Beginning Astoria
A/N: Originally a plotbunny about Astoria Greengrass (the chick J.K. Rowling says marries Draco in one interview) that hit at the most random moment-- study hall in school. So I just had to write it. Thank you fanfiction author ToManyLetters for the inspiration for the title.
Disclaimer: Me? Own Harry Potter? As awesome as that would be, it would be a pretty bold lie to say I created the Harry Potter universe, as J.K. Rowling created Harry Potter.
September the first was a proud day for eleven-year-old Astoria Greengrass as she stared at the scarlet train, the same one that lead to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and wizardry, in awe. Daphne, two years older than Astoria herself (a third year) stood beside Astoria, ready for a new year at the magical school. The girls were sisters, and by standing next to each other, it was fairly obvious as they both shared the same light, flaxen blond hair and sky blue eyes.
Astoria was literally shaking in joy at the thought of being Sorted and becoming a Slytherin. A family tradition of her family was to become a Slytherin and at least support Lord Voldemort's ways. Astoria did not know who Lord Voldemort was, only that he believed in pureblood superiority and that he rose to power before Astoria was born. As much as her parents hated to admit it, the great Dark Lord fell twelve years ago by the "Boy-Who-Lived" Harry James Potter when he was just fifteen months old. The Potter boy was her sister's age and therefore has never met him. Astoria had never questioned her parent's beliefs and never had the courage to ask why they believed in this stuff.
The train's movement snapped Astoria out of her thoughts.
"Daphne...I have a question to ask you about my Sorting. What is it like?"
What should I say? I could be a good older and tell her the truth... Daphne thought, looking at her younger sister whose blue eyes were deep in thought.
"Your Sorting into either the Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin House will be absolutely secret. You cannot tell anyone." Astoria's eyes got wide. Daphne smirked at her sister's gullible nature, she was glad the younger girl didn't notice that she 'forgot' to tell her about Gryffindor. It was better if she didn't know.
"Nobody? Not even Mum or Father?" Daphne nodded "yes" to Astoria's question, and the older girl suppressed a giggle at the younger girl's gullible nature. She actually believed everything.
Astoria had been waiting for her Sorting since... forever! But before getting to Hogwarts, she had to cross a lake to get there. She was stuck on a boat with virtually three strangers, two boys and a girl. The first boy had strawberry blond hair and looked vaguely feminine, while the brunette girl sitting next to him looked somewhat intelligent. Freckles spread across the round cheeks of the black haired boy. The rest of the ride was spent in nervous awe, observing the dark lake in amazement.
This was the Great Hall Daphne had written about in her numerous letters home. The ceiling was enchanted to look like the night sky and Astoria thought it astounding. A four legged stool with a disgustingly beat up and frayed hat sat proudly on the stool. When it began to sing (Since when do hats sing? Astoria thought with a twinge of shock in her mind.) people seemed to perk up and the girl did not know why, so she did not pay attention. The sorting started when "Anderson, Kathryne" was called. The frayed hat called out simply "HUFFLEPUFF".
That's the Sorting? Easy enough!
"Barnes, Joshua", "Balden, Laura" and "Bates, Alexandra" were Ravenclaws, and that's when Astoria stopped paying perfect attention. "De Leon, Thalia" took a minute to sort but was ultimately a Gryffindor. A loud "BOO!" from the Slytherin table (most likely, because of their intense rivalry with Gryffindor house) broke Astoria from her thoughts.
When "Green, Tristan", a well groomed, black haired, hazel eyed boy was Sorted was when Astoria's heart start to race with a nervous beat. Her name would be called soon!
"Greengrass, Astoria!"
Without wanting to, Astoria started walking to the stool, sat and put the hat on her head.
You have a creative, bright and curious mind. Maybe Ravenclaw...?
Oh Lord! Who said that? Astoria thought frantically, as she heard a voice in her head. Hopefully, she wasn't going crazy...
It's only me, do not fret. It was the Hat, the same one she thought was frayed and disgusting only seconds before. It was just a Hat, what in the world could it do to her?
I'm skeptical about this...
Do you want to be Sorted or not?
YES!
All right... The Hat took what seemed like eternity to Sort her
Your sharp mind, along with your strong ambitions, astound me at such a young age. Better be...
"SLYTHERIN!"
Astoria smiled as the Slytherin table clapped heartily as she sat down. It felt good to be accepted.
A/N: Hope you liked this and I would appreciate reviews.
Yes, I intended for this to be drabble-ish and somewhat short, although it looked much longer in my notebook when I wrote it out.