Chapter Eleven: Astoria
December 1996
"Honestly, Daphne, this is a tad bit too much." Astoria announced as she pushed the curtain to the side and stepped out to reveal herself in an awfully puffy pink dress. It was corset-lined and tight to the bone and fell into a huge puff. She looked like a non-blonde version of Marie Antoinette which was both repulsive and slightly offensive. "You can't possibly have me go there in this? It's just a small get-together, not my wedding day, for the love of Salazar."
"Oh, alright! Merlin, you do look awful in it. Yikes. Let me find something else!" Daphne screeched as she began rummaging through what appears to be two piles of dresses she had unhinged for her to wear.
They had been in Gladrags Wizardwear in Hogsmeade for what felt like hours now. Astoria hardly remembered even having lunch as they must have spent so much time in here. It was a miracle she was still alive after being trapped in one tight dress after another.
It had been two weeks since the Pansy incident. Well, she liked calling it an incident because anything remotely involving Pansy Parkinson felt as though it was disaster beyond words. When she told Daphne what Pansy said about her being engaged to Draco "before they were even born", her sister merely waved the idea off by saying, "She's just trying to get a row out of you. No young pure-blood gets engaged before they're even born. It's uncanny and absolutely disgraceful, not to mention ridiculously desperate. I bet it was Pansy's mum's idea."
But even if it were true that she'd just been trying to fluster her, Astoria found it hard to believe that Draco was in any way, available to other girls. She'd seen the way the two have ruled the school when they became Prefects last year – abusing their powers like an odd couple. It occurred to her so lately that she had been involved in a sort of flirtationship — as Daphne would like to call it — with Draco. She felt sick to her stomach.
He was engaged and she'd gone through the thought of actually imagining something between them.
Astoria's revulsion was interrupted by Daphne shoving an emerald dress into her arms.
"Try that one on!" Daphne squealed excitedly as jumped up and down. "Go on! Go on!"
"Alright, alright!" Astoria shook her head helplessly at her sister before entering the changing room and doing her best to get the menace of a puffed dress off.
As she undid the strings of her corset, she asked aloud, "So have you said yes to Blaise already?"
"Tori, if I said yes to him, I'd be joining you in the fruitful attempt of trying to find the perfect dress for the party now." Daphne said as a matter of fact. "No, I haven't. And will you please come off it on that?"
"Why do you push him away so much?" Astoria questioned with a sigh of a relief as her chest loosened from the corset before shoving the whole dress off her. "It's obvious he likes you, Daph. He seems quite genuine about it. I know mum and dad don't want you to go anywhere near him, but... well, a little rebellion won't hurt a bit."
"You're just saying that because you've given yourself the full liberty of snogging with Draco Malfoy." Daphne asserted from behind the curtain. "I'll have you know that mum and dad don't want you anywhere near him, and yet here you are – tutoring him so willingly like the little school girl who'd always dreamed of being remotely close to her crush."
"I'm not snogging him! And I don't see him that way anymore, I've told you that about a hundred times now." She told her sister heatedly, her cheeks flushing from the memory of her almost actually snogging him had a certain professor not interrupted them.
After the memory, she tried to distract herself by taking the emerald dress and slipping it on gracefully. "Also, I'll have you know that I was blindsided by Professor Slughorn. I hadn't the faintest idea of who I was going to tutor. I don't exactly have the foresight of seeing Draco be one of such troubled students in potions. And really, we are far over from discussing that man. You promised you'd never bring him up."
"Well, I can't help it if I'm defensive." Her sister grumbled. "There's a reason mum and dad don't want me to be with Blaise, Tori."
"Oh yeah?" Astoria inquired as she adjusted the flow-y dress. She looked up to the mirror and was surprised to find that she loved it. In fact, she loved it so much that she squealed in delight and twirled around in it childishly.
"What is it?!" Daphne howled before drawing the curtain up to the side to reveal her.
Her sister's face lit up like the sun as she covered her mouth with her hand dramatically, the other on her chest. She heard a small sob escape the blonde's lips before she placed her hands on her shoulders. "You look... you look so beautiful, Tori. Oh gods, I think I'm gonna cry."
The apples of Astoria's cheeks tinged in pink at her sister's compliment. She did look quite nice in it. It was a light, emerald dress; its fabric flowed down to her knees just as easily as she moved in it. The dress alone was very simple, with small puffs on her shoulders. The lovely ribbon wrapped around her abdomen accentuated her hourglass figure quite well. In the simplicity of it all, she felt beautiful.
"I bet Draco's regretting every little terrible thing he's said or done to you." Daphne shook her head with a sly smirk on her lips. "If he sees you in that, he'll be all over you before you could say Nox."
Astoria couldn't help but roll her eyes at this. "Don't be ridiculous."
Daphne hummed softly as she examined the dress by poking at a few of her body parts and testing the fluidity of the fabric's flow. When she finally looked up from her inspection, Astoria was surprised to find tears rolling down her sister's cheeks.
"Daph, what's wrong?" Astoria asked her softly just as her sister scrambled off to sit on one of the lounge chairs. She followed her and sat next to her before taking the blonde's hand in hers. "Daph, it's just a dress."
Her sister sniffed at this. "I-it's not the dress I'm crying about. Well, partly. Though, not really fully. It's just that..."
Astoria's brows furrowed worriedly before she squeezed her sister's hand. "What is it? You can tell me anything, Daph."
"I didn't tell you before because I didn't know how. I thought maybe you'd just find out in Christmas when mum would announce it during the party she's set up." Daphne croaked as she looked away from her, looking rather ashamed. "It was in the... in the last week of November. You've barely spoken to me because of the letter and I wanted to tell you so bad but you were so mad."
Her stomach dropped in sheer guilt of this. "Daph, I'm so sorry. I know it was a bit foolish to ignore you because of such a—"
"No, no, you don't have to apologize for anything. Don't you ever apologize for feeling, Tori." The blonde shook her head frightfully. "Well, anyway... the reason why I couldn't say yes to Blaise even when... when I really wanted to. You know I do, right?"
Astoria nodded eagerly as she beckoned for her sister to go on.
"I'm bloody mad about him." Daphne sighed wistfully, just as Astoria produced a hanky from her nearby robes and began to dab it at her sister's wet cheeks. "Mum sent me an owl that they... our families, that is... are going to announce my engagement to Theodore Nott next year."
This was more than a shock to Astoria. Not only was it a shock, but it was an absolute outrage. The only reason the Greengrass stood out among the Sacred Twenty-Eight was because their father refused to have his two daughters married off unwillingly to other pure-bloods. They can marry whoever they wished as long as it was a pure-blood or at least a half-blood. It was one of the only things that made life more comfortable in the manor – no forced marriages unlike the other dynasty-crazed pure-blood families.
Astoria wasn't sure whether to believe this or not, but if it frightened her sister so much to the point of drawing tears – then it must be. At this instant, she pulled her sister towards her in a tight hug; causing Daphne to now bawl her eyes out. A couple of bystanders in the shop stared at them oddly, but they passed off awkwardly.
"How could she?" Astoria whispered horrifically as she pulled away from her sister gently. "How could she do this? Doesn't she know? Dad's told her a thousand times that she's not allowed to do that. She can't."
"Oh, Tori, that's the problem." Daphne sobbed breathlessly as she dabbed at her eyes timidly. "It was dad who set up the engagement with Amelia Nott, Theo's aunt. Mum just sent off the news to me herself. If it makes you feel any better, she wasn't quite happy about it."
Astoria shook her head in denial, her eyes now as wide as saucers. No. He couldn't have.
"But why?" She asked hoarsely, now feeling fresh tears brim her own eyes. "Daddy would never. Daph, he would never. He loves us too much to do such a—"
The blonde choked considerably as she rubbed her now red nose. "I think it's got something to do with the Dark Lord returning. I don't know. But mum said that other pure-blood families are running out of pairing their sons and daughters off before a war breaks. I think they're making sure that whatever the result of the war; they would still have heirs to their family names. It's... it's probably only a matter of time before daddy finds you your own fiancé, Tori."
"No." Astoria hissed firmly as she squeezed her sister's hands a little tighter. "I won't have it. We won't have it. We can talk dad out of this. I'm not having you engaged to a man you don't love, Daph. Especially not to Theodore Nott, of all people. By Salazar... is that why you've been hanging around with him all this month?"
Daphne bobbed her head heavily before meeting her gaze. "Please don't tell Blaise. I can't bear it if he found out."
"Well, he's going to find out at one point, Daphne. His family might not be in the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but he's just as much in it as any other pure-blood." Astoria said miserably.
"There's a storm coming, Tori." Daphne sniffed as she looked out the window. "A war. Things are changing out there. It's just like the last time... but I fear it'd be just as worst or even more than the first."
Astoria wasn't sure if her sister was talking about what supposedly could be another war. Though she had a feeling she was as she looked out the window, the harsh cold winds of the December winter whirling about. Her sister was right. Things are changing, and they terrified her even more as the days went on.
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The night was young when Astoria made her way for the sixth floor to where Professor Slughorn's Christmas party was being held in his enormous office. Her emerald dress, probably the best dress she's ever been given the liberty to wear, shimmered in the light of the moon beautifully. Her long black hair was tied up in an elegant bun adorned with jewels and gems of many sorts, a rare work done by her sister Daphne. To compliment her up-do, Daphne had leant her some emerald tear-drop earrings and necklace.
Being all dressed up tonight made her feel confident; it made her feel beautiful, which was an occurrence she hardly felt whilst being overshadowed by her elder sister.
As soon as she arrived at the sixth floor, she saw her date standing there, waiting for her. Well, her date not so much as her friend, really.
Blaise Zabini was spruced up in emerald robes to compliment her dress as they had discussed just yesterday. In the space of saving her sister the devastation of having to see Blaise with another girl and her going to the party alone, she and Blaise decided to go as friends. It truly surprised her how Blaise was extremely reluctant in bringing another girl. He must really care about Daphne enough to either go to the party with her or not at all.
"Wow, Tori." Blaise chuckled as he offered his arm and she took it gratefully. "If Draco could see you now."
"Well, he's not here now, is he?" Astoria asked him gently, gracing him a soft smile as she adjusted her little emerald necklace. "Shall we?"
At this, she and Blaise made their way up to the office, her high heels clacking loudly against the stone pavement. The sound of cheery voices and music grew louder as they entered the opulent room that was Professor Slughorn's office.
It looked as if they were inside a huge tent, with silver and emerald droppings distinctively high up the ceilings. The sound of ornate music drifted in an upbeat tune throughout the entire room. Servers in white robes and gloves moved through the crowd with trays of miniscule food in hand; a number of house-elves instantly refilling the buffet and trays with their own elf magic.
Everything seemed to be in full swing as they weaved their way through the crowd. Within it were Slug Club alumnus and their guests. And pointedly, she recognized Hermione Granger in the crowd with a blonde boy whose name she knew not of. Then she saw the Carrow twins, Ginny Weasley and Dean Thomas. And expectedly, there was Harry Potter with her friend, Luna Lovegood.
The whole room felt rather stuffy but nonetheless cheerful. When they finally found Professor Slughorn, Astoria was rather impressed with the old man's apparel. It was what Daphne would call chic, but for older people – a combination of a tasseled velvet hat and crimson robes.
"Oh, Mr. Zabini! And Ms. Greengrass! Each other's guests now, are you? I certainly hoped you would have asked someone outside the club." Professor Slughorn gushed as he sloshed his glass of mead distractedly. "No matter, no matter! You both look remarkably dashing. Yes, indeed. Zabini, might I introduce you to Eldred Worple. Eldred?"
At the call of his name, a man she presumed would have been Eldred walked over to them. He was a small, bespectacled man with wavy licorice hair. Eldred shook hands with Blaise and kissed the back of Astoria's hand.
Suddenly, just as Eldred spoke, she felt Professor Slughorn's large hand lay on her shoulder.
"And Ms. Greengrass, I believe you're aware of your own aunt, yes?" The professor asked her.
"My own aunt?" Astoria asked in bewilderment as she unlooped her arm from Blaise briefly and taking a glass of mead from a passing server. "Professor?"
"Now, where is that woman—" Slughorn muttered under his breath as he stood on his toes, looking about the crowd until his eyes widened. "Ah, there she is! Cressida!"
Astoria choked on her drink as she pulled the mead away from her. She looked up immediately to find the slender figure of Cressida Shafiq walking up to them in an elegant, mermaid-style blue dress. Her dark as night hair was splayed in perfect waves, moving glamorously as she walked. When her aunt's pale green eyes moved towards the sight of her, her face lit up considerably.
"Oh, sweet Merlin," Her aunt said aloud as she covered her mouth as if to hide her shock as she slowly made her way towards Astoria. "Tori, oh, sweet Merlin. Tori, is that you?"
She was just as bewildered as her as she too began to walk up to her aunt. It's only been four or five years, but it felt like a lifetime. Astoria was still remarkably finding it hard to believe that her favorite aunt was standing right in front of her. It was probably the best Christmas gift anyone could ever possibly give her.
Aunt Cress reached out her well-manicured hands and placed them gently against Astoria's cheeks. The blonde's eyes welled up and a small tear rolled down her lightly brushed cheeks. "Astoria, my gods, you look so beautiful. Oh, for goodness' sake, beautiful doesn't even begin to cover it. I—"
But before her aunt could go on, Astoria flung herself unceremoniously onto her aunt. Tears sprung from her eyes as she began to sob a little loudly than needed, but the warmth of her aunt Cress's hold stifled some of her cries. People looked about them curiously, some seemed to smile at them but she didn't care. It was a reunion, after all.
"I've missed you." Astoria sobbed as she pulled away and saw that her aunt was crying as well. She looked down ashamed this time as she went on. "I'm so sorry, Aunt Cress. I tried to owl you. I did everything, every little possible loophole just to send you a letter but I couldn't. Mum wouldn't let me. Eventually I just gave up but... I'm... I'm so sorry."
"Oh, Tori, sweetie, no," Cress cooed at her softly as she held her back at arm's length. "You do not need to apologize. It's my fault, with that blasted row with your mum. I had to leave the country, dear. But I never quite gave up on sending you letters even though I knew your mum burned all of it to ashes."
"How did you get here? How did you—" Astoria found herself blubbering as she tried to wipe the tears off her eyes with her white hanky.
"Your friend, Luna, actually." Cress shook her head impressively. "I do believe she's here. She sent me a letter explaining how she had asked her father to help her find me. The girl contacted my landlord, therefore alerting me and... I was just so excited. Then I've heard from the Daily Prophet that Slughorn's come back to Hogwarts and I knew the old man liked throwing one of those fancy Christmas parties of his for his select Slug Club members. I was in the Slug Club in my days."
"You were?" She asked in astonishment. "You never told me!"
"I hardly thought it was relevant at that time." Her aunt waved it off as she began to wipe her tears off with a hanky. "Naturally, I got an invite as an alumnus. It was quite the perfect set-up: I go to Slughorn's party and sneak off into the night to meet you and Daphne. But by Rowena, it got better, didn't it? I knew you had the smarts to get into a prestigiously intellectual club like this, Tori. You really do fit your part of being in Ravenclaw. I'm so proud of you."
Astoria beamed as she listened to her aunt, but at the mention of being sorted into Ravenclaw; she pursed her lips and looked away awkwardly. "Oh, well... I'm not in Ravenclaw like you've been at, Aunt Cress."
"What?" Cress asked, bewildered. "You, not in Ravenclaw? But you're smarter than half the people in this room! Ay, that bloody sorting hat got you into Slytherin, huh? I should have known by the color of your dress – which is just gorgeous, by the way. But... not in Ravenclaw?"
She shook her head, now more ashamed than ever of her house. "All Greengrasses went into Slytherin, aunt Cress. I asked the hat to place me there, even though it wanted me in Ravenclaw. I didn't... I didn't want to disappoint mum and dad. I felt like I've already done that all summer before Hogwarts, with my trying to send you letters and all."
Her aunt's face fell worriedly briefly before it lit up. "Oh, sweetie. I can't imagine what that might have been like. Well, what's important is that you're here in Hogwarts – there's literally no safer place."
"I have so much to tell you, and so much to ask." Astoria went on desperately but her enthusiasm hardly dropped an octave. "How long are you staying?"
"For as long as I bloody want to. I'll be staying at Hogsmeade for the rest of your school year, and your mum can shove her blasphemous ties up her arse. I'm not leaving now that the old bastard, You-Know-Who's back; not while my nieces are here, at least." Cress explained rather strongly before grinning. "Now, loads to tell. Who's your date?"
Somehow, she had completely forgotten about the fact that she actually went here with Blaise. Astoria introduced him to her friend, but pressed that Blaise was Daphne's to keep. Then when Blaise was out of earshot, she went on a barrage about her father perpetuating an arranged marriage between Daphne and Theodore Nott. Her aunt, apparently, was far more outraged than her.
They've spent the majority of the party catching up over glasses upon glasses of mead. But as soon as they had gotten down to the more sensitive topics, aunt Cress leveled the drinks up to shots of Firewhiskey. It was a cheap drink that could destabilize her in a snap, but in the event of finally seeing her aunt again; she went with the flow. After three shots, she just about lost it. Her head started to spin.
Just when she and her aunt were in the middle of discussing her aunt's new beau and that she was already on her thirteenth shot of Firewhiskey, she looked up to find Argus Filch dragging Draco Malfoy into the room.
Astoria blinked at least five times to confirm her heady suspicion. The music stopped and everyone looked towards them inquisitively. She blinked again, and only when Filch started to talk did she begin to believe what she was saying.
"Professor Slughorn," wheezed Filch, his eyes bulging considerably. "I discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party and to have been delayed in setting out. Did you issue him with an invitation?"
Draco pulled himself free from Filch's grip furiously. "All right, I wasn't invited! I was trying to gatecrash, happy?"
Astoria stared at him distractedly as Filch spoke. He looked even paler than he normally was; his skin almost a grayish-tinge. There were also dark shadows under his solemn grey eyes. Maybe it was just her haziness that he didn't look quite himself, but she doubted it.
When was the last time she saw Draco? The last time she truly looked him from head to toe? She might have one too many nights ago when she found the common room nearly in ashes with just Blaise and Draco standing there, but she didn't risk it. After all, he was the one that pushed her away. She was only ever just obliging to what he wanted. She stopped talking about him and relinquished herself from thinking about him.
Now, here he bloody was; in all his Malfoy glory. She'd be a fool to deny it when she felt her heart begin to drum harshly against his chest. Bloody hell, he looked terrible – almost too ill-looking even. But he was still the most attractive man she'd ever lay eyes on. And those lips... by Salazar, how close she was to kissing those lips of his. Then she suddenly remembered the intoxicating smell of vanilla and tart apples. At this, she licked her lips absent-mindedly.
"Hey," She heard Blaise whisper behind her.
Astoria nearly jumped but resisted the urge, for she didn't want everyone's attention to waver from Draco to her. She turned around and glared at him before she slurred out, "Vhat do yew want, Zabinikiles?"
"Zabiniki—what?" Blaise raised a brow at her in confusion before his lips contorted into a wide grin. "My, my, little Greengrass. I'd never thought I'd see the day. You're bloody drunk."
"Shuv off, you—" Astoria pointed at him wheezily as her head spun. "I'm listening to a very important conversation! How dare you interrupt—"
"You mean the conversation that just left?" He asked as he pointed towards the entrance of Slughorn's office. "They've gone."
"Gone?!" She shrieked aloud as she whirled to find Snape taking Draco out of the room. At this, she frowned. "I wonder what they're up to."
"You wouldn't want to know." Blaise shook his head as he looped his arm around hers. "Let's get back to the dormitories now, yeah? You're extremely smashed, little Greengrass. And your aunt... well, just as considerably smashed."
"Ey?" Astoria asked dubiously, and when her friend jutted his chin to their left – she was surprised to find her aunt snogging a random man. He looked to be about her aunt's age, but she's never seen him before in her life. "Oy, you! That's my aunt you git—"
"Ay, off we go now, yeah?" said Blaise as he pulled Astoria out just in time to when she was about to march over to where her aunt's lips were being manhandled by a stranger. Astoria struggled against him, but due to her so little figure and compared to his strong build – he had dragged her off as far away from her aunt as possible with very little effort.
"Blaise, ger orf me!" Astoria howled as she tried to wriggle her way out of Blaise's hold. "My aunt – I harv to—let go, you!"
"You can't even form complete sentences." Her friend chuckled lowly as they pushed their way out of the crowd. When they've gone out of the crowded office, Blaise put her down. He lowered himself to meet her eyes. "You alright there?"
"Shorver off, Zabines!" She squealed before she started running off towards what she'd hoped would be the direction where Draco and Snape went.
"Oy, come back here, little Greengrass!"
Astoria heard Blaise's calls after her, but with her nimble little feet – she ran as fast as she possibly could down the dark and seemingly cold corridor. Despite Blaise being taller and assumingly faster than her, he was really terrible at catching up. Or was it just her head whoozing about, drunk and patented with sheer drunkenness? She had no idea where she was off to but she knew she had one little goal in mind.
Find Draco and Snape. Find Draco. Find Draco and smack him in the face. Find Draco and yell at him for being a terrible friend, for being a pretentious git, for being just downright the most awful specimen. Find Draco and ask him to apologize. Find Draco and stare at him. Find Draco... Find Draco and help him. Find Draco and... kiss him, maybe.
Find Draco.