AN: Hello everyone! Some notes: I didn't like the way Astoria looked in the movie's versions of the crapilogue, so I've re-created her look in my story a bit. Please drop me a review and let me know how you like the first chapter! Enjoy.

- Lolli

| |- Born of Faith - | |

[1]

Seeing everyone again was surreal. It was almost as if things were just as they had been, before the war. Now that it was over, many students had returned to Hogwarts to complete their education. Astoria casually waved her greetings as she made her way through the crowd to the Slytherin common room, which was farther from the Great Hall than she would have preferred. Her feet were still killing her from hours of last-minute shopping yesterday.

It felt as if no time at all had passed since they were last all here. Year seven could hardly be counted a reasonable finale to their education, and most parents had agreed that it was necessary to give it another try, now that everything was settled and most people had set aside their differences. Astoria still had two years to complete, after all.

The castle hadn't changed. It had been so long since she'd been there, she was almost surprised at how well she remembered the winding hallways and various shortcuts. Somehow, despite what had happened, it still felt like… home. But there was a distinct heaviness in the air, as if everyone was still adjusting to the fact that all the chaos was over. The war had been over for months, but there was still palpable tension between some students. Not to mention the distinct absence of those who'd been lost. The memories of the former Headmasters Snape and Dumbledore were especially bitter.

The common room was unexpectedly empty. There were two shadowed people in the corner by the fireplace, heads bowed together as they spoke quietly. She was turning toward the girls' dormitory when a more familiar figure caught her eye. His head was emerging from one of the wood-paneled cabinets as it clunked against the frame. In the dim light, she almost didn't recognize the boy. A grunt of pain, or perhaps surprise, barely escaped his lips, but it was loud enough for her to hear ten feet away. He knelt by the cabinet and rubbed the back of his head for a moment.

So Draco Malfoy had decided to show his face at school again. She couldn't help feeling a bit impressed. There were surely a great deal of students who had a low opinion of him, yet here he was. Did he value his education so much? Or had his mother insisted on him coming back? She was about to step into the stairwell when he turned around, probably hearing the click of her heels against the granite. She offered him the same small wave and smile she'd been giving everyone that day. There was a flicker of confusion on his face as she realized he probably didn't recognize her. It hadn't occurred to her before that Draco Malfoy wouldn't even know who she was. He'd known her sister fairly well, she'd thought. The fact that he didn't even know of her existence had her feeling a bit belittled.

"I'm Astoria. Daphne's sister," she said quickly, feeling sheepish. He cleared his throat and stood up, pushing his hair away from his face. It caught her a little off-guard when he actually offered her a handshake.

"Draco." She nodded idly. "Did Daphne return as well?" It wasn't until then that she realized how exhausted he looked. He seemed less alert, thinner, and generally worse-off than he had a year ago. With his cheeks sunken and with deep dark circles beneath his eyes, he resembled a shadow of his former self. The fact that he was even making conversation with her was odd enough – the old Draco didn't bother with small talk. At least, not with anyone she knew.

"She did. She's… upstairs, still. Probably." Draco sighed and glanced back at the cabinet, suddenly striking her as a bit bored.

"I didn't ask where she was," he said tiredly, kneeling back down next to the cabinet. She blinked. So he was just as nasty as people said. Without another word, she glared at his back and tossed her frosty blonde hair over her shoulders, striding into the stairwell. He wasn't worth the bitterness, anyway. She should have known. He might be tired, but he wasn't going to become friendly overnight. What was he looking for, anyway? She decided it didn't matter and tossed her bag onto her four-poster, nodding her hello at Marianne Gleeson, who sat on the other end of the bedroom on her own bed.

Marianne had been her truest friend throughout her presence at Hogwarts. They'd met as first years and had kept in close touch during the war and while they were away from school. Now, as sixth years, they were closer than ever. But Marianne had been keeping something from her for the last few months. Three months, actually. Since the beginning of summer. She'd said she wanted to tell her in person.

"Are you going to tell me your big secret, then?" she said sarcastically, jumping onto her bed and pulling her hair to one shoulder to begin a braid. Marianne fought back a grin, pulling her blanket up to her shoulders and hurriedly putting her book down on the bedspread.

"Yes, now I will. You have to promise to believe me, though." Astoria shot her a questioning smile. Marianne took a deep breath, blushing crimson red. Astoria's eyes widened slightly. "It's a boy. Who is it?! Is he in our year?" Marianne blushed even more deeply, laughing nervously.

"You know me too well. God! Promise you'll believe me when I say." Astoria rolled her eyes.

"I'll believe you. Tell me!" She'd been excited to know her friend's secret all summer, and she should have guessed it would be a boy. But who would be important enough to keep a secret for so long? Why wouldn't she just tell her in a letter?

"Alright, alright. He's not in our year. He's…" She trailed off, running a hand through her ink black hair.

"Tell me!" Sometimes Marianne's shyness got on her nerves. She wondered occasionally how Marianne had even been sorted into Slytherin. She was a pureblood, and from a long line of Slytherins. But they were best friends, for God's sake. There was no reason for all the secrecy.

"It's Draco! The one from—" She stopped abruptly, noticing her friend's expression. Astoria was shocked. It couldn't be. Draco Malfoy was with Marianne? It wasn't possible. Marianne was meek. And quiet. And not in the least bit suitable for someone with such a dark, dangerous past. His father was in prison, for God's sake.

"Draco Malfoy?" she asked in disbelief. "How? When? Marianne, are you sure that's really… good for you?" she was having a hard time finding the words to express what she meant without being cruel. She kicked herself when she saw the flash of hurt on her friend's face.

"Remember? My family hosted the Malfoys when Draco's father had business in Edinburgh. And when he went back… we sent letters. And he visited, once." Once again, Astoria was in disbelief. It didn't make sense. "He's really not who you thought, Astoria. He's kinder. The war changed him." She was dubious. Just five minutes ago she'd run into him and he was as rude as ever. She never understood why her sister spent time with him. He was awful.

"Are you really sure about that?" asked Astoria, raising a pale brow at her.

"I'm completely sure." Marianne was earnest; she could tell. But there was no convincing Astoria. She'd heard enough from Daphne to know just who Draco was, and there was no way this relationship was what Marianne thought. He had to have been using her. Something felt horribly off about it all.

It wasn't until breakfast the following morning that Astoria received proof of her friend's relationship. She was happily digging into her potatoes at the Slytherin table when Draco slid onto the bench on her friend's opposite side. Marianne jumped, dropping her fork and blushing once again as his arm snuck around her waist. Astoria frowned down at his hand and watched as he pressed his lips to her friend's temple, his eyes awkwardly meeting hers for a moment. Despite herself, her stomach dropped. There was a perpetual coldness to his gaze. How could Marianne have missed that?

"Good morning," said Marianne quietly, fighting back a grin. Astoria nodded at him, looking away.

"Morning, love," said Draco. He seemed distinctly less exhausted than he had the night before. He began reaching for the scrambled eggs when Marianne found her voice again.

"Er, Draco. This is Astoria. Your friend Daphne's sister," she said quickly, smiling brightly at him. Draco glanced at her.

"We met last night." Astoria watched for some kind of hint about how he felt about Marianne. The way he looked at her, perhaps. But he was just spooning eggs into his plate, unreadable.

"Right. Briefly," added Astoria, her eyes still fixed on Draco. He looked up at her again, feeling her stare.

"Problem?" Once again, a chill flickered down her spine. There was absolutely no way he was actually interested in Marianne. He just wasn't the right sort of boy for her friend. Aside from that, he was older, and when he looked at Astoria the nervousness that formed in the pit of her stomach was impossible to deny. He was just generally unsettling. Once again, she questioned how Marianne could look past that. She wanted to say that yes, there was a problem – he was up to something, and she knew it.

"Of course not," was what she said instead. For good measure, she fixed him with an ice cold smile. He raised a brow at her as Marianne leaned across the table to grab a glass bottle of maple syrup. To her surprise, he returned her mirthless grin. Marianne, oblivious, smothered her pancakes in syrup and sighed.

"I'm glad you already know each other. I didn't tell Astoria about us until yesterday," she said. Astoria noticed how quickly her friend spoke now that Draco was around. So after three months of being together she still got nervous. It would have been endearing if Draco wasn't so obviously a predator. "We're best friends," continued Marianne, beaming at Astoria. She made him so happy. Astoria wanted to gag. Her concern for her friend was growing stronger by the second. Draco looked as if he was about to say something when Astoria spoke up.

"I just remembered; I've got to get to something. I'll see you later, Annie." She flashed a quick smile and pushed her plate forward before standing up and exiting the Great Hall as quickly as possible. Marianne blinked after her, perplexed. Astoria hadn't mentioned having anything to do that morning. Classes didn't even start until the following week.

"I don't think she likes me," mumbled Draco, leaning close to Marianne's ear. His growling voice made her shiver, a slow smile replacing her confused expression. But when what he'd said actually sunk in, she became worried once again. If Astoria didn't like Draco, things would be complicated when she tried to divide her time between the two of them. She'd hoped they could all go to Hogsmeade together before classes started, but if they didn't get along…

She tried to push the thoughts out of her mind and focus on her boyfriend and her breakfast, but Draco didn't miss the concern in her eyes. Marianne was simple, and easy to read – that was what he liked about her. She was easy to be close to and easy to understand. It was obvious to him that she was worried about her friend not getting along with him.

There was something odd about the friend, anyway. She'd given him a curious look that morning, as if she'd seen right through him. Had she, really? He intended to find out. The last thing he needed was Marianne's friend turning her against him.