Astoria had never quite liked the Slytherin common room.

That was sacrilege, she supposed, as she crept down the hallway leading away from the girls' dormitory. That was why she was never foolish enough to say so out loud in the company of the other Slytherins.

However, one could not deny that this was an uncomfortable place to live if one suffered from a terrible, paralyzing fear of snakes as she in fact did.

Carved snakes featured throughout the room. The woodwork was filled with tiny little serpents artistically placed on windows on doorways. Even the chairs were engraved with snakes.

Worst of all was the large portrait of a serpent, with its jaws unhinged, sitting atop the mantelpiece. Astoria had always felt as though it was watching her through the slits of its glinting eyes. The feeling was even worse now that she was doing something illicit.

Astoria set her shoulders. Paranoia could only serve her well during these troubled times. After all, real snakes lived within the walls of the castle now.

Astoria grimaced. Admittedly, most of those snakes could be found in her house.

She was close to the common room now. Hopefully, none of the other girls in her dorm would wake up and discover the conjured dummy she had placed in her bed in her stead. Sneaking out of the den of snakes was a risky move, but there was no other choice. She had to get the message out tonight.

A low murmuring sound coming from the common room caused her to stop short just in front of the open doorway. Hastily, she dimmed the light at the end of her wand, allowing the shadows to embrace her. Astoria was very good at hiding in the shadows.

Cautiously, she snuck a look into the common room – and nearly gave into a thoroughly unladylike snort that would have surely given her away.

Lying together on a couch were her sister and Theodore Nott. A bottle of wine was open on the small table beside the couch. They were facing away from her, but Astoria could see that their legs were entangled together at the end of the couch. She rolled her eyes.

" – such a pain, honestly, Daph," Nott was saying. "I don't understand how Zabini stands her."

Daphne laughed. "Well, Blaise has always been a special one, you know."

Nott smiled at her, one hand caressing her hair. "Now, don't talk like that. I might just get jealous," he said, teasingly.

"Mm, would you now?" Daphne's voice lowered into a murmur. "Maybe that's just what I want."

Astoria tried not to give into the urge to make appropriate vomiting noises. This was a problem. Given the kissing noises that were now emanating from the room, Daphne and Nott could probably go on all night, and she would be stuck sitting in a hallway waiting for the torture to end.

A loud creaking sound echoed through the room. Astoria tensed, looking behind her to see if someone had snuck behind her without her noticing. No one was there.

"Nott?" a new voice came from the common room. Astoria risked another peak. A young boy, barefoot and wearing striped silk pajamas, stood at the entrance to the boys' dormitory. Astoria tried to remember his name. This was probably why she wasn't a prefect.

The kissing sound were interrupted. Nott and Daphne rolled away from each other as they came up for air.

"Fawley?" Nott sat up on the couch.

Astoria gave herself a mental headslap. Of course. The boy was David Fawley, a first-year and the youngest of them to boot. He came from a family of Slytherins whose members had an odd tendency to be sorted into Hufflepuff every so often.

The boy nodded, biting his lip. Idly, Astoria wondered whether the child had been mis-Sorted. He was carrying a teddy bear, for crying out loud. There was no way he hadn't gotten teased for it yet. The poor boy would have likely thrived better in Hufflepuff.

"What's wrong?" Nott asked, extricating himself from Daphne's limbs and walking over to the boy. "Couldn't sleep?"

Fawley nodded again. "I – I think I heard screaming." He worried his lip, staring up at Nott and grasping his bear a little bit tighter.

Astoria watched as Nott and Daphne exchanged meaningful glances. She scowled. The boys' dormitory was closer to the dungeons in which the Carrows held their "detentions."

"Screaming?" Nott said lightly. "No, that was probably just the giant squid singing. He has a terrible voice, you know." He made a funny face.

The boy gave a small giggle. He tugged on Nott's cloak. "The others are scared, too. They just won't say. Could you stay with us, please?"

"Of course, you little brats would run wild without one of us riding herd on you all. Come on, I'll take you back to your room." He grasped the boy's shoulder and turned him back down the hallway. He gave Daphne an apologetic look. Daphne smiled back, shooing him down the corridor.

"Go ahead, Theo. I'll just clean up here and go to bed. It's getting late anyway."

Nott smiled back before walking away with a now chatty Fawley.

Astoria watched as Daphne stooped down to collect the two abandoned wineglasses. She bit her lip. There was no way that Daphne would miss seeing her once she headed back to the dorms, and it was far too risky to go back to her own dorm room and wait Daphne out. Mallory Bulstrode was an irritatingly light sleeper.

There was nothing to it. Astoria entered the common room.

"You've taken him back? You can't be serious."

Daphne whirled around. "Astoria!"

Astoria shushed her. Daphne planted her hands on her hips. "Astoria!" She said more quietly. "What on earth are you doing up at this time of the night?"

Astoria rolled her eyes. "What on earth are you doing snogging Theodore Nott at this time of the night?" she mimicked.

Daphne opened her mouth to shoot back, affronted, before she stopped, glancing at the clock. She sighed, slumping a bit as she sat back down on the couch.

"Oh, stop it. Just sit down and have a glass, please, Astoria."

Astoria sat down, accepting the glass of wine. "Seriously, Daphne? Nott?"

Daphne shrugged, toying with her own glass. "He's sweet when he wants to be."

Astoria groaned. While she had been busy sending secret owls back and forth with Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley over the Christmas break, Daphne had been sobbing into cushions over her heartbreak about "Theodore Nott and his utter callousness, the bastard."

"I can't believe it. Theodore Nott, of all people, in these times," Astoria said.

"What does that mean?" Daphne sat up.

Astoria raised an eyebrow at her sister. "Really? Weren't you there when Father explained to us that 'the Greengrasses were neutral in the first war and so shall we be in this one'?"

"It's not like that," Daphne protested. "Theo – he explained everything to me after we all came back to Hogwarts. He's not like his father! Truly, he doesn't care about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"He's dangerous," Astoria answered firmly, looking Daphne in the eye. "Like his father."

The sisters quieted, remembering how tired and frightened their father had looked after Nott, Sr. and Crabbe, Sr. had visited Greengrass Manor over Christmas. Father had called them into his study after the Death Eaters had left. He was being threatened, he told them, but he would stand firm.

"I may believe in blood purity," Father had said, his bushy eyebrows knitted in his seriousness. 'But I cannot abide the atrocities being done in its name."

His voice was firm but his hands trembled as they clutched at his glass of scotch. Astoria had noted a similar quiver in the wand arms of those who had had "detention" with the Carrows the night before.

That night, Astoria had sent her first letter to Neville Longbottom.

Daphne spoke up, staring into the fireplace. "I trust him."

She looked straight into Astoria's eyes. "I trust him, Astoria. I trust him with my life."

Astoria looked back at her dubiously. "If you're sure."

"I am," Daphne said firmly. "Now, what are you doing sneaking around so late?"

Astoria didn't respond.

Daphne looked at her suspiciously. "Astoria. Weren't you there when Father explained to us that 'the Greengrasses were neutral in the first war and so shall we be in this one'?"

Astoria sighed, before leaning over to whisper to her sister. "I need to do this, Daphne. Please. I have to go deliver a message tonight. It's important."

Daphne frowned and opened her mouth. Astoria would never be sure what she would have said next.

"Daphne? You're still here?"

Theodore Nott was staring at them from the doorway to the boys' dormitories.

Astoria jumped back from her sister. Daphne hesitated. She looked up at Nott and then looked back at her sister.

She stood up. Astoria stood up with her.

Daphne shook her head. "No, Astoria, stay down." She placed a hand on her shoulder before turning back to Nott.

"So sorry, Theo. We're going to go see Madam Pomfrey. Astoria is dealing with – a feminine matter."

Astoria tried not to scowl. She was fifteen, not twelve, for heaven's sake. She could deal with her monthly visitor just fine on her own.

However, Daphne's instincts were correct. Nott immediately stepped back. "Oh. I see. In that case, I'll go ahead then. Take care, ahh, Astoria."

Daphne walked over to give him a quick kiss, and Nott headed back down the hallway.

Astoria looked at Daphne. "I thought you trusted him with your life."

Daphne grimaced. "I do."

She looked at her sister. "But – not with yours. Not yet. Now, come on. You have a message to give, and I'm your alibi."

Astoria smiled.

Astoria had never quite liked the Slytherin common room.

But there, in the midst of all the snakes, she was glad that there was one snake whom she could love and trust.

Whatever happened in the war, they were and would always remain – sisters.