First Impressions

June 5th 2001

Astoria had never seen the Leaky Cauldron as busy as it was that night. It was the grand re-opening, and understandably, many people had arrived to take advantage of the free drinks that were being poured. Astoria sat on a bar stool, sipping Firewhisky from the bottle and surveying the scene before her. Behind the bar bustled Hannah Abbot, the new landlady, who was only a couple of years older than Astoria. Her light blonde hair was tied up, and her cheeks were a rosy red from both the sheer heat of the bar and the exhaustion of serving the customers. In one corner of the room sat a large group of old Warlocks, all clearly very intoxicated, laughing manically as they each impersonated Lord Voldemort. Astoria frowned. While the war was well and truly over, and most of the Death Eaters had been sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban, Astoria still vividly remembered that last battle, and walking through the Great Hall, looking desperately for her sister, praying she was still alive...

Astoria shook her head to calm herself, and gazed over at her sister, Daphne, and Daphne's fiancé, Blaise. They were smiling and laughing together, looking deep into each other's eyes as only lovers could. As much as Astoria hated to admit it, she did like Blaise. He made her sister happy, and that was all that mattered.
Astoria downed the last drop of her Firewhisky and hopped off the bar stool, making her way over to Blaise and Daphne.

"Well, that's me off," she said to them, putting on her green jacket and un-tucking her golden-brown hair from her t-shirt.

"So soon?" Daphne questioned. "It's only ten thirty!"

"You should know by now that ten thirty is Tori's bedtime," Blaise smirked, while Astoria scowled.

Daphne laughed. "Don't tease her Blaise- we all know my baby sister hates being outwitted."

"Oh, he hasn't outwitted me yet," Astoria smirked. She leaned down to hug her sister goodbye. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Of course," Daphne replied.

Astoria then turned to Blaise. "I suppose I'll be seeing you too then? Providing Mummy dearest let's you out of the house..."

Blaise scowled, while Daphne tried in vain to stop giggling. Satisfied, Astoria turned from them and walked outside into the warm summer's night.

There are two versions of the next few moments events:

Astoria Greengrass, 18, was walking calmly from the Leaky Cauldron Public House when a hooded man, around 20, walked right into her path, causing her to stumble over her own feet and fall to the ground.

This said young man, however, claims that Miss Greengrass was in fact not walking calmly, but hurriedly from the Leaky Cauldron Public House, and was in a sort of dream-like trance. As she was not looking where she was going, she walked right into his path, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground.

Astoria was now on the ground, positively enraged that she had been placed in such a state by an utter stranger. She looked around her, and saw the stranger walking towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"Excuse me?" she called. The man turned, his face still partially disguised by his hood. "Aren't you going to help me up?"

"Oh... Yes, yes," the man mumbled, walking over and aiding Astoria to her feet.

Astoria brushed herself off, and turned to the man expectantly. "Well?" she questioned.

"Well what?" The man seemed quite confused.

"An apology," Astoria clarified. "You owe me an apology."

"Do I?"

Astoria scowled. "Yes. You walked right into my path and caused me to fall to the ground." Astoria gestured to the stone-cobbled street beneath her.

"If I am not mistaken, you walked into me."

"Well then you are mistaken. I do not walk into people for no good reason."

"What makes you think I do?"

"The fact that you just did walk into me for no good reason."

"I don't have time for this rubbish," the man said, exasperated. "I'm meeting some friends now, and I'm already late, so if you'll excuse me..."

The man went to walk into the pub, when Astoria walked ahead of him and blocked the doorway. "All I ask," she said, trying to keep her tone civil, "is for a simple 'I'm sorry.'"

"In Merlin's name..."

"If you are already late, surely taking 10 seconds to apologise to me won't make any difference?"

"You won't give up, will you?"

"I'm quite resilient, yes."

The man sighed, then chuckled slightly. "I heartily apologise, Miss...?"

"Greengrass. Astoria Greengrass."

The man looked into Astoria's eyes for the first time then, and her light blue eyes met his cold, grey ones. "Daphne's little sister?"

Astoria frowned slightly. A strange, hooded man, knowing her sister? "Who are you?"

The man put his hood down, to reveal rather tousled, platinum blond hair. "Draco. Draco... Malfoy."