Wow, I should think of some questions I can answer. You'll see what I think if you read on!
Long chapter, so sorry!!
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Throughout the whole Wizengamot, perhaps a dozen people raised their hands. I smiled involuntarily as a witch asked, raising her hand as she spoke, "And those for clearing the accused of all charges?"
Over half the Wizengamot raised their hands. James turned to grin at me as courtroom burst into chatter. The students' expressions around me varied from elation to outrage. I couldn't help beaming and hugging James and Rose.
Rose returned my smile without much enthusiasm. "Are you all right?" I asked, frowning.
"Yes, well..." She shrugged. "I don't really know. She was my boggart, remember? But I don't feel so scared of her anymore. It's confusing."
"Yeah." I sighed. "Right. That."
"I know she's innocent. I just don't know what to think."
I smiled again. "Of course. Rose, don't feel bad. Anyone would be scared, and it's great if you're not, but all right if you are."
"Astra, Teddy's here," James called, pointing towards the door. Teddy's turquoise hair stood out among the crowd that was exiting slowly through the dungeon's one door. He grinned and waved up at me.
"Tell your parents thanks for having me over," I said, waving back at Teddy as I talked to James. "And tell Albus I really wish he could have been here."
"Okay," James said distractedly. "I'll tell Dad you've left. But you've got to come back soon, all right?"
"Of course." I waved to my friends as I started down towards Teddy. If the crowds weren't so tight, I might have gone to speak to Wren, but I didn't have a chance. I'd probably see her soon. As I met Teddy at the door, I realized I didn't actually know what was going to happen to her. Where was she going to go? Was she coming back to Hogwarts? I didn't know. I'd ask Albus as soon as I could.
"So, how'd it go?" Teddy asked. Glancing around at the faces around me, I realized you probably wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at the crowd. There seemed to be a great deal of mixed feelings. Some people looked upset or angry. Some, confused or enlightened, as if they'd only just found out she wasn't really to blame. Still others looked as happy as I did.
"She's cleared of all charges," I said, grinning.
"Great!" Teddy exclaimed. He glanced through the crowd. "I guess Uncle Harry is busy?"
"I think so."
"All right. Well, we'll go see them tomorrow, how's that?"
"Perfect!"
Teddy grinned and dramatically offered me his arm. I took it, and we made our way back up to the lifts. I couldn't keep a smile off my face.
Once we got home, though, it finally disappeared. Before we walked through the door, I stopped. "Is Aunt Andromeda very angry?"
Teddy stopped too, frowning down at me as if that was a confusing question. Finally, he blinked and shook his head. "Of course not. Not at you, at least. Maybe Mr. Pouri and Uncle Harry. But why would she be mad at you?"
I shrugged. I was just used to having people at mad at me when I wasn't at Hogwarts, I guessed. I didn't tell Teddy that, though, and walked inside with a slightly less broad smile on my face.
Aunt Andromeda mainly seemed concerned for my mental well-being when she saw me. She kept asking if I was sure I was all right, though she did fume a bit at Mr. Potter and Professor Pouri, and I was sure they'd get an earful next time she saw them. However, everyone seemed more interested in hearing how the trial had gone than anything else.
The next day was a Saturday, so Teddy didn't have auror training. We Flooed to the Potters midmorning, and I immediately was pulled off by Albus and James.
"Al, I really wish you could have been there," I said as they pulled my up the stairs, away from the adults in the kitchen and Lily.
"It's fine," Albus said unconvincingly. "I'm sure it wasn't that great."
"So, what's happening to Wren?" I asked.
James and Al stopped outside the guest room door to share a glance. "You mean you don't know?" James asked.
"Of course not. I mean, I didn't read the Prophet this morning, so maybe—"
"She's coming back to Hogwarts!" Albus exclaimed, then clapped a hand over his mouth.
I stared at him. "Am I not allowed to know?"
"No, Mum told us to be quiet," Albus whispered.
"Why?"
"Well, there wasn't exactly any place for her to go until school started," James said, a grin slowly spreading across his face, "so she had to come here."
I stared at both of them. "Are you serious?"
"Yes, actually, doubly Sirius," James said, smirking.
"Mum said not to disturb her," Albus said quickly, blocking the guest room door. "She hasn't come out yet, and Mum said we're supposed to leave her alone if she wants to be alone."
I sighed. "Well, that's boring."
"Honestly, we should treat her normally, right?" James shrugged. "I mean, that's what you'd want, right?"
"I don't know, really. I can't even imagine what she's gone through," I admitted.
James glanced at the door. "I can't believe she's still asleep..."
"She probably isn't," Albus said, frowning. "She probably just doesn't want to come out."
Before James or I could respond, there was a small click and the door slowly swung open. Sunlight poured into the dark hall, outlining Wren standing in the doorway, glancing around at us.
For a moment, no one moved. Then, Albus exclaimed, "Wren!" and moved to give her a hug. Wren flinched and pulled away, making Albus stop and frown. "Sorry."
She shook her head. "No, I'm sorry." She glanced down. "I... I just..."
James was smiling kindly at her. "No worries. It's fine. We get it."
Wren shook her head again but didn't say anything. There was an awkward pause as we each tried to think of something to say. Finally, James smiled. "So, the sleeper has awakened."
She smiled slightly, a welcome sight. "I've been awake. I got tired of listening you talking about me."
"Perfect," Albus said. "Maybe don't tell Mum you could hear us, please?"
Wren nodded, her smile returning for a moment.
"So, what would you like to do?" James asked after a minute. "We could give you a tour, if you want. Come on." James led the way downstairs.
The tour was filled with Albus, James, and I attempting to make conversation, cracking more jokes than usual to try to draw a smile out of Wren. She was like a shadow of the person she'd been before. She didn't talk much at all unless we asked her a direct question, and even then it was in as few words as possible. She didn't smile very often, either. Mainly she just followed us and observed everything. I really hoped she'd be back to normal (or as normal as possible) soon.
We were showing off the Quidditch pitch (tossing the Quaffle around a bit to show off how our skills had improved in the past two years) when the Weasleys arrived. Mrs. Potter must have sent Rose out to join us without telling her Wren was there, because she actually came out to see us. I swooped down to where Wren was standing once Rose had reached the pitch.
The only thing Rose said when she saw Wren was, "Oh." That could have meant any number of things, and I refused to go over possibilities in my head. Wren had frozen, tensely staring out at the pitch as Rose cautiously approached us. I noticed James purposely throw the Quaffle off in the opposite direction, possibly to avoid seeing what was coming. He and Al took off after it, leaving me alone to be... Mediator? I didn't even know.
I slipped off the broom I'd been borrowing and walked towards the two girls. Rose looked like she was steeling herself to take a hard exam or something, but before she could say anything, Wren turned to her.
"Rose, I'm so sorry, I swear I didn't want to, and I can't make it right, I know, but..." She sighed and looked down. "I'm sorry."
Rose took a deep breath. "It wasn't you that did it. It was Sulcan. And I don't blame you." She glanced at me, and I smiled encouragingly. "We did boggarts last year, in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Did you know that?"
Wren closed her eyes and shook her head, looking pained.
"You were my boggart. But... It would be different now, I think. It's not you I'm really scared of. It's the people that made you do it."
Slowly, Wren turned to look at Rose. "Really?"
"Really. And I know for sure. There was a boggart in Mum's wardrobe today. She let me face it. And it was your parents." Rose made a face. "I guess maybe you'll think that's offensive..."
"No, it's not," Wren said quietly. "Not at all."
"Well, I completely forgive you for whatever you think you should feel sorry for, all right?" Rose smiled, and looked like she was about to move closer to Wren, but thought better of it.
Wren stared at her, searching her face for any sign of a lie, it seemed like. After a second, she smiled a little. "Thank you."
James flew up just then. "You ladies done with your catching up?"
He tossed the Quaffle at me, and I promptly hurled it back at his head. "You have no tact!"
"You're one to talk!" James grinned and soared higher before I could retaliate.
I glanced at Rose and Wren. "Excuse me for just a moment, please." I hopped on the broom, then set off after James, yelling for Al to come help me.
Through the combined powers of James's sass, my sarcasm, Rose's wit, and Al's jokes, we managed to make things seem almost normal by lunchtime. Wren had warmed up a bit, and we could even get her to laugh if we tried hard enough. Constantly, though, there was a nagging worry at the back of my mind. What if something makes her slip back to the girl at the trial? She had been under a lot of pressure then, sure, and facing life in Azkaban, but I wasn't naive enough to believe that she couldn't fall back to that now.
"Oh, hey, Colette's coming over," James mentioned, glancing at the clock. "Flooing, I think, around one."
"Perfect!" I said, grinning at Wren. "Colette's great."
"But she's also mean," Albus warned.
"She's not mean any more than I am," James said, rolling his eyes.
"She's just blunt, I suppose?" Albus said sarcastically.
"Exactly!"
"Who... Who is she?" Wren's quiet voice cut through their argument like nothing else would have.
"Oh, you don't even know her!" Rose exclaimed, eyes widening. "She transferred from Beauxbatons in second year."
"She can be a bit blunt," I admitted, "but you get used to it. She's not that bad, really."
"Speaking of second year..." James frowned. "You're not going to be a second year, are you?"
Wren shook her head. "My grandmother taught me. While... While I was gone. And I taught myself. I'm ready for fourth year."
James and I shared a look. She hadn't talked about the past two years at all to anyone except Mr. Potter, as far as we knew. It had been a bit of an off-limits topic that morning. Now, I quickly wracked my brain to think of an innocent-sounding question to keep her talking.
Before I could, though, Rose asked, "What extra classes will you take?"
"Um... I don't know." Wren glanced at me. "I don't even know what they are."
"Al and I are doing Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy." I made a face. "I'd suggest skipping that last one."
"You could easily catch up in Care of Magical Creatures," Rose said. "My mum basically wrote out a curriculum for Hagrid, so I could help you catch up on last year if you'd like to do that class. And Arithmancy isn't that hard, really—"
"If you've memorized the Hogwarts library," James cut in. "Arithmancy is the worst. I don't know why Astra and Albus decided to take it, except maybe because they're idiots. Go for Divination. At least you'll get Trelawney for fourth year and you'll get a good laugh."
"Mum says Divination is a wooly subject—" Rose began, but I cut her off.
"Honestly, Muggle Studies would probably be the best. We would've taken it, but I was raised by muggles."
"Or you could do Ancient Runes, with me!" Rose said excitedly. "It's rather difficult, I suppose, but once you—"
"Maybe we should just let Wren decide?" Albus said loudly.
I glanced at Wren, and she did look thoroughly overwhelmed. "Maybe that's a good idea." I smiled.
There was silence for a moment, then James jumped up. "Who wants to play Exploding Snap?"
There was a general concurrence to that idea, so we traipsed out of the kitchen and into the living room. James ran up to get his deck, and returned with Lily and Hugo following him. He seemed quite annoyed, but no one else but Al minded their presence, so they triumphantly plopped down next to Rose and commanded James to let them play as well.
At one o'clock precisely, there was the sound of voices in the kitchen, then footsteps down the hall and into the living room. I jumped up as Colette walked through the doorway, and pulled Wren over to her.
"Wren, this is Colette St. Pierre." Wren gave a faint smile, and I grinned. "Colette, may I finally present Wren Predatel."
Colette raised an eyebrow, studying Wren. "So. Wren. It's about time we met, wouldn't you say?"
"Um..." Wren frowned, but Colette was already continuing.
"I've heard quite a bit about you. Good and bad. More recently good, thanks to Astra."
Wren glanced at me, confused, as Colette continued. "I suppose you haven't told her about your dreams, Astra?"
"When would we have had time—" James started, only to be cut off.
"Even if you'd had a year, I don't think you'd have told her," Colette remarked.
"Now isn't the best time," I said, rolling my eyes. "Later."
"Why?"
Wren seemed surprised she'd spoken, but followed that with, "Why can't I know? About... About whatever this is?"
I glanced at James, Rose, and Al. I couldn't exactly tell her she was too fragile, though honestly, that's what we feared. I wasn't sure what she could handle, and I wasn't ready to push it. Telling her I'd been dreaming about her, especially if what I'd seen was true, would freak her out at the very least. I didn't want to consider other options just yet.
"Well..." James said slowly, "um..."
"Because it's not important," Rose said.
"Right..." Colette rolled her eyes. "I don't care. Tell her whatever you'd like." She walked over to the couch and sat down.
There was an awkward silence for the next few minutes, broken only occasionally when James or I attempted to start a conversation on another topic. Rose made some excuse I didn't catch and followed Lily and Hugo out of the room. Albus was shuffling the deck of cards, stopping only when they blew up in his hands. Wren was studying me silently, and it was very uncomfortable. The only one who seemed at ease was Colette, who had picked up a copy of The Quibbler from the coffee table and was flipping through it with an incredulous look on her face.
Suddenly, a memory popped into my head. At the time, it had completely slipped past me, but Sulcan had said something interesting.
"Wren, who's Stillens?"
Wren tensed. "What?"
"Who's Stillens?"
"How do you—" She quickly closed her mouth and looked down.
"It's just that Sulcan said he would get me. In good time. I like to know who's after me, is all."
Al, Colette, and James all looked confused. I'd never told them about this, because I honestly hadn't remembered it. Wren frowned at me. "You really don't know?"
"It sounds familiar," I admitted.
"Well, it should..." she said quietly. "I thought you would have gone and looked all this up. He... He's my uncle. Great-uncle."
"That's right! Stillens was your grandparents last name!" James exclaimed. Wren nodded.
"So is he the one behind all this?" Colette asked, putting The Quibbler to the side.
Wren tilted her head slightly. "I don't know. Maybe..." She took a deep breath. "Maybe I'll remember if you tell me what these dreams are."
"You're not so bad, are you?" Colette said approvingly, grinning.
I sighed. "Fine... Colette, you're the only one who understands it. Explain."
"Not even I do," Colette said, rolling her eyes. "Basically, she's been dreaming about you."
"W-What?" Wren looked disconcerted.
"Have you heard of Legilimency?" Colette continued. Wren nodded. "Great. I think it's sort of like that, but not really. It's strange."
"She used to dream about Bellatrix Lestrange, before she found out who her dad was," Albus added. "But... Actually, you haven't dreamed about the Blacks since then, have you?"
I shook my head. "That's weird."
"Anyway," Colette said, rolling her eyes, "we aren't totally sure, but we think what she's dreamed has actually happened."
"When you sent that letter second year, warning us to be careful, she dreamed about it," James said, grinning.
"And... And I also dreamed about your uncle, I think, finding out about it..." I smiled sadly. Wren was staring out the window, but she met my gaze for half a second. I got the feeling that she didn't want me to have seen that.
"And the night they found you," Colette continued, "you pulled out of your mum's grasp right before she apparated, right?"
Wren nodded numbly. "What... What else did you see?"
"Well..." I shrugged. "Once, right after you'd left, I saw them asking you questions. About me. And James's Cloak."
Wren nodded. "I didn't answer, I promise."
"I know." I smiled at her.
"Do you know why he wants Astra?" Colette asked quickly.
"No. They only told me what I needed to know."
"Which was...?" James prodded.
Wren shook her head. "What else did you see?"
"Last term, didn't you dream about her parents begging her to tell them about you?" Albus asked.
"Yeah." I smiled. "Thanks for not talking, though I don't know what they wanted to know."
Wren shrugged. "Anything, probably. Was that all?"
No, it wasn't. There was one more dream that I almost didn't want to admit I'd seen. One where her uncle, I had a feeling, had held a wand to her head and forced her to torture an old muggle man. I didn't want to bring it up, let her know I'd seen some of the very worst she'd done.
"Astra, what is it...?"
I forced a smile. "What? Nothing. What are you talking about?"
Wren frowned at me. "Please, Astra. I'd rather know than not."
"Well..." Another memory sprang into my head. "In first year I dreamed that you used the Cruciatus Curse on... your cat... as an eight year old..."
"I never had a cat..." Wren glanced around at the others, who were all staring at me like I was crazy. "And I didn't know the curse. That couldn't have been me."
"Must've been your mum. You look like her, a bit," Albus piped up.
"Lovely." Wren sighed, and turned back to me. "I can handle it, Astra. Tell me. Please..."
I groaned. "You really don't want to hear."
Colette rolled her eyes. "The thing with the old man, is it?" I glared at her, but she ignored me. "She saw your uncle take you to some old muggle's house and force you to torture him."
There was silence for several seconds. Wren dropped her gaze to the floor when I tried to catch her eyes. Her hands were shaking, and I desperately wanted to go give her a hug or something, but I was afraid she would cringe away.
"And you think I don't have tact," James muttered after a moment.
"What? It's the truth," Colette said. "Were you lot planning on lying to her?"
"No!" James glared at her. "But you could show a little sensitivity." Albus stifled his laughter at that in a pillow.
"As if you'd know anything about that," Colette scoffed.
"Hey! Do you mind?" I said, frowning at my friends. "Now's not exactly the time."
James colored immediately. "Sorry. Wren, I wasn't—"
"You're fine," she whispered.
"No, really—"
Wren looked up him, tears threatening to fall. "Please... C-Can we talk about something else?"
"Of course," Albus said, attempting a smile.
"You were going to tell us about Stillens if we told you about the dreams," James said.
"Right..." She took a slow breath. "I don't know much, remember. He's the one orchestrating everything. I don't know what he wants or what he's done, except what you know, that's happened here." She shrugged. "That's about it..."
"Why was he trying to steal my Cloak third year?" James asked, frowning.
"And what were you asking for in first year? What is 'it,' and who is 'he'?" I added.
Wren glanced around at us, looking confused. "You... You actually haven't figured it out yet?"
"Figured what out?"
"He wants the Deathly Hallows."
James, Albus, and I all stared at her, shocked. Why hadn't I seen that before? Of course, there were spells for making yourself invisible. Why would you want a thirteen year old's invisibility cloak unless you knew it was one of the Deathly Hallows?
"I'm not sure exactly which one I was asking for," Wren continued, quietly. "Probably the Elder Wand. I think that's what Sulcan was after too, though I'm not sure."
Before any of us could comment, Colette burst out laughing. "That's ridiculous! That Deathly Hallows are a myth!" As the weight of our raised eyebrows in her direction grew heavier, she lost her momentum. "I mean, they are, aren't they? They can't be real. It's too insane."
"They're very real," James said solemnly. "My dad had them all, at one point."
"He hid the Elder Wand away," Albus listed off, "lost the Resurrection Stone in the Forbidden Forest, and gave the Cloak to James."
"Why on earth would he give it to you, if it was that special?" Colette asked, still in denial. "That Cloak can't be..."
"But it is," James said. "It's been passed down for generations. And it's always stayed in perfect condition. How many other invisibility cloaks can go through centuries without the spells wearing off?"
Of course, no other Cloak was like that, and Colette probably knew that. Still, she shook her head. "This is mad..."
"Does he know where the Elder Wand is?" James asked, turning back to Wren.
"I don't think so. It's not at Hogwarts, though, I'm sure. Sulcan probably searched every inch before he got caught."
"The only people who'd know are Dad and Mum, I bet," Albus said, frowning.
It was all I could do not to blurt out that I knew exactly where the Elder Wand was. I could go see it anytime I wanted, as well, because it was in my bank vault, hidden away until Mr. Potter died years from then and its power was broken.
"And the Resurrection Stone could be literally anywhere in the Forbidden Forest," James continued. "No way he'd find it."
"Isn't there a sign for the Deathly Hallows?" Colette asked suddenly. She seemed paler than normal.
"Yeah, here." James hopped up and crossed over to a bookshelf. He pulled down a book and tossed it to Colette.
"The Quest for the Deathly Hallows, by Xenophilius Lovegood..." Colette frowned at the image on the cover, a triangle with a circle inscribed in it, with a line down the middle. "Interesting."
"Why?" James asked, taking the book back. "You knew about that, right?"
"Just wanted to check something."
"What?"
"It's not important." Colette turned to Wren. "Anything else about Stillens worth noting?"
Wren shrugged a bit. "I don't know him, really. The first time I saw him was Christmas break of first year..." She took a steadying breath. "He looked up to Voldemort, I heard. He hates muggles. He probably came here because Americans don't care so much about being purebloods, and he would have better luck getting followers here." She shrugged again. "I told you. I don't know much."
"No, that's great," James said, frowning in concentration. "I wonder... Do you think he's the one that made your dad kill all those muggles years ago?"
"Considering she was a baby, James, I don't know how she'd know that." I rolled my eyes. "It's a safe bet, though, right?"
"Probably. I really don't know."
"Hey," Albus said, standing up, "let's go do something else."
We spent the rest of the day walking around the garden, catching Wren up on everything we could think of that had happened over the past two years, including James's relationship issues (to his annoyance). Colette demonstrated her only two spells that didn't gouge your eyes out (much to James and Al's horror, because they thought the Trace was on your wand, not your location). We informed Wren of all the terrors of our Charms professor, Elaine Haverna, and speculated on who our Potions professor might be.
"I hope Haverna is the new Slytherin Head of House," James commented at one point. "She hates them as much as she hates everyone. Wouldn't that be a laugh?"
"No!" Lily exclaimed, crossing her arms. "That's my House! That wouldn't be a laugh!"
James was going to say something nasty back, but Peregrin the cat hissed at him first and he decided not to comment.
I was quite sad to leave that evening. I was a bit jealous, too, because now I knew James and Al would be with Wren for the rest of the summer. The only thing I had to look forward to was going to spend the last week of holidays with the Malfoys. Which would be such great fun. And all the while three of my closest friends would be together, probably with Colette most of the time. I was in a very sour mood by the time I'd gotten ready for bed that night.
This mood was gone in the morning, and didn't appear again until the day before I was to leave for the Malfoys. Partly, this was because Aunt Andromeda let me invite the Potters and Wren over a few days later (because that was the polite thing to do) and we'd met up with them in Diagon Alley, and partly because the Malfoys wouldn't be too bad if I could just avoid Ciara. A big if, but I ignored it until I had to face it.
The morning of the twenty-fifth, though, I contemplated faking a serious illness. I hadn't seen my cousins at all during the holidays, because they'd been in France, but I hadn't been sorry about it. Now, though, Aunt Narcissa had insisted I come for the week to make up for it. A whole week with people I barely knew (besides Scorpius).
"Hey, if it's that bad, I'll come get you, okay?" Teddy said at breakfast that morning.
I bit my lip. "Did I look that upset?"
"You were muttering about making yourself sick," Victoire said, raising an eyebrow at me. "We just assumed this visit is what you were on about."
"Scorp isn't too terrible, now. And I bet Rose'll come over at least a few times. Young love," Teddy said, winking at Victoire. "It really takes me back to my years at Hogwarts."
"Oh, yes, it does, doesn't it?" Victoire smiled at Teddy. I couldn't help grinning too. They were adorable, even if they were family.
"So, how am I getting to the Malfoys?" I asked after a while. I hoped it would be the Floo Network, because then I could make myself choke on the ashes and maybe even throw up, and then surely Aunt Andromeda would let me stay home for another day.
"Uncle Draco is coming by the pick you up sometime this morning," Teddy said, shrugging.
"Wait, he's driving?"
"Cars aren't that hard to come by in the wizarding world, Astra, don't sound so surprised." Teddy stood up, bopped me on the nose with his newspaper, then dodged as I swiped at him. "See you, kiddo! We're coming for your birthday, and I'll come say goodbye at the Hogwarts Express!" He kissed Victoire, then stepped out the door. A moment later, I heard the pop of him disapparating.
I wandered upstairs, checked my paper and ink supply (I'd probably spend a lot of it ranting about Ciara to James and Al), but it was all ready, along with everything else. Eventually, I simply sat down at my desk, seriously intending to finish a History of Magic essay. I must have dozed off instead, because it seemed like only second laters Victoire was shouted upstairs for me and there was exactly one new word on the paper ("So,").
"Astra! Mr. Malfoy's here!" Victoire's voice carried up the stairs. I quickly shoved everything back into my trunk, grabbed my owl Anastasia's cage, and attempted to drag everything out the bedroom door. I hadn't even made it past the wardrobe when someone cleared their throat behind me.
I whirled around to see Scorpius, and grinned. "Hey, mind helping me?"
"Great to see you, too," Scorpius said, rolling his eyes. Still, he stepped forward and took one end of the trunk. I grabbed the other, and we carefully carried it out the door.
"Are your sisters here?" I asked casually as we started down the hall.
"No," Scorpius said over his shoulder. "Elcie wasn't awake when we left this morning. And Ciara... Well..."
"Brilliant," I said, before accidentally dropping my end of the trunk, almost on my foot. "Hey, your dad should come get this. With magic."
Scorpius paused, then nodded slowly. "Not a bad idea."
We left the trunk there, and hurried downstairs with Ana's cage. Mr. Malfoy was standing by the kitchen door, looking quite out of place. Aunt Andromeda was asking him all the polite questions about his family and their holiday.
"Father?" Scorpius interrupted his dad in the middle of a quick run-through of where they stayed in France, which seemed to appall Aunt Andromeda (not that Scorp noticed). "Could you get Astra's trunk?" he continued. "It's rather heavy."
"Oh, yes, right." Mr. Malfoy smiled slightly at Aunt Andromeda. "Excuse me."
We led him back upstairs, and he easily levitated the trunk down the steps and outside to the car, leaving us in the kitchen. Scorpius plopped down at the table. "Good morning, Aunt Dromeda." He winked at me. "You get it? Auntdromeda? Like her name, but Aunt?"
"Witty," I said sarcastically. Aunt Andromeda was chuckling, though.
Mr. Malfoy cleared his throat from behind me. Scorpius and I turned around. "Are you ready to go?" he asked.
I nodded, then turned back to Aunt Andromeda. "Bye... I'll see you on my birthday. And King's Cross?"
"Of course," she said, smiling. I gave her a quick hug, then followed Scorpius and his dad out the door.
The drive wasn't terribly long. Scorpius spent most of it telling me about their holiday, and asking me about Rose and the trial (because even though he'd heard what had happened in the paper, that wasn't like actually being there). I assured him that Rose was fine, and she hadn't been too upset by the trial, much to his relief.
By the time we'd reached Malfoy Manor, I'd forgotten my dread. Ciara for a week couldn't be all that bad. After all, we'd survived being Potions partners for several weeks. And it wasn't like I would have to spend a lot of time with her. I could hang out with Elcie and Scorpius.
We pulled up to an enormous manor house, and I barely noticed my jaw dropping. The four story structure rose high above me, and appeared quite old and stately. I turned to Scorpius, who was chuckling. "It's not that spectacular."
"Right, and I'm not a Gryffindor," I said, rolling my eyes.
Mr. Malfoy had already pulled my trunk out of the car, so we followed him up the front steps and into the manor.
Scorpius led me upstairs, and I tried to pay attention so I wouldn't get lost later. It was difficult, though, with all the paintings to stare at and magnificence surrounding me. When Scorpius ushered me into a bedroom, I had absolutely no idea how to get back downstairs from there, let alone find anything.
"Your room," Scorpius said, glancing around it. It was huge, with a large canopy bed and a wardrobe that looked like it could hold all of Narnia in it. The ceiling was covered in a painting of the night sky, and the stars seemed to be twinkling.
"Hey, Astra," Scorpius said, waiting a little impatiently by the door. "My room is just down the hall," he point, and I hurried over to see where, "and Elcie's is next to yours, and Ciara's is down there."
"This huge house, and you all are on the same hallway?"
"Of course." Scorpius raised an eyebrow, grinning. "We're a very close family."
"Where's everyone else?" Mr. Malfoy had left my trunk inside my room and disappeared. It was very quite here, so I had no idea where anyone was.
"Probably in the drawing room. Come on."
We walked downstairs, Scorpius commenting on the paintings (and sometimes getting very rude replies). He didn't know who most of them were, but he could tell me all about the nicknames he and Ciara had given them, and the outlandish stories they'd come up with when they were younger. None of the paintings seemed to appreciate the walk down memory lane.
We reached the drawing room eventually (and I realized that once again I hadn't been paying attention and wouldn't be able to find my way back). Scorpius paused outside the doors. "All right. Just don't duel Ciara, okay?"
I glared at him. "Merlin, Scorpius, you think I'll walk in there and just hex her?"
Scorpius shrugged, a smile escaping. "Wouldn't put it past you. Don't worry, I told her the same thing. Come on."
We walked into the drawing room, and I got a quick glance of a huge fireplace and several large armchairs before Elcie drew my attention. She had hopped up when we'd walked in, and was actually bouncing in front of us, smiling widely. "You're here!"
"Hey, Elcie," I said, smiling. I'd only met my cousin once, but I already loved her. Elcie had barely given me time to answer all her questions the last time we'd met, and now she looked like only the fact that I'd just arrived was keeping her from doing same thing now. She was a carbon copy of her older siblings (themselves the spitting image of their father), and adorable. Part of that may have been because she didn't wear the glare her sister currently had. Ciara was sitting on the far side of the room, frowning at me over the top of her book.
"Astra, how lovely to see you again," Mrs. Malfoy said, standing up to greet me. "I trust you've had a good holiday?"
"Better than normal," I said, smiling a bit. They couldn't know how true that really was.
"Perfect. I hope this week will be even better," she said, giving me a one-armed hug.
For the most part, it was. All three of my cousins were into Quidditch, and they had a large pitch in the garden. Though we rarely prevailed on Ciara to join us, Elcie, Scorpius, and I had quite a lot of fun just tossing the Quaffle around. Mr. Malfoy even joined us a few evenings, which was fun, because I hadn't had a challenging opponent for Seeker all summer until then. Of course, Ciara was also rather good, but I didn't mind not playing with her.
When we weren't outside on our brooms, Scorpius and Elcie showed me several interesting features of their home. There was a rather scary room of dusty medieval torture equipment that hadn't been touched in centuries. Another room was full of enchanted magical instruments that could play themselves if ordered to. They only played classical music, unfortunately, or I would have tried to introduce my cousins to some of the more popular muggle songs that Mara Lewis had used to listen to.
I managed to avoid Ciara for most of the week, to my relief. Whenever we had to be in the same room, she ignored me, so I returned the favor. Several times, Elcie commented on how weird she was acting. Apparently, this reclusiveness she was displaying wasn't normal, and Elcie hadn't quite figured out our loathing for each other.
On my birthday, Teddy, Victoire, and Aunt Andromeda came over for dinner. It was more formal a dinner than anything I'd ever experienced (besides the wedding last Christmas), but Teddy managed to keep the mood light and the laughter rolling. He brought me an update straight from the Potters (Wren had quite agreed with Al and James that they couldn't trust owls to not be intercepted), that all was well and my friends were looking forward to seeing me on the first.
I got much the same message that night when I got up to my room to find two owls sitting on my windowsill. They each carried packages, though one was much bigger than the other, and I quickly let the birds in. One owl I recognized as the Potters. The other I didn't know at all, but had a pretty good guess that it was from Colette, since I'd gotten my Hogwarts letter ages ago. I opened that one first. There was a card lying on top.
Happy Birthday, Astra!
Finally fourteen. You're about as old as most of the third years, you realize? Anyway, I hope you like your present, even if it is a book (I thought it was very interesting, but you tend to disregard history, so who knows?). I thought you might like to have some background on America since that's where the Predatels are from. Have fun with the Malfoys, if you can, and if you can't just don't hex Ciara in front of her parents.
Love, Colette.
I glanced down at the book in my lap, still half-covered in paper. It was indeed a book about the history of the American wizards. I flipped through it, then tossed it behind me onto the bed. If I ever needed to know something, I'd read that. For now, the Potters' package looked much more interesting. I pulled the paper off to discover five smaller packages that tumbled out onto my bed. There was a single letter, though I could tell many people had written on it.
It started off with Albus.
Dear Astra,
Happy birthday! I hope you're not having too bad of a time at the Malfoys. Rose just hit me and said you wouldn't have a bad time with Scorpius, so I guess that's true. Hope Ciara's not being too awful, at least.
Rose had pulled the paper away, it seemed, because the handwriting changed.
Don't listen to Albus or James or they'll make you start thinking the Malfoys are all bad, though you of all people should know Scorpius is great. I mean think about second year! Anyway, happy birthday, I'm sure you're having a wonderful time, and tell Scorpius I said hello!
She'd passed the paper on to James next.
Happy fourteenth! I remember when I was fourteen... Good times... Anyway, tell Scorpius I can't believe he's cheating on Rose with you. Merlin, she just hit me too! Tell Scorpius his girlfriend is abusive! And tell Ciara she can go ju
Someone had forcibly taken the paper from James before he could finish, and what I assumed was Lily's handwriting was next.
Happy birthday!!!! You're so old now. I can't wait till I'm fourteen because Mum said that I could get a new broom for my fourteenth birthday. I've never had a new broom before, just hand-me-downs from Al and James. But anyway happy birthday and I'll let Wren write now okay?
Wren's familiar handwriting came next.
Happy birthday, Astra! I hope you're having a wonderful time. Is this normally how the Potters write letters? Can't wait to see you!
Love, Wren and Albus and James and Rose and Lily!
They'd each signed it, and I smiled, imagining them all fighting over this one sheet of paper. I set it down, a warm feeling in my chest, then turned to the packages.
The first one I picked up had "From Albus" written on it. I opened it to a small, brown bag and a note. This is a mokeskin bag Dad gave me a long time ago. If you put something in it, you'll be the only one who's able to take it out. It's very useful if you're trying to hide James's gobstones or something. Anyway, I hope you like it.
I held the little bag up, smiling at it. I didn't really know what I'd put in it. For now, I tucked the letter they'd written in it, then opened my trunk and rummaged through it. A flash of gold caught my eye, and I pulled out the locket Wren had given to me for Christmas first year. I placed that on the bag as well, then turned back to the other packages.
Rose had sent a book (How to Get the Most out of Your Magical Education) that I promptly stowed in my trunk. Lily sent a few pictures she must've taken a few of the days I'd been over there, because they were of me and the Potters and Wren. I put one, where all four of us were completely unaware of the camera and even Wren was laughing, in the bag Albus had given me.
James and Wren together had sent a broom servicing kit, complete with handle polish and tail-twig clippers. There was also a miniature Nimbus 5000, my broom. It was very nice, though Lily's pictures were probably my favorite presents.
All together, the week with the Malfoys wasn't bad at all. I wasn't particularly sad as I went to bed on August 31st, of course, but it was nice to have people my own age around. Nice to have family my own age. Nice to have family.
~~~~
My lands, this chapter took a full two weeks to write! I'm not even sure why. It's not because it's long, because I wrote over three quarters of it in one day...
Question of the Day: What is your favorite ship from the original series, and why? Why is it better than any other ship either of those people are a part of?
Vote and comment! I feel like that question could start wars, honestly...
~Ellie