Late one night in the middle of the summer, Astoria Greengrass awoke to the sound of someone tiptoeing past her door. Thousands of unpleasant scenarios presented themselves to the girl's mind one after another. What if a thief had broken into their house? What if he killed her parents? Would she go live with her grandparents, or would she have to stay with nasty Uncle Crius? What if the thief came after her next? Worse yet, what if he figured out where she had hidden the little diamond brooch her mother had given her for Christmas?
It was this last thought that stirred the small girl to break out of her fear-induced paralysis and investigate the intruder. She crawled out of bed and slipped her pretty pale-pink robe over her gown before carefully putting on her favorite bunny slippers. She grabbed her brand-new wand off the nightstand and headed out into the corridor.
As she crept along the corridor and down the staircase, she ran through all the spells she knew in her head. It didn't take very long. She knew very few – she was only starting school this autumn, after all – and the ones she did know were mostly the ones she had seen her mother using around the house. She doubted very much whether any of those spells would prove effective against such a dangerous intruder, unless she planned to summon his slippers or dye his grey hairs.
Astoria gathered her courage. There was only one spell that might do. She would have to use Stinging Hexes to force the thief into submission. The Stinging Hex was the most powerful spell she knew, and she had full experience of the pain it could cause. Her mother used it rather frequently when Astoria acted in a less-than-perfectly-lady-like manner.
She heard a noise at the bottom of the long staircase that led down from the foyer. Astoria had never gone downstairs. Her mother had told her that the china and silver were kept there, as well as their house elf, and she had given the girl strict instructions not to disturb him.
The girl took a deep breath. Her mother would have to understand. Astoria couldn't just allow the thief to make off with all their pretty dishes. How would they eat? She grasped her wand tightly in hand and made her way down the dark stairs. She opened the door, and her mouth fell open in shock.
"Daphne?" she asked in a whisper. "What are you doing down here? Where's the burglar?" Her sister froze. She was standing over a funny-looking table with fire coming out of the top. A steaming pot sat over the fire, and Daphne held a spoon in her hand. Astoria thought she looked rather like she was brewing a potion. "What burglar?" Daphne asked impatiently. "I heard someone outside my room, and I thought that a thief had broken in," Astoria said. Her sister sighed. "It was just me." "What are you doing up so late?" Astoria demanded. "Potions homework," Daphne replied matter-of-factly.
Astoria nearly believed her, but then she sniffed the familiar smell coming from the pot. It smelled like food. Her eyes went wide. "Daphne!" she exclaimed. "Are you cooking?" "Of course not," Daphne said, her eyes shifting from side to side. "Don't be stupid." Astoria pulled a chair up beside her sister and peeked into the pot. "You are cooking, Daphne! Those are noodles." She exclaimed in satisfaction. "Be quiet!" her sister snapped. "Someone will hear you." "Why are you cooking noodles in the middle of the night?" Astoria asked.
Daphne frowned. "Go back to bed, Astoria." "Why should I?" Astoria shot back. "I can go tell Mother right this moment. I shall if you don't tell me what you're up to." "Fine." Daphne sighed. "I've been learning how to cook this year." "But why, Daphne?" Astoria asked. "No decent wizard will ever want to marry you if he learns that you know how to cook. Cooking's for house elves." "As a matter of fact," Daphne replied, "it's a rather well-bred young wizard who's been teaching me." "He can't be all that well-bred if he knows how to cook. He must be nouveau."
Daphne giggled. "Would you characterize Aries Black as nouveau?" Her little sister's eyes went as wide as saucers. "You've been taking cooking lessons from Aries Black? But he's rich! And good-looking too." Daphne nodded smugly. "We spent hours alone together last year, and at his parents' wedding he told me that he's looking forward to resuming our lessons in September." "I'd never have guessed that Aries Black of all people would know how to cook," Astoria said, stunned at the revelation. "Would you like to give it a go?" Daphne offered, pushing the spoon towards her sister. The younger girl eyed it suspiciously. "It really does help with potion-brewing," Daphne pressed.
Astoria hesitated before taking the wooden spoon in her hand. She felt a sudden tingle rush up her spine as she gave the pot a stir. "Ooh, this is exciting, Daphne!" she exclaimed.