p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"strongAuthor's note: Hello people of the internet! This is my first fanfic! Reviews are welcome and appreciated ^J^ so please if you have any suggestions or constructive criticism go right ahead!br /strongstrongThis takes place before 5th year/strong/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"strong(FYI Astoria's nickname is Mia because I wanted to shorten Astoria and Ria just didn't sound right for this character.) /strong/p
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p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"strongemspan style="text-decoration: underline;"This fic is being re-edited. I looked back at it after all these years and decided to continue on with it the better written chapters are aroeund chapter 14-16 ish but that is where I am picking up the pen again. These earlier chapters will have editing done but not tottal rewrites yet. Soon I hope./span/em/strong/p
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p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"Two teenage girls sat together on the top of a purple double decker bus. No one else was there with them, save the driver and a creepy shrunken skull. Annabeth fanned herself lazily with her book of Ancient Greek architecture, while her friend Mia sat next to her pointing out sights that she remembered from her British childhood. Over the years her accent had faded, but the memories remained./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""I used to sneak out at night and play on the swings over there" she pointed to a park they were passing /Annabeth put her book down and gave her friend a troubled look./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""Why would you do that? It's dangerous at night. Where your parentsem really/em that paranoid that they wanted to deprive you of all things fun?"/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"Mia shrugged. "My Parents were basically pure-blood supremacists. They didn't want me to go anywhere near muggles." She stared out the window dreamily. "I was too young to apperate so I had to climb back into my room, threw the window."/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"Annabeth stopped and looked at Mia. "And your parents never noticed their daughter climbing up and outta her bedroom window on a bed-sheet-rope!?" She interrogated; utterly shocked./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""That was only for a year or two. emBefore /emI learned how to apperate." She replied./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""Is that the really freaky thing where you just appear outta nowhere? How could they not notice that! It's SO LOUD!"/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""No" Mia laughed, "they never imagined that a five year old could be strong enough to apperate."/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"Annabeth relaxed a bit and sat back down in her seat, arms crossed and slightly pouting. "They're still crappy parents. What kind of decent human beings shelter their child so much? You must have been like Rapunzel."/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"Mia laughed even harder." They weren't decent humans! That's why I ran away so much emand/em why they probably think I'm dead right now, I mean, wouldn't you if your kid went missing for eight years?."/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"She turned her attention away from Annabeth, and back to the window. "Stop right here please!" she shouted to the driver./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"They pulled up to a dark gothic looking building and got off. Mia sighed wistfully at the sight of the old manor./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""I'm home!" she said, doing a little spin before gesturing to Annabeth to follow her. "I used to sneak into my room this wa-" As she turned, she slammed into someone, causing them both to fall to the ground./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""Watch where you're going!" the blonde young man yelled at her./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""I'm so sorry" she stammered back and offered her hand to him./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""I don't need your help! Who are you anyway?" he questioned "And what are you doing here? This is private property!"/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"Wow, Annabeth thought to herself, little goth boy has anger issues. She glanced over at her sister* to see her reaction. Instead of getting mad and yelling back, Mia smiled slyly. She put her hand on her hip as her confidence returned./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""Well Draco, your manners haven't improved at all, even in eight years." She commented slipping effortlessly back into her English /emAlmost as if she'd never left./em Annabeth thought to herself./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"The boy stood there for a moment and examined her, from her converse to her dark chocolate hair, his gaze stopped at her eyes./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""Astoria? ...That.. No…. is that really you?"/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"Mia nodded and smiled. Newly reunited they started to talk excitedly. Annabeth got bored and her ADHD got the better of her as she drifted away in thought. emSo this is Draco Malfoy?/em she stepped closer, he didn't seem like much, tall, blonde, and thin. He was also quite pale and his black clothing made him seem ghostly. She snapped back into reality when Draco's voice cut off her train of thought./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""Maybe you should fill me in on the details inside; it's bloody cold out here." He and escorted Mia walking side by side, Annabeth trailing behind them./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""You Brits must be violent," she thought aloud. "You're always saying 'bloody this'! and 'bloody that!'" As an afterthought she added, "or am I just being stereotypical?"/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""Stereotypical" Draco responded, his tone darkened "Although unfortunately I do know someone like that"/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"The inside of the manor was as dark as the exterior. Everything inside was black. The only light came from either the little sunlight that came through the windows or candles. Annabeth absent mindedly put her hands around her neck feeling like Dracula was coming to suck her dry. Draco turned and looked at her./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""You know, you don't have anything to worry about, my parents are out." Annabeth silently wondered why she would have to worry about his parents as the three of them turned into a slightly smaller room. Draco flicked his wand and a sudden white light flooded the room. It looked normal; four walls, a ceiling, floor, bed, bookshelf, he also had a chair and desk. Draco sat down on the bed, while Annabeth made herself comfy sitting crisscross on the floor. Mia paced slowly around the room moving her hand along the wall taking in old memories./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""Did you guys live together?" Annabeth asked, watching her friend continue in her trance like state around the room./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""Well not exactly, Astoria ran away from home a lot; she would wander into Muggle communities and then come here to talk to me. Our parents were close so we visited each other constantly. I ended up sharing my room with her we even planted a tree so that she could climb up here for her little nocturnal visits. It grew a lot since you last visited, Mia." He said redirecting their gaze to the window./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""It did!" Mia marveled at the old oak beside the window./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"Draco took the opportunity and pulled out a box from under his bed. Annabeth expected something creepy like a heart, or perhaps other assorted body parts. Instead there was ordinary Muggle stuff, including a worn book that she couldn't read the title of./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""What is that?" she asked as he pulled out the book. At a closer look she noticed the cover had a picture of a caged raven with blood dripping down its wings, "Doesn't that look... I dun' know… morbid for a children's book?"/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"Mia laughed; she leaned over to see the cover, "it actually reminded me of him," she said, nudging Draco's shoulder./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""emOnce upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,/em/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"emOver many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,-/em/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"emWhile I nodded nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,/em/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"emAs someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door."/em/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""emTis some visitor/em," I muttered, "emtapping at my chamber door/em-"/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""emOnly this and nothing more/em." Draco finished/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""Wow! You read Edgar Allen Poe as a kid? Isn't that a little dark?"/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""You've seen the house, haven't you?"/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""Jeez Draco how many times have you read this thing? It's almost falling apart!" Mia joked. Malfoy raised up his hands in defense/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""What can I say? Your habits have rubbed off on me."/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"Mia giggled and punched Draco in the arm./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""Draco? Are you home yet?" a call came from down stairs./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"Draco's eyes widened. "My parents!" he mouthed. He and Mia exchanged knowing full glances/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;""Diagon alley?" Mia asked. Draco nodded in response. Annabeth was about to propose an escape plan, but Mia had already opened the window and swung out onto the nearby tree. Annabeth cursed silently under her breath and followed suit./p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"How much weirder could this day get? She thought to herself. She had no idea./p
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p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"strong*They are not actually related but they are like twins to each other they even share the same birthday/strong/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"strongsorry for the cliche ending but hey! that's what the next chapter is for!/strong/p
p style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.08px; max-height: 999999px;"strongspan style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: 14.08px;"Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot./span/span/strong/p