent reason. |
"Go on, Potter", Moody said, "I want you to curse the bitch". |
Harry blinked back at Moody and then stared at Astoria. She also met his eyes. There was an awkward pause. Both looked unsure. Moody’s wand touched Harry’s neck and pushed in the skin. |
"The ones in the Tournament will be even worse than her", he hissed at him. |
A bright green spell flew her way. She dodged it, he was aiming badly on purpose. Then she prepared herself to attack but stopped herself. Hitting Moody, an ex-auror that she sometimes sincerely wished dead was something she could do, but hitting Harry was hard. |
The hesitation cost her as a curse hit her in the leg. Astoria screamed in pain and she crashed down on her knees to the ground. It stung her. |
Another one, a sharp one, flew next to her shoulder, cutting her, but not managing to land on her. It was an actual curse to tare through flesh and it scared her how serious Moody was in this duel. |
After some time, it became apparent that Astoria couldn’t or wouldn’t hit Harry with a curse and he seemed to be sticking by the same approach, both managing to take damage only from Moody’s magic. |
"I will curse you both and watch you craw on the ground if you don’t start doing actual work", he shouted at them. |
"I can’t", Harry panted as his breath was running short. |
"Ask her about her father", Moony laughed. |
Both turned to him with horror. |
"He was there when Voldemort came for you, boy. He helped him in killing your mother and father. This is why he is in Azkaban now. Because he bears the Dark Mark". |
A horrible silence surrounded Astoria yet she felt as if her ears were bleeding. She tried not to catch Harry’s face. She was afraid he would hate her. A truth that both knew deep down, yet existing in harmony by denying it, refusing to speak out loud about it. |
"Look at her, Harry", Moody commanded as he pointed to her with his wand. "In her you will find the face of your enemy". |
Astoria could hear Harry shout. It was wrong not to look as Moody was going to hit her again with a curse and she was already bleeding and hurting, but there was no strength in her. |
Don’t do what he asks of you – |
The voice startled her. She looked at Moody who was busy torturing Harry. That gave her time to gather her anger. |
Call out to the sky – |
The way her hand and her legs moved came naturally to her. Like learning to ride a bike, forgetting about it for a few years and then one day, suddenly picking it up again as a hobby. The bike starts moving and you move with it, naturally. That’s how it was with the lightning that buzzed in the air around her. Astoria jumped over her friend and passed him, spinning around so she could hit Moody from the side. Dead or alive, as long as he was knocked down on the ground. And Astoria wanted it to end, as fast as possible. |
A hit came, only not from the direction she expected. Another’s wand had struck her and Astoria rolled on the ground and grunted in pain. When she got up on her feet, she saw Harry pointing towards her with sadness and no hesitation in his eyes. |
"Why did you do that?", she shouted. Her shoulder hurt. |
"Stop this!", he screamed back at her and she remembered. Unstable – that’s how he called her. That’s what he saw in her. |
"This isn’t you!" |
This is who you are – |
The voice shocked her. Astoria stepped back. What was so horrible that she had done? Then she turned to Moody. He was alright, but behind him, where her lighting struck when Harry disbalanced her – there was a hole in the wall. Most of it was eaten away. This was new. |
"I – ", she stared in disbelief. |
Astoria went back. Her steps dragged her away from them. Moody slapped Harry on his head. |
"Do not listen to him. Make him stay quiet", he shouted at her. |
"No", she shook her head and kept the other part of the sentence in her mind – this is dark magic. |
"I saw what happened. How he pushed you. He saw you in his mind. If you can do it then, you can do it now", Moody spat through his teeth as his wand was facing her. |
Astoria knew only pain was going to come but she couldn’t move. Harry looked so scared of her, she herself was scared. |
Her knees dropped to the ground. In her ears Astoria heard distant screams. A woman was saying something, but it didn’t reach her clear enough to catch the words. She couldn’t look either. Her mind twisted in pain. Her body shook on the ground from it as well. A loud scream ripped from her lips as she felt the torture curse consume her. |
There was no end. Harry was looking over her, his wand pointing at somewhere she imagined was Moody. He was pleading for something. For me, she thought bitterly. |
It stopped. She tried to get on her feet and run but she only managed to sit up on the ground. Her muscles were twitching in pain. Astoria could feel how tense she was now. There were knots in her mind as well. |
"Do it!", she heard Moody scream from somewhere. Astoria wasn’t even sure if it was meant for her. |
Don’t give in – |
Don’t give in – |
My body is failing me, another thought pushed in her mind as she watched blood drip from her face to the ground. A nosebleed. Again. She stared at the red liquid mindlessly, letting the echo of the pain pass through her. |
Moody had Harry behind him. His wand pointing towards her. |
Call out to the sky, a voice insisted. |
What was there in the sky for her, Astoria wondered as her body trembled but pushed hard enough so her legs could move and get her off the ground. Moody looked unsatisfied, kept screaming something, his voice getting thinner. |
Avenge yourself – |
She tried to balance her body weight and then held her hand in position. But she didn’t point to him. Instead, she pointed up, calling out to the sky. |
"COME!", Astoria shouted, and a loud roar answered. |
It was like the sky had opened itself and lighting poured down. Astoria kept the contact while the lightning came in a long line from above to her arm, sinking even deeper into her skin. When contact was made with her body, blood came out of everywhere. Red with a metallic taste in her mouth, on her face, on the ground next to her. |
She couldn’t take it. Whatever this was, it brought pain – pain everywhere. Her bones were vibrating inside. And then she snapped the connection. The sky roared as the lighting fell and twisted around her like a whip. |
Moody pushed Harry away. Astoria had never done this. And she was sure he never saw this either. Not with her, not with anyone. |
As the bolt of lightning moved around her, the ground ripped open under it’s power. It was magnetic but it was pulling apart everything it came close to. |
Her eyes were dark with rage as the knots in her muscles tightened and then loosened with each movement. Moody was holding his wand up, fearless like she knew him to be. |
Sharp pain pinched her skin and Astoria fell on her knee with one of her legs. The lighting spilled in that direction, destroying a wall in the castle. Seeing this, she quickly got back on her feet and tried to keep her balance. |
Let yourself be – |
A new feeling consumed her, burning through her skin. It felt like freedom. Astoria pointed her fingers as lightning followed them and Moony was hit. He repelled it, yet it still hit him. It also hit Harry. Blood everywhere, she observed. |
"COME", Moody shouted at her, spitting blood. |
The feeling kept pushing. She was recharged with energy. And as she ran towards Moody it was like she teleported. That’s how fast it made her. Before he could react, before his eyes laid on her, her hand was pushing his neck down from behind. Lightning struck as his body crumbled on the ground. Blood spilled everywhere. |
Her balance was off. She fell behind, not being able to pull through when separating from the ex-auror. Her body crashed into the wall and it stayed like that, silent for a while. Then dust and fallen stones were pushed back and Astoria managed to crawl again. Her eyes black with fury as lightning danced around her. |
"Moody, you bastard!", she shouted and leapt forward. |
He was on the ground. Hurt badly and struggling to get back to his feet. There was blood everywhere and he wasn’t going to make it. |
Astoria let herself loose as the lightning danced around her, damaging everything that came closer to her. Harry Potter got up. He was in her way, his wand facing her as he gasped for breath. There was no time to think, no time to stop. |
No words came out of his mouth. Another wizard stepped in. He hit her from behind as she crashed on the ground. Astoria quickly recovered and turned just to see it was Dumbledore who was now pointing his wand at her. |
Astoria stepped back, horrified. Her breath betrayed her. Something about him made her tremble with fear. |
And the storm finally passed. Her vision cleared. All there was around them was ruin. A lot of ruin. There was dirt and dust everywhere and on everyone. |
"ENOUGH!", Dumbledore shouted, and his voice echoed as a warning. |
No one dared to move, not even shiver. Dumbledore never shouted. |
"What happened?", he asked her more calmly, yet his wand was still facing her. There was anger in his eyes, he didn’t even blink while maintaining eye contact with her. |
Anger was easy to spot in him, yes, a precise anger that was in his firm grip around his wand, the way his eyes didn’t blink and looked at her with determination. But there was something else in the way he breather heavily. |
The temperature changed. It was late winter, but Astoria felt sweat drip from her forehead to her eyebrows and the suit became uncomfortably tight, sticking to her body. Astoria looked at Dumbledore and felt electricity run through her veins. |
Swallow it in – |
And she did. All that energy, all that magic sunk back to her skin as she tried to gasp for breath. Her blood was boiling in her veins and her bones were like strings, vibrating under a new sound to her. Dumbledore was staring at her, he didn’t even blink while watching her struggle. |
"I’m hot", she finally said as she breathed. |
Then she realized she wasn’t just hot but burning. Her hands trembling in fear as she tried to unzip the upper part of her suit. She threw it on the ground, air leaving her. |
Dumbledore lowered his wand and came forward to her. |
"Astoria, listen to my voice – ", he said but she couldn’t hear him. |
"I’M BURNING!", she shouted at him as her hands tore off her shirt. Her skin was bare as she fell on her knees. |
Her eyes rolled back and she fell flat on the ground. |
They put her body in the nursery. No students were allowed, only Harry was waiting outside the door so he could be questioned. |
The Headmaster was furious with Alastor Moody. He was shouting, a phenomenon no one had seen probably in ears. Harry had his ear next to the door trying to make sense of the words that were thrown. |
"You know what she is and yet you pushed her!", Snape’s voice hissed, "How could you be expected to train Potter giving you almost killed a student". |
"I think it was the other way around", Moody gasped, his voice was weak and Harry could tell he was truly badly hurt. |
"She can’t escape who she is or who her family is. This was unacceptable!". |
"And to use one of the forbidden curses on a student!", McGonagall’s voice joined in, sounding horrified. "Do you know the effects dark magic has on the body and the mind!?" |
"Do not lecture me about dark magic!", Moody snapped, his voice still the weakest. |
"You will not continue training with Harry", Dumbledore concluded. |
"My training with him is different." |
And that was true. Alastor Moody was precise with him and even though he clearly knew no limits neither with him or Astoria, there was an undeniable progress. It also helped that it happened fast as he pushed him further and without this pressure, Harry wasn’t sure if he’d even live this long in the Tournament. |
A door opened. McGonagall was looking down at Harry who fell on the floor as the door pushed him back. He was eavesdropping and she had realized that as she gave him a strict glare but there was no punishment, not even a sharp comment. |
"Come, Potter", she said quietly. |
Harry walked in. His left hand was hit and there was blood soaking up the bandages. It hurt deep inside as the hit ate through the skin. The worst part was the pain stayed, echoing. All this and she didn’t even hit him. It was accidental as her magic was uncontrollably moving around, or maybe she just didn’t care to notice. |
Moody looked worse than him, Harry concluded. He had patches and bandages everywhere and almost all of his face was covered, leaving just his healthy eye out and his mouth to speak. He looked different, he looked weaker. |
"I’m sorry, my boy, I pushed you so far for her sake", he said quietly to him. Harry nodded but remained expressionless as he felt Dumbledore stand beside him. A horrible anger radiated from him. |
Moody got up and left, limping away as he could barely walk. They had given him a cane to hold himself up. |
She could’ve killed him. She could’ve killed me, Harry realized with horror as he looked around to see Astoria. |
On the bed behind Dumbledore, he realized as he came in forward then stopped himself. Harry was afraid to look at her. He felt so much guilt towards her and so much anger. There was a drift in their relationship and a change in both. They were no longer the same kids. They’ve changed, each for the worse. |
"It’s alright now", Dumbledore said softly as he made him a gesture to come closer. |
Astoria was also patched up almost everywhere on her body. The lightning was eating from her as well, Harry observed, seeing the state she was in. There was blood on her face. Her eyes remained open, blank and only white. Her irises were gone. She looked dead. She looked terrified. |
Harry sat on the bed. His hand caressed her face to find her skin cold. He swore he heard her shout she was burning but her skin was ice like a dead man’s. |
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