Okay, so this idea has been bothering me for a while, and I decided to finally put it up. We never see any of Astoria's character in the books, but Rowling says that she married Malfoy. I decided to investigate how that played out, as well as what people thought of Slytherins after the war. Enjoy, I own nothing!
"Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change."
-Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Fifteen-year-old Astoria Greengrass stood in front of the house. She hesitated before each step that she took as if it were painful for her to walk. She had never thought her life would come to this.
The past few weeks had been but a blur. It wasn't until now that reality had finally sunk in. She felt as if her entire world had come crashing down. And, in a way, it had.
A summer breeze ruffled the girl's long, auburn hair. She paid no attention as her locks began to fly all around her, blocking her perpetual vision. This was not unusual, for she hardly responded to anything these days.
She was brought back to reality after her pet kneazle, Venus, began rubbing at her leg, purring affectionately. Astoria blinked rapidly, as if just realizing where she was.
With her hand mere centimeters from the door, Astoria suddenly froze. For just one minute, she wanted to forget everything that had happened. For one silent moment, Astoria pretended that nothing had changed, that all was well, that her family was with her. That a boy named Harry Potter never existed. This, of course, was foolish. Everything had changed. Her family wasn't with her. And Harry Potter definitely existed.
She sighed loudly and looked down at Venus. This is it, she thought bitterly, knocking on the door.
Almost immediately it opened. A plump woman with flaming red hair smiled at her. "You must be Astoria," she said. "Please, come in."
Astoria had half a mind to turn and run right then. But where would she go? Maybe she could stay with the Malfoy, their families had always been on relatively decent terms. Still, they weren't exactly the type to welcome her with open arms, plus they were facing problems of their own. Perhaps she could go to Nott's place. Theodore had always treated her like a little sister; but without parents he probably wouldn't be able to support her. Nott's family wasn't as rich as the Malfoys', and most of his wealth was likely confiscated by the Ministry anyway. Astoria knew in her heart that she was one of the lucky ones. Few families would be willing to take in someone like her, especially in such a gracious manner. Astoria should have been grateful. But she wasn't.
Knowing that she had no other choice, Greengrass reluctantly followed her hostess inside, with Venus trailing close behind. The was the last piece of her old life that remained.
The woman gave her a warm smile. "We're so happy to have you here with us," she said, "I . . . I only wish it could be under better circumstances." Astoria nodded, but said nothing. The woman tried to touch her shoulder, but she winced violently, not used to physical contact from strangers.
"I'm sorry, I imagine this is all so hard for you."
Astoria, feeling that she should say something, mumbled, "Thank you for taking me in." IT was the first time she had spoken.
"Oh on! It's no trouble at all, dear," the woman turned around towards a flight of crudely constructed stairs and shouted, "ARTHUR! GINNY! RON! GET DOWN HERE!"
Three more redheads came down the stairs, a man and two teenagers.
"Molly!" said the man excitedly, "guess what Kingsley got me?" he sounded like a giddy child. "It's called a Boygame, and it's all the rage with muggle youth now. Apparently, muggle children press these buttons and stare at the screen for amusement. Remember veletision? Well, this is like that, except portable and interactive!" He turned to Astoria, seeming to notice her for the first time. "Oh, hello. You must be Astoria Greengrass. I'm Arthur Weasley. Um . . . welcome to our home." He held out his hand.
Astoria looked at the man, her expression one of absolute disgust. She had heard about Mr. Weasley from some of the older kids, they had said he was a muggle-loving fool. Malfoy, in particular, seemed to have an endless supply of Weasley tales. Astoria had always suspected that he was exaggerating. Now that she had met the man for herself, any doubts of his sanity vanished; he was completely mental!
Arthur seemed to notice that she was not going to take his hand. He shoved it in his pocket awkwardly and began to whistle.
The girl stepped forward. "Hi, I'm Ginny," she said.
Ginerva Weasley was no stranger to the Slytherins either. Ginny was notorious for her short temper and nasty hexes, and of course, being the current girlfriend of Saint Potter.
Venus, deciding that she wasn't getting enough attention, chose that moment to meow loudly.
Ginny looked down. "And who's this beautiful girl?" she asked, reaching down to pet the kneazle.
Astoria stiffened. Venus did not take kindly to strangers touching her. Astoria had no doubt how she would react. Venus could be aggressive, even dangerous, when provoked. What would the Weasleys do if her cat attacked their daughter? Would they kick her out of the house? Or worse, make her get rid of Venus? No. No, Astoria would never let that happen. She would sooner have them throw her into the streets than take away her precious kneazle!
She was about to warn Ginny, when she saw that the ginger was already petting her. Astoria held her breath, waiting for the scream of pain. It did not come. Astoria couldn't believe it; not only was Venus tolerating the girl's touch, she seemed to relish it!
Ginny smiled. "She's so sweet!" the girl gushed.
Sweet? Astoria felt her cheeks become hot. She could think of several words to describe Venus, but "sweet" did not come to mind. Venus was clever, cunning, intelligent, and protective. She was not "sweet".
Molly turned to the last child, a boy around eighteen. "Say hello to our guest, Ron."
Up until this point, the boy had not said anything. He was far quieter than any of his family members. Astoria had almost forgotten that he was there at all to begin with.
Ron glared at her with a look of pure loathing. Astoria couldn't tell if it was directed at her, or at his mother. Maybe both. Finally, although it looked as if it was the last thing he wanted to do, the boy grunted, "Hi." He turned around and made his way back up the stairs.
Mrs. Weasley said apologetically, "Sorry about him. Ron's just not used to you yet." She turned back to the girl. "Ginny, Dear, take Astoria's bags up to Bill and Charlie's room, would you?"
Astoria gripped her suitcases tightly, making it clear that she wanted to take the luggage up herself.
Ginny took the hint, but insisted that she at least show her the way up, and took the girl's silence as a yes.
The walk up the stairs was a rather slow one. Astoria, who had practically packed her entire room, lugged her bags along, using every last bit of her strength. Greengrass was forced to stop and break several times in order to catch her breath. Despite all of this, she refused Ginny's constant offers to assist her.
As the girls walked up the stairs, Ginny tried to make conversation, but to no avail. She complimented Astoria's shoes, mocked Professor Trelawney, and even spoke about the weather. Astoria remained as unresponsive as ever, no so much as uttering a single word for most of the way.
Ginny sighed. She felt as if she was talking to herself! Honestly, at the very least the girl could nod every now and then, or mutter the occasional "mm-hmm", or show SOME sign of acknowledgement. But Astoria did not. She just continued walking, staring straight ahead. Her eyes were unreadable and face expressionless, like a living corpse. Ginny shuddered slightly at the thought. After several more futile attempts at conversation, she fell silent as well.
They had nearly reached the top, when Astoria tripped a stumbled, sending several of her suitcases thumping down the stairs. She groaned and began making her way towards them, but Ginny beat her to it. "I'll take these," she said, "you can carry the rest. We're almost there, anyway."
She thought Astoria would protest, but was not prepared to take no for an answer. Instead, the words that came out of her mouth were rather unexpected. "What's he like?" she asked.
"Whom are you referring to?" Ginny asked, puzzled by the girl's question.
Astoria rolled her eyes as if it were obvious. "Harry Potter, of course." Merlin, was she really that thick?
"Oh." Ginny said, feeling a bit stupid. "Yeah, him." Weasley hesitated, unsure of what to say. Astoria was probably one of the more pleasant Slytherins she had associated with. Yet again, that wasn't exactly saying much. Slytherins were known for twisting people's words around, and didn't want to start any rumors about her boyfriend. So should she answer? The question was kind of personal, and the girl hadn't exactly given her a reason to trust her. Ginny thought for a moment, choosing her words carefully before answering. "He's alright. Harry's a great guy, sometimes a bit impulsive, but, hey, nobody's perfect."
Astoria appeared disappointed by this answer, which made Ginny angry. Why? What did she expect her to say? That Harry was an awful boyfriend who beat her? She wasn't even sure why she bothered answering to begin with; it was none of her business, anyway!
Neither said another word until they reached the room. By then, Astoria had resolved to her own, sullen self. Ginny handed her the two bags she was carrying, which the Slytherin quickly snatched and walked into her room without so much as a thank you.
Dear Theo,
I'm sure you've heard the news by now; I'm staying with the Weasleys, of all people (even one can even call them that.) Pathetic, isn't it? I'm in the one place that every self-respecting pureblood hopes to never be. In many ways, it is worse than Azkaban.
I will be returning to Hogwarts in September (Mother insists,) though I know it will never be the same again. Needless to say, I am less than ecstatic.
Astoria put down her quill for a moment, carefully contemplating her next words.
I imagine Malfoy has it the worst; Astoria got an odd feeling in her stomach whenever she spoke of Draco. He probably never wants to show his face again. I heard Potter testified for him in court, is that true? If it weren't for him, he most certainly would have ended up in Azkaban. I wonder why Potter would do that, I mean, he and Malfoy have always been enemies. Weird. Have you heard from him? If so, please send him my regards.
She stopped again, hesitating before her next question.
This may sound a bit personal, but I can't help but ask, how did you manage to avoid capture? The Ministry has been after the Slytherins ever since the war ended. I know that Malfoy was technically underage at the beginning of his trial; actually it was on his birthday, I believe, but that didn't stop the Ministry from trying him. Yet you, the son of a Death Eater, have managed to get a clean getaway, but you're not a fugitive (at least not as far as I know . . .)
Your third cousin, former neighbor, and ally,
Astoria Caroline Greengrass
Astoria sent the letter off with the Weasley's owl, and sat on her bed, sighing, now horribly bored. She looked around the room. It was better than the horrible excuse for a suit she had been forced to stay in at the Leaky Cauldron with two other girls. It wasn't a particularly large room, but it was still bigger than she had imagined. People were always going on about how poor the Weasleys were, having more children than they could afford and whatnot. She had basically pictured them living in a box.
She searched for something to do. There were a couple of books on the shelves, but they were mostly empty. Astoria suspected that Phil and Marley, whatever their names were, probably took most of them when they moved out.
Astoria, being the nosey person that she was, decided to go through the drawers. Perhaps she would find something interesting, but she doubted it.
She proceed to do so, not finding much. In the end, she recovered a couple of broken chess pieces, a stale cauldron cake, two sickles, a knut, and even a couple of muggle pounds. Astoria pocketed the money and offered the pastry to Venus, who gave her an indignant look.
She sighed and threw the cake into the rubbish bin. She sat down on the and then stared into blank space until it was time for supper.
A bit of a slow chapter, but, I assure you, it gets much better after this. As for why exactly she is with the Weasley and what happened to her family, will be explained later.
Kneazles, the species that Venus is, is not of my creation. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them states that they are a magical cat-like animal. They are known for their intense loyalty to one person and high intelligence. Crookshanks is half kneazle.
Please review and tell me what you think. I appreciate honesty, especially if it can help me improve my writing, so constructive criticism is always welcomed.