February 28, 1994
Aster was eager to head down to Severus' office that afternoon. Her normally dour potions/healing professor had FINALLY finished his checks on the Firebolt they both suspected was sent by Sirius Black. She was sure that Ron would be pestering her to re-take the seeker's position on the house team, especially since Slytherin had slaughtered Ravenclaw in the last match (though she took a singular joy that Cho Chang had beaten Malfoy to the snitch). With the current division of the points between the houses, Gryffindor still had a shot at the Quidditch cup.
Aster however found herself not caring about the chance at the trophy. Since removing herself from the house team, she'd come to realize that it wasn't the game she loved, but the flying. And with Severus having finished his examinations, she could now try out that beautifully crafted piece of magic. The stories people told of the broom's acceleration and maneuverability...
Unfortunately, when class was over, Professor Lupin asked her to stay after class. Aster wasn't worried about being in trouble. Hermione and Ron had already told her about how the Professor tried to get them to convince her to accept the Headmaster's guardianship, so this probably had something to do with that.
"Is there something you needed, Professor?" she asked, keeping a cool and neutral tone. She knew Lupin wanted her to call him by his first name, but Aster absolutely refused to become so familiar with the man, at least not until the professor showed a change in attitude towards her.
"The Headmaster would like to see you in his office," Lupin answered as he packed up his things. And then he glanced at Hermione and Ron, who were looking worried and uncomfortable as they waited for their friend. "Don't worry, Aster's not in trouble," he said reassuringly. "She'll join you when she's done."
That was their cue to leave, but they were obviously reluctant to do so. "It's okay guys," she said. "Go ahead. If this does take too long, I'll get myself something from the kitchens."
Her two friends nodded and left the room.
Apparently, Lupin was going to escort Aster to the Headmaster's office himself. "I assume this is about my guardianship," she guessed as they walked down the hall.
Lupin shrugged. "Most likely, but I wasn't told exactly what this meeting was going to be about."
"Doesn't that annoy you?" the green-eyed girl asked. "How Dumbledore lets you blunder along until the very last moment when he'll come in to save you or give you some kind of intel that could have helped you all along? And then he expects you to be appreciative of it?"
"I don't know where this animosity you have for the Headmaster comes from, Aster," Remus said, shaking his head in confusion. "He's done a lot of good for our world. Occasionally he'll miss a few things here and there, but it's not like he claims to be Merlin."
"That's debatable," Aster muttered under her breath. "If he's not Merlin, then he shouldn't act like it," she added louder.
Lupin merely sighed before they came upon the little gargoyle. "Sugar Daddies."
They made it up to the office, where in addition to the Headmaster, Severus and Andromeda also waited for them. Suddenly, Aster's heart was pounding in her chest. With Severus and Andromeda present, it could only mean some kind of decision had been made. When turned to Severus - trying to get a read on the situation - she only got a slight shake of the head that could mean anything.
At least he's not totally pissed off, the concerned girl thought.
"Please come in, Aster," Dumbledore invited. "And you may stay as well Remus."
The student/teacher pair traded confused looks before taking the two empty chairs that were obviously for them. Severus and Andromeda sat to Aster's right.
"Before we begin, would you care for any refreshments or anything to eat?" Dumbledore asked.
Aster couldn't imagine putting anything into her nervous stomach now, but at Severus' look, she agreed to some chamomile tea, hoping for its relaxing properties. It also gave her something to hold on to without fidgeting.
Surprisingly, Dumbledore turned the meeting over to Snape.
"Several days ago, Draco came to me regarding my relationship with you, Aster," Snape began. "Apparently he had been in detention with Professor Lupin and was able to eavesdrop on what should be a private conversation between him and Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley." Here, Severus paused, giving the werewolf a dark look.
Lupin stiffened before wincing. "Yes, I remember that night. It was a couple of weeks ago." Then he gave her an apologetic look. "I'm afraid our conversation had been about your guardianship."
Aster frowned. "So Draco overheard this?" she asked, not liking the fact that her self-claimed (and self-delusional) rival knew about her fragile situation.
"I should have put up privacy wards or ..."
"Not speak of it at all," Severus interrupted harshly. "You have been consistently careless with Aster's welfare. The consequences of leaking this sensitive information...."
"What's done is done, Severus," Dumbledore spoke up. "Will you please elaborate on this meeting between yourself and Mr. Malfoy?"
Severus took a moment to calm down before answering. "In the course of Mr. Malfoy's discussion, he had inadvertently revealed to me that he reported Lupin's carelessness to his father. It took considerable convincing, but Mr. Malfoy supplied to me a copy of the missive his father owled to him." Severus removed a small parchment from his robes and spread it out so Aster and Lupin could read it.
She felt her frown deepen. "What does 'take the appropriate steps,' mean?"
Andromeda was the one who answered. "When Severus first presented this missive to me, I did some digging around of my own," she said. "Lucius Malfoy has been discrete, but he's been snooping around your files in the ministry. Unfortunately, yesterday, he found Albus' and Severus' petition for your guardianship, and has filed one of his own."
Aster's eyes bugged out as she shot to her feet in outrage. "He filed for guardianship for me?" she practically squawked.
"Sit down, Potter," Severus scolded. "Do try not to act like an overemotional Gryffindor."
Aster scowled but did return to her seat. "But why would he want to be my guardian?"
At this, Severus rolled his eyes. "Does the term national hero and international celebrity not mean anything to you?"
Aster shook her head. "But what good will that do, if I don't cooperate?"
"Aster, you don't have to do anything," Andromeda said. "He can keep you locked up in that mansion of his while he uses your name to endorse whatever he wants, whether it be business or political. And, if the opportunity presented itself, betroth you to his heir and take control of the Potter family."
Privately, Aster was fairly certain that was Dumbledore's plan for her as well, but of course, she didn't say it out loud. She did have a few other things to say to the Headmaster, however. "Why couldn't you just let Snape have me?" she snapped bitterly. "This whole guardianship thing would have been done and over with two months ago."
Dumbledore looked a little surprised being blamed for this. If anything, it was Lupin's fault for leaking the news and Draco's fault for telling his father, and Lucius' fault for filing the guardianship. "I am not sure, my girl, why you are so upset with me. I truly do feel that you need the guidance that only I can provide for you, especially as Voldemort grows in power."
Aster shook her head in frustration. "I could do without your kind of 'guidance'," she returned. It was no use talking to the self-delusional man, so she turned back to Andromeda. "How serious is this?" she asked. "He's not even mentioned in my parent's will. Can he actually be a potential candidate?"
Carefully, Andromeda nodded. "Since the reading of the will, it is now public knowledge that Albus had unreasonable influence over the Potter accounts and had abused or neglected his position as your Keeper. That doesn't sit well with the more influential people in our government. After all, if it could happen to you, a national hero, it could happen to any of the others."
Aster was careful to keep a neutral face, but inside she was doing a victory dance. From what Andromeda said, it was not a foregone conclusion that Dumbledore would win. Between Dumbledore and Lucius, she wasn't sure who she'd preferred more. Dumbledore was the devil she knew, but Lucius was Voldemort's, right-hand man... "What about Professor Snape?" she asked.
Severus gave the confused girl a serious look. "No doubt you know of my rather...controversial past."
Aster nodded. "You were an Inner Circle Death Eater." Her careless mention of Death Eaters momentarily shocked the room, all except for Snape. "But you obviously got out of it. I'm guessing you were a spy for the Light, so it shouldn't be a problem," she continued to speculate.
Severus shook his head. "Unfortunately, there are some of those in the ministry who believe that once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater. To them, it is of no consequence that I had brought valuable information that prevented hundreds of deaths."
Hearing this, Aster slumped in her seat. "And of course, Mr. Malfoy has such a sterling record in the ministry," she said sarcastically.
"And the fact that he's raising one son who obviously adores his father will go a long way," Andromeda added. Unlike Dumbledore or Snape, Lucius was actually a family man, and in a society whose population was dwindling every generation, that was an influential factor.
"So what can I do?" Aster asked.
"Hope someone more qualified enters another petition on top of Lucius'," Severus answered a bit cynically.
"At this point, the only one who has uncontested rights to Aster's guardianship is my cousin, Sirius Black," Andromeda said, a little hopelessly. "But of course, that's impossible, obviously."
Everyone had varying reactions. Remus slumped at the mention of his former friend. Severus scowled. Dumbledore looked worried. And Aster chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully. "So there's really nothing we can do, but wait."
"I will do my best to push Severus' name forward," Andromeda promised. "But you're right, we can only wait for Child Welfare Services to make their decision."
"In the future, I suggest we all get into the practice of using privacy charms," Severus added, looking pointedly at Lupin. "Now, if that is all?"
As he left the room, Aster quickly put down her tea and followed after, only sparing a thankful nod to Andromeda. Luckily Snape's strides were so long and quick, Dumbledore didn't have time to hold her back for one of his annoying private chats.
Silently, the two made their way back through the dungeons and into Snape's office, knowing the portraits and various sentient forms of life in the castle would report their conversation to Dumbledore. Surprisingly the first thing out of Snape's mouth was reassurance.
"I will still fight for you," he said, seeing the glum look on Aster's face. "But the reality is that it is unlikely that I'll win, even if I use my mother's family influences."
She knew Snape was referring to the Princes but didn't say anything because then she'd have to explain why she hadn't immediately turned over the Prince Grimoire. And then she brought up the idea that was slowly taking form in her mind. "What about Sirius Black?" she asked.
"What about Black?" Snape hissed.
The violent reaction from Snape made Aster defensive. "Just hear me out, okay?" she pleaded and was pleased to get a reluctant nod from her teacher. "Professor Tonk's is right. He was named my godfather, which gives him official priority over you and Dumbledore. He's also the Black Lord, which seems to carry a lot of weight in the wizarding world, according to her. Plus, he was once one of Dumbledore's people too, so Dumbledore will be okay with that."
"Yes, and did you forget the fact that he's a homicidal murderer?"
Aster shook her head. "I told you, he's not. It was Pettigrew who betrayed my parents."
Severus would argue that, except he knew this information came from Aster's mysterious source, who knew things that even the Headmaster didn't. "And how will you prove this little fact? For that matter, if Black is really on the Headmaster's side, it will only be another obstacle for you to deal with later on."
"Not if I make a deal with him," Aster said daringly as the plan continued to be formed. "He will serve as a buffer between the Headmaster and me, and he will have minimal influence over me. And in return, I will clear his name."
Snape pinched the bridge of his nose and gave the hopeful girl a pained look. The plan was simple on the surface, but it was a massive undertaking, with a hundred things that could go wrong. But he knew if he told the girl to leave it alone, it would only encourage her. So, instead, Snape said, "When you meet with Black, I insist on being present."
Aster nodded agreeably, not wanting to face the man alone either. Now to see what Marvolo thought about all this.
O o 0 O 0 o O o 0 O 0 o O o 0 O 0 o O
April 8, 1994
Thanks to Andromeda, they got a timeline on when the decision was to be made. Since Aster would remain in Hogwarts until her third year ended, a decision didn't have to be final until the beginning of June. That gave Aster and Marvolo some time to come up with a plan. They knew, right away, they couldn't just turn Sirius Black in. The ministry was so bloodthirsty and wanting to be seen as protecting the girl-who-lived that Sirius would be executed before they could even demand a trial. In fact, there was a standing order for Sirius to be Kissed the moment he showed himself.
Which meant they had to produce Pettigrew before the Wizengamot. That alone wasn't enough to automatically free Black, but at least with Pettigrew's survival, they could inspire enough doubt and questions to demand the trial that Black should have gotten in the first place. Of course, first, they had to find the elusive rat.
As in most things, Marvolo turned this mission into another lesson in Dark Magic. Practicing Dark Magic with Dumbledore inside the wards of the school was always a risky endeavor. Which was why they decided to wait until Spring Break to attempt the scrying ritual. In the meantime, Marvolo had Aster learn the theories behind scrying and to prepare the materials they would need.
Their opportunity came, in mid Spring Break, when Dumbledore had to leave to attend to his Wizengamot duties. Sometimes, it was good to have a headmaster who was so negligent in his duties to Hogwarts.
"I know, Hedwig, I don't like it here either," Aster cooed to her owl to calm her agitation as they got deeper and deeper into the Chamber of Secrets. Although Aster had been here several times, talking to the basilisk, the place never seemed to lose its creepiness.
"Are you certain she is up for the task?" Marvolo asked for the third time. "We could use a snake instead. They are also natural enemies of rats."
This earned him offended looks from both bird and girl. "Of course she is," Aster defended. "A snake would take months to slither to wherever Pettigrew is. Besides, Hedwig is a smart girl, and she can fly. It'll only take her a couple of weeks to find Pettigrew."
It seemed like an extra risk they didn't need, but Marvolo had to admit the snowy owl was unusually smart for her kind. He stopped in the center of the main chamber. "Set up here, little one."
Aster did, quickly conjuring up a stand for Hedwig before unloading her backpack. The first to come out was a special brew of the Draught of Living death. Marvolo had remembered one of Severus' inventions during the war. Inside the vial, it was liquid but when it was broken at the feet of an enemy, the liquid automatically turned into a gaseous form of the Draught of Living Death. A single whiff was all that was needed to bring an average-sized man down. Aster earned another suspicious look from the Potions Master when she asked for this vial, in addition to a week of free labor in preparing ingredients.
Aster thought it was worth it.
The second item was a large, black bottomed bowl that she filled with water. Marvolo was going to use this to help Aster scry for Pettigrew, using the Dark Mark. The Dark Mark was something that she hadn't given much thought to even though she knew every Death Eater was painfully branded with the infamous skull and snake.
As Marvolo explained it, the Dark Mark was his second greatest experiments in soul magic. It tied the branded person's soul to his own, so even as a mere Horcrux, he had a link to every Death Eater out there. Marvolo would use this link to find Pettigrew, and Hedwig would go and physically retrieve the rat. And if Pettigrew wasn't in his rat form, then they'd send in Sekmeth, Salazar's basilisk.
"It's time to call your sprites."
Aster nodded, reaching into her backpack and pulling out a 13-inch violin. Then, she drew her black and white unicorn horn wand, flicking it a couple of times in the air. With each flick, it changed into a black and white violin bow. Wand manipulation was the newest little trick that Marvolo taught her. It allowed the caster to change the wand into any object with a longish shape, while still serving as a magical focus.
This polished violin, she propped under his chin, was much preferable to using her own voice to summon the sprites, which tended to crack in the high notes as puberty reeked its own unique magic on her body. Playing the violin was something she always wanted to try, even before getting her Hogwarts letter. Now she had an excuse. With a steadying deep breath, Aster poised the bow over the violin and let it dance over the strings as it may. She only read an introductory instruction manual book, so she relied more on her ears and heart, pushing the magic through the music as her own body swayed and flexed to her imaginary tune.
The first to come was Aria, who instantly started dancing around her with her quick-footed steps. As she passed, she took a couple of drops of blood. Giving her a playful wink, Aster added low sweeping draws of the bow into the upbeat tune and soon the water in the bowl began bubbling. Triton flowed out of the bowl, taking a good amount of water with him. After they both fed from him, Aster stowed away her instrument and changed the bow back into her wand with another few quick flicks.
"What do you think, Marvolo?" she asked.
"You have a natural gift for music, but there is still room for improvement," he answered dryly and chuckled at the scowl in return. "Now, quit stalling. It's time to begin."
This was part that made Aster nervous. In order to use the Dark Mark to scry for Pettigrew, Marvolo needed access to a body and to magic, which meant letting Marvolo into her head again, like on the train. "Will this hurt like last time?" she asked, resisting the urge to rub her scar in memory.
"It will hurt a little," Marvolo admitted. "But there was no time for finesse last time, with the dementors closing in on you. This time, I assure you I will take much more care in entering your mind. But you must remember to let all your occlumancy defenses down, otherwise, I will have to fight them. It will hurt you and drain me."
Aster nodded in understanding. She took a deep breath and then locked eyes with the pair of pale red ones before her. Immediately, she could feel Marvolo's familiar presence slithering into her scar, creating an irritating burn, but nothing as bad as before. A dull throbbing pain reverberated through her head when Marvolo came in contact with the shields. Instantly, she dropped them until Marvolo finally reached the center of her magical core. Here, Marvolo settled in as if he was home, and in a way, he was with Aster being the Horcrux that housed him for so many years before.
Indeed, once the initial pain had passed, she had to admit that it felt good having him inside her again...and then she blushed scarlet at the innuendo, especially with his own amusement added in.
'Relax your body and give me control...' came a whisper into Aster's thoughts.
The dark-haired girl nodded and then employed her meditation technique to relax the tense muscles of her body. Little by little, Aster felt her consciousness drifting off in a trance-like state. Marvolo took up the mental space that she left and slowly exerted his control. When her finger twitched for the first time under Marvolo's command, Aster felt sure she would have panicked if not for the comforting stream of reassurance and love coming from Marvolo.
As Marvolo learned to take control of Aster's body, she became merely an observer.
She watched, fascinated, as her own finger dipped into the bowl of water, slowly swirling in a clockwise circle. Gradually, a dim light began to glow from where the finger touched the water, and when it was bright enough to satisfy Marvolo, words began flowing from Aster's lips in parseltongue.
§Morsmordre, Peter Pettigrew...§
As Marvolo chanted, Aster felt Marvolo drawing on her magic to activate the Dark Mark. If she had control of her body, she would have squirmed uncomfortably. Finally, an image of the rat began to take shape in the water, becoming clearer and clearer on the dark rippling surface. Aster's finger left the bowl of water, as Marvolo's presence trickled out of the scar.
Gritting her teeth from the very unusual sensation, Aster noticed Marvolo's form was once again transparent. "Are you okay?" she asked, rubbing away the last of the tingles from her scar.
Marvolo nodded, though he was obviously tired. All four of them, including the 2 sprites, peered into the bowl, where they could see the yellow-ish brown rat. Pettigrew obviously felt safer in his rat form, and wherever he was, it was night time.
"At least he didn't flee to the other side of the world," Marvolo murmured. Indeed, it at least looked like he was in the same time zone.
And then the rat turned his head and gave them an image of a tombstone.
"Is he in some kind of graveyard?" she asked, squinting hard to try to make out the faded name on the grave. She couldn't make anything out, but apparently, this was enough to let Marvolo know exactly where Pettigrew was.
"Clever little rat," Marvolo said in amusement. "That graveyard is the one in Little Hangleton, just outside Riddle Manor."
Aster blinked. "Did you just say Riddle Manor?" she hadn't known his friend had a manor.
"It belonged to my father's family," Marvolo explained, in an uninterested manner.
Aster nodded in understanding. Her friend had a deep-seated hatred towards his father's muggle heritage. "So what is Pettigrew doing there then?"
"No doubt he is looking for Voldemort, the main soul piece," Marvolo answered, now looking slightly troubled. "If he helps my main soul piece regain his body, then he will earn protection and maybe even favor among the Death Eaters."
Aster looked at Marvolo in confusion. "Isn't that a good thing?" she asked. "I thought our ultimate goal was to reunite you with your main piece?"
"Yes, of course," Marvolo responded, and then looked at Aster with troubled eyes. "But you are not ready yet. The stronger my main piece is becoming, the more I question the wisdom of bringing you two together."
Aster frowned. "But I'm on your side," she said. "You don't think he will forgive me for what happened when I was a baby? Even with your help?"
"It is not a question of forgiveness," Marvolo said, frustrated that he couldn't make this still very innocent little girl understand. "When the Old Man said I was unable to love, he was incorrect."
Aster nodded. "I know. I know you love me. I felt it on the train and again just now. I can feel it whenever you hold me or kiss me. When you're with me, I feel like nothing bad can ever touch me."
At this, Marvolo frowned. "This innocent little love isn't the kind that Voldemort...That I will be feeling once we merge," he said, willing the young beauty to understand.
Aster still looked blank. Sure, they hadn't gone very far, but it wasn't for lack of trying. After all, Marvolo didn't have a body, so they couldn't go far anyway. The farthest they went was cuddling naked in each other's arms with liberal use of warming charms, and that was only once because Aster couldn't even fall asleep when she had to keep reapplying the charms.
"Oh, my sweet little serpent," Marvolo said fondly as he moved to cup the warm face in his hands. Though the words were soft and nice, the look in Marvolo's eyes was sad. "If it were only that. Voldemort's love is a dark one," he said in warning. "It is a hungry, possessive, and all-consuming one that burns brightly, but also destroys. When I am back with my main piece, my affections for you will combine with his obsessive nature. I worry that as you are right now, he will completely own you."
Aster closed her eyes, unable to see such sadness coming from his friend. It didn't really surprise her that her love – and how happy she was that they could both admit it now - was a control freak. The man even branded his own followers as a mark of ownership and servitude. Not even other Dark Lords did that. She could only imagine just what Marvolo, er Voldemort, would do to his lover. Just thinking about it sent her mind down a path that scared her.
But still, she couldn't imagine a life without Marvolo. "As long as some part of you is still there," Aster said loyally. "I won't leave you."
"I know, but I do worry for you, my Precious One."
Their moment of silence was interrupted when Hedwig flew from her perch to land on her mistress's shoulder, sensing her distress. "This isn't something we have to worry about right now," Aster said before turning to Hedwig. "Do you see this, girl?" she asked, pointing down to the watery image of Wormtail.
Hedwig gave an affirmative hoot.
"This is Peter Pettigrew. He's at the graveyard in Little Hangleton," Aster continued to explain. And then she picked up the little vial of sleeping potion. "When you find him, I want you to drop this right at his feet. Do you understand?"
In answer, Hedwig lifted a clawed foot and grasp the vial securely.
"That's a good, girl," Aster cooed.
"Triton," Marvolo said, gaining both sprite's attention. Sprites, being a manifestation of pure magic were able to see and interact with him. "You were summoned to ensure that Hedwig finds her target."
Triton bubbled a little before diving into the bowl of water and coming back out, taking the scrying image of Pettigrew away with him. If for some reason Pettigrew apparated or left the graveyard, Triton could still track the rat down.
Feeling ignored, Aria zipped forward, waiting for her instructions. "You have a very important task to, Aria," Aster said, smiling at her eager elemental friend. "You will ensure fair flying conditions and a speedy journey for Hedwig. Even though warmer weather is coming, the less Hedwig has to deal with the better."
"And when the vial breaks open," Marvolo added. "You will make sure Pettigrew is the only target of the noxious gas." The last thing they needed was for Hedwig to be knocked out by the modified Draught too.
Aria twittered in understanding, and then both sprites leapt onto Hedwig's back. The owl gave her new passengers an irritated look but did not pick them out of her feathers. After Aster cleaned up, she released Hedwig out of the owlery. If Pettigrew remained in the graveyard, Marvolo estimated it would take her about two weeks to find him, administer the potion, and come back with their prisoner.