"Oooooh I see, ran away from big bro and now you're hiding out with Miss Stalks-a-lot?" A taller boy had backed Al into a corner and was poking him with their wand tip. The boy was blond, aguilar, and by the badge on his chest... a prefect. Aster drew her wand and held it to her side, with a quick tap the end was glowing very slightly.
"Ooh ho ho, and McCreepy pants is gonna protect you is she?" The blond boy sneered. Aster put on her meanest scowl, but couldn't keep her hand from shaking. Al tried to twist away from the other boy, but his shoulder was pushed back by the blond boy and he was trapped. Al looked at Aster with worried eyes, and she responded with a steady scowl. She hoped he would understand. He missed it.
Aster twitched the fingers on her right hand, attempting to catch Al's notice. She watched a calm spread over his face when he finally understood. "What? Lil brudder's all growd up?" The blond boy put down the wand tip and raised pulled back a fist. "All you're wonderful brothers done to me... I'm going to take out on you. I'm a prefect, so you can't even do anything about it. Then you'll both know better than to mess with a Malfoy."
The fist was moving in for an side swinging punch, but was halted mid movement. In motions that seemed almost choreographed Aster grabbed the swinging arm and put her foot behind the blond boys leg as Al shot in for an uppercut to the jaw. Within seconds Al and Aster were standing side by side with their wants out as Malfoy stumbled back, holding his jaw.
"You don't know any hexes either?" Aster mumbled under her breath. "Nope. Notta one that doesn't blow up in my face at least." Al mumbled back, then looking at her wand asked "What's that you're doing then?" Aster tapped her wand and a glowing marble fell from the tip. She caught and pocketed it, whispering "I'll tell you later." As she strode over to the older boy, who was still holding his face and checking for blood.
Aster tried her best to sound like her mother, and look like her father as she stood before the blond boy with her head high, chest out, and wand crossed over her heart. "If are such a fool as to intimidate others smaller than you, then you will be treated as a fool." She spat the words out as she struck her arm down and outward, her wand striking the side of the boys face like a switch.
She had seen her father do this to a boy outside the shop who had been mistreating a neighborhood dog. Aster had deeply admired the move and had spent much time attempting to mimic it, copying the words as well as she could remember. Wands had many unique properties that the general population tended to forget. One of these was that they never left a mark when someone was struck with them.
The blow should that have left a bright red streak, left the boy only with a humiliating memory and another pain in his face. The blond boy scampered away, and Aster prayed that it was not to gather backup. Both Al and Aster returned to their cabin, smiling at the turn things had taken. "No seriously, what was that glow?" Al asked, after they had both had a laugh.
"A recording charm. It traps whatever the wand can see and hear and the memory replays in the ball it produces. The glow makes it difficult to use secretly, which is why no one uses it. Its very simple though, so I can teach it to you." Aster said, pulling the marble out of her pocket to examine it. She held it up to the window to let the light shine through the marble and the room lit up with ghosts of the situation that happened only moments ago.
With boyish 'ooh's and whoops at the scene, Al reveled in their triumph. He even asked her to play it again when it had finished. Aster played the moment over again, but mulled on a troubling thought. Had they achieved victory? Had they passed whatever troubles had presented themselves?... Or had they only made things worse for themselves later on. Only time would tell. One thing was certain though. Aster would definitely be writing father about the incident.
The boy spoke highly of his family name, so it was reasonable to assume that they were of note-worthy blood. For the rest of the train ride it tickled at the back of her mind. What also bothered her was that she had so many recent cards of the present wizards, but none it seemed that were useful in current situations. Neville Longbottom as a master of herbology, Hermiony Granger was muggle-born, the Weasley family all sported red hair... The facts she had were largely broad spectrum common knowledge.
Perhaps a deeper investigation at the castle would reveal more secrets. She could find out substantially more than she knew now simply by asking students by the looks of it! Father was a very private man, and the only thing of his past that he spoke of was Lily. Now that Aster thought about it she realized she knew more about Lily than father! The thought jarred Aster and she found herself holding the locket father had given her... Well, she assumed father had given it to her.
Truth was, she had always worn the the locket... for as long as she could remember. It was a part of her now, though she had never gotten it open. When she had asked either of her parents about it they said she would find a way to open it when the time was right. Obviously the time wasn't right yet.