A/N: apologies for the delay, I had a crazy-busy week, which I hadn't anticipated at all.
Also, this chapter is quite long – and a bit different from the others I think, only because my fingers got a little carried away with themselves when typing a certain part.

Hope you enjoy…

Chapter Three: We Didn't Make This Bed, But You're Making Us Lie In It

"When we are struck at without reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we should – so hard as to teach the person who struck us never to do it again."
Charlotte Bronte, 'Jane Eyre'

.

Astoria's been terse all day; like a ticking time bomb. One of the reasons Draco suspects her sister has her under carriage-arrest. Naturally, they're all taken to be accomplices in Daphne's endeavour, so the younger is just thrilled to be in their company as well.

"Daphne, this is ridiculous," the brunette announces after a short bout of quiet. "I'm going to have to mingle with the masses at some point, and besides, I need to go to the bathroom."

The elder relents after a moment, but warns her not to "start anything". The blue-eyed teenager scoffs at this: Astoria doesn't start things; she just finishes them. As opposed to Daphne, who prefers to do neither, if she can help it.

The carriage doesn't quake quite as much when Astoria isn't in it, Draco finds, but then it's also ludicrously dull.

When the brunette has been gone for some time, it is Blaise who casually stands and exits the carriage. He doesn't say where he's going or why, but it is apparent. Daphne sends a grateful smile his way, all too aware of what he has undertaken; off to search an entire train full of hostiles to find a girl who has excelled at any form of hide-and-seek since she was barely three-years-old. It's as if living in the shadows is just in her blood, an innate characteristic that Astoria holds within herself that is so instinctual she barely registers its use anymore. He sometimes wonders if it's a trait that Daphne herself holds as well, only she has better self-control than her sister. It's a moot point either way because Draco can remember quite plainly every time Daphne sought him or Blaise or any of them out to help her locate Astoria, and he can't recall ever once having to track down the elder of the two sisters.

He supposes Hogwarts and its occupants have been cruel to them all over the years. They've each learned to adapt in their own way. And while Daphne always seems to try to minimise damage or settle matters with facts and intelligence and well-thought out processes; Astoria, for her part, forever seems to be skirting the edges, into the light then back to the dark, only to throw herself right into the heat of it all whenever the desire takes her. It makes for some very interesting family debates in the common room. It also makes them such captivating character subjects to study; sisters till the end, so similar in many respects, and yet complete opposites with exceptionally clear-cut differences at the very same time.

It's a trait Greengrasses have held for generations: they're utterly unpredictable. In everything but family, because that is something that can be easily relied upon to gain a reaction.

In many ways he thinks they're like his own family; like many Pureblood families. Except it's more than just bloodlines to them, more than just a family tree; more than just kin or maker and child: it is their way of life, their very being. It is what makes them who they are.

And if nothing else, he is in awe of that.

.

"She's coming back," Theo directs towards the elder Greengrass.

He turns back round, not to face the group, although all eyes are undoubtedly on him after that, but to look to the female that he may or may not be dating. Draco's pretty certain it's the former.

"And she appears to be in one-piece," he adds with a soft smile; that it's reserved solely for Daphne is obvious.

Draco can hear her breathe a quiet sigh of relief; there's less tension to fill the space already.

"Blaise's just behind her," is the extra piece of information Theo gives, because search-and-recover Astoria Greengrass-style 'missions' can result in anything.

The door is ajar and they hear Astoria's footsteps grow nearer, joined by the heavier ones of the tall male behind her, but it is a female voice he doesn't recognise that suddenly resounds off their walls.

"So, it's true then," the unknown girl says; and her derisive tone couldn't be clearer. "You're actually back."

There are likely more occupants in their carriage than any other; those with no choice but to unite against a school that's hated them from the moment the Sorting Hat uttered the name of their housing.

He barely has to crane his neck to see that it's one against three out there. They never have an advantage; apparently nothing has changed.

He wonders if his suspicions will be confirmed in this very moment; that the Great War has taught the children of Hogwarts and their parents nothing.

Another of the girls speaks then, sneering at the young brunette, with her arms crossed over her chest and a judgmental little look on her face, "Nothing in there but cowards and murderers and – "

Stupid, insolent girl, is all Draco thinks, his eyes moving from one Greengrass sister to the next.

It is moments like this that fuel his hatred towards all those others that this trio of teenage girls represent, because they are so very ignorant. They truly know nothing of the War, of what it cost both sides.

He finds his thoughts displayed quite evidently across Astoria's face. It is Blaise, however, who responds.

"And where were you when the Battle was raging? Killing a Death Eater of your own? Or running home to Mummy and Daddy?" he grits out venomously, and the girls shrink back in tandem at his tone.

He pushes past the duo, nudging the younger until she finally turns on her heel and storms ahead of him into the compartment, without so much as a backward glance as the door slams shut behind them.

BANG!

There is a rush of clothing and hurried footsteps, a blur of mahogany as a fuming Astoria Greengrass barrels into the otherwise tranquil carriage.

"That – she – "

Apparently all accounts of eloquence have left her at this moment; a feat not as easily achieved as some might assume.

Draco doesn't imagine he was alone in expecting her to have hit the girl, or at least thrown a hex in her direction. He supposes they all presume too much of each other at times.

"What's happened?" Daphne asks calmly, assuring her, "If it's about what those girls said just a moment ago, rest assured I will be reporting them to their Head of House."

"No, no," Astoria mutters at that. "No, it's – "

She drags her hands through her dark locks, wild around her head. A smirk twists Draco's lips as he watches this: tiny hands, tiny feet.

"It's that – annoying – stupid-haired – interfering – bitch!" is the strangled, infuriated reply moments later.

Her older sister blinks slowly. "I see. And who's done what now to cause this little outburst in our beloved star, hmm?"

Astoria's blue eyes harden somewhat and it is then that Draco, and he suspects just about everyone else as well, notices the slight flexing movement of the younger girl's hand, the bloody knuckles and broken skin. He releases a low groan.

Then again, there's a reason they presume such things.

"You've hit someone, haven't you?" Theo is the one to speak, to put the realisation to words. Sometimes he really shouldn't.

The younger Slytherin meets the other boy's eyes for the briefest of moments before looking away, resuming her task of pacing the length of the carriage.

Blaise lets out his own groan at this: he'll have his own punishment for returning the goods as damaged; for letting her get that way in the first place. It's how the Greengrasses work: blame is laid to those who take responsibility for the charge, because if you can't handle the task you shouldn't take it in the first place.

It does make sense in a very Slytherin, Pureblood, way. It also makes sense in a Greengrass way, in a familial way. And besides, expectations come with every bloodline; you accept this when you ally yourself with them. Draco suspects even a Hufflepuff could comprehend that one; and he barely thinks of them as competent at all, when he does think of them that is, and that is an extremely rare occurrence in itself. He expects that this is something he might have to alter, however, because after all, War changes people. The Final Battle may be over, but they're still dealing with the aftermath; and people can be especially determined in the fallout. In case there was any doubt; the trials played proof to the theory. Slytherin became synonymous with Pureblood even more than before and Pureblood was nigh on tantamount to evil, villain, the bad side. He hardly expects things to change when they step through the doors of Hogwarts. If anything: confined within those walls, with magic allowed to run free, and personal-bias swaying opinion, Draco expects it'll be worse.

Daphne suddenly seems to take note of what Theo has actually said then and after the bulging of eyes, she instantly demands, "Who?"

Draco catches the way the younger seems to bite her lip; they're not going to like her answer.

"What were you thinking?" is the question that follows almost instantaneously.

Astoria's steely blue eyes narrow as she replies scathingly, "I guess I wasn't thinking. Isn't that what you usually presume of me during these situations?"

Daphne lets out a deep breath at this, saying quietly, "Only because that's usually the only sane explanation I can come up with to rationalise your actions."

"Hey!" a new voice suddenly breaks in then; he's yet to decide if this is a welcome interruption or not. It can really go either way where the Greengrass sisters are concerned.

The slam of the door resounds behind the two additions as they step fully into the carriage.

"We heard about it from all the way up the front of the train!" is the next exclamation, and they are all well aware of exactly who is the source. Dignali Harper is still the same impressionable boy they met all those years ago when he took that fateful seat next to Astoria after the Sorting.

Apparently, his younger sister takes after him in that respect, since Undine immediately joins in with, "You really did a number on her! Granger's still trying to stop the bleeding!"

"I told you you'd be able to more than hold your own as a Beater," the younger boy tells Astoria, directing both his words and his grin towards his friend.

Draco has to resist scoffing at this, as apparently do the others. Everyone knows Astoria is raring to play Chaser for the Slytherin team. Going out on that field as a Beater, while she might be fully capable, would be like the consolation prize. And Astoria Greengrass, like any respectable Greengrass, does not settle for less than the best.

A small smirk appears on Astoria's face as she catches the eyes of Harper's little sister before Undine tells her brother, "That's only because you're afraid of being outshined on that pitch by a girl – and you know she'd do just that."

"The Head Girl!" Daphne cries out. "Of all people!"

The scream the elder Greengrass near elicits in accompaniment to her tone of sheer disbelief ceases any further chatter.

"You couldn't have found someone else to antagonise on our first day back, aside from the one person who probably has more influence over the teachers in this school than Harry-bleedin'-Potter himself?"

"She didn't hit Granger, she hit the Weasley girl, Ginny," the younger Harper enlightens them, blinking up at Daphne like she can't understand where she'd ever have gotten that idea from.

Draco barely resists the urge to roll his eyes. Honestly, these girls and their dramatics.

"You didn't hit Granger?" the elder breathes out, eyeing her sister with slight suspicion.

"I know!" Harper cries out, throwing his hands up like his whole planned takeover has been crushed because of this one play of Astoria's. "It's not nearly as entertaining when you find that out!" He drops his arms and his palms slap the outside of his legs with the rush of a sigh, before he tilts his head and appears to be mulling over what happened, voicing, "Then again, I can't say I'm not pleased someone finally smacked that annoying ginger bint..."

"Why ever didn't you just say that?" Daphne suddenly demands, averting her gaze from her sister to her sister's friend and shaking her head at the girl's apparent lack of common sense, before shooting another look at the boy encouraging such behaviour of the younger as she notes, "That's not nearly as bad as hitting Hermione Granger."

"Ah, but Weasley is Potter's girlfriend." It is the elder Harper who is doing the informing now, after his sister's moment to shine earlier, and his finger points to the sky as he pierces the air with his words. "And I can't imagine Granger's boyfriend will be too enamoured by the sight of his little sister's disfigured face staring back at him either."

"It was quite a hard hit," the boy's own sister then directs at Astoria, and Undine seemingly has no qualms about flashing her brother's friend a proud little grin. She clearly idolises the older girl; Draco thinks Harper should have the girl's head checked, but then, he also thinks Harper should have his own head checked, so maybe it runs in the family.

"Quite a hard hit?" Harper voices, incredulously, throwing a scoff at his little sister. "Granger had performed two Scourgify's by the time we'd left and she still hadn't cleared all the blood away. I'd be surprised if you escaped without any broken digits."

Astoria ducks her head at this statement, a small smile peaking through, as she unconsciously flexes her hand a little, hiding a wince.

"Something wrong with good old-fashioned magic, Greengrass?" Draco inquires at that, with a slight smirk and raising a pale eyebrow in question, which she promptly responds to by throwing a glare his way.

"Would you lot stop encouraging her?" Daphne cries in exasperation. "Honestly, it's no wonder she does this sort of thing, when this is the reaction she receives."

"I am here you know." Astoria clears her throat, mildly peeved.

The elder whirls around, and sets a steady gaze on her sister, with the words, "Yes, and here is where you shall stay for the remainder of the journey, but only after you have told me exactly what happened."

Astoria holds the stare for a short while, before rolling her eyes, and releasing a sigh.

"Outside. Now," Daphne instructs, and pushes past the occupants standing in her way; closing the door firmly behind her sister after she exits.

Theo flicks his wand in the direction of the door, muffling any sound coming through and causing the blind to shoot down to cover the windowpane.

Groans resound around the carriage at this, but the older students ignore it, choosing instead to return to their previous activities. They've witnessed enough family spats between the two girls over the years; and generally, if someone doesn't do it, Daphne will and then she'll shout at them for not respecting her privacy after she's done shouting at her sister for whatever it is Astoria has done. It's really just easier to leave the siblings to their own affairs, except being their houseguest over summer has changed things for him; now he has a vested interest that wasn't present before.

.

After recounting what happened to her sister, Astoria re-enters the carriage and takes a seat in the empty place by the window opposite Blaise. Daphne informs the boys, or more specifically Theo, that she is going to try and find Granger, telling him, "I'm going to try smooth things over before they reach such heights that we can't turn back."

"Ah, that's our Daphne, ever the diplomat," Blaise remarks with a shake of the head and his hand over his heart; the smirk crossing his lips dictating his tone.

Astoria rolls her eyes, but says nothing.

"She does realise that she's not Head Girl anymore, right?" Harper speaks a few moments after.

"'Course she does, you dolt," his little sister responds matter-of-factly. "She's just doing what she does best, ye know, trying to settle the waves."

She laughs at that, figuring she might as well capitalise on her sister's absence while she can, and shares a smile with Undine as she says, "Two galleons on her ruffling some feathers while she does it."

Harper raises an eyebrow at that; he's always sceptical of her, he really shouldn't be.

Astoria just smirks, holding out her hands, palms up; like she's innocent of all her friend is wordlessly charging her with. "Hey! I had to learn it from somewhere!"

She catches sight of Theo as he rolls his eyes at this, while Harper smiles smugly and shakes her outstretched hand taking the bet.

He spends the next half an hour trying to bounce ideas off the others on what exactly Daphne will do and what exactly Astoria herself did, and apparently more importantly, discover why she did whatever she did. It seems the brunette needs a justifiable reason these days to fly off the handle, even to Slytherins. She releases a short laugh at that, thinking: my, my, how things are changing.

She tunes him out as she takes in the blurring scenery that goes rushing by, burning into her retinas in a near-overwhelming blend of green, as her mind rushes back to what happened with Granger and Weasley.

"I thought we made it perfectly clear last year that you weren't welcome here anymore," the female in the centre snapped, effectively halting the brunette's movements.

Astoria turned slowly, her eyes a steely blue as she clocked the trio standing before her.

"And I thought I'd made it clear that you don't warrant any of my attention. You don't even exist to me. You're just a few bugs that buzzed around my ear until they had to be swatted," was her biting reply.

The girl on the right was clearly the centre's counterpart; identical features not difficult to recognise. She laughed, somewhat nervously, and said, "You didn't swat us, Astoria."

Astoria shrugged and leaned in closer to the trio. "Come closer, maybe I will," she murmured menacingly.

The next thing that was heard from the carriage was a high-pitched squeal, just as the door slid open to reveal Hermione Granger, who entered the corridor almost instantaneously.

"What's going on in here?" the Gryffindor demanded. "I am the Head Girl and you will tell me what just occurred here."

No one spoke up.

"Well?" the elder prompted, impatiently looking between the members of the group, clearly irritated with the four of them already.

"Astoria was blocking our path, and we were just trying to ask her to move when she drew her wand on us and started towards us like she was about to hex us all," the girl who was standing in the centre told Granger, her voice full of innocence and fear.

The Head Girl nodded for her to continue, remaining silent as she listened to the younger.

And then with a show of carefully practiced outrage and shock, the blonde continued, exclaiming, "And then she swished her wand, and I was hit with some sort of hex! Right across my cheek!"

"And who knows what it was! It could've been some form of Dark Arts for all we know!" her twin joined in with her then.

Astoria scoffed at this, which only seemed to heighten their performances.

"Look! Look what she did to my face! Look how she marred my cheek! I'll probably be permanently scarred now!" the blonde cried out, and then threw herself into the seat behind with a dramatic sigh, face in her hands.

"And you must know about what happened last year. She kills plants! For Merlin's sake, she's dangerous!" her identical twin continued.

The Head Girl soon discovered their names: Judith, Jacqueline and Febronia. They were in Hufflepuff and in the same year as Astoria. And a lovely little trio they made too.

"She should never have been allowed back in," was the frosty addition by the third girl. "None of them should."

Everyone knew to whom she was referring.

Febronia; with hair that was almost jet-black it seemed like the only thing that set her apart from her counterparts, apparently despised Astoria even more than the blonde twins. Not an easy feat, from what the Slytherin had deduced from her encounters with the trio.

Astoria stepped forward, arms clenched at her sides, staring venomously at the three of them.

"Alright, girls, that's enough," was Granger's stern warning at that.

The Gryffindor then turned her attention to the scowling girl nearest her, swiftly putting a stop to the smug looks of the others with a raise of the eyebrow.

"And what is your name?" Granger asked of her.

The younger slowly dragged her gaze up to meet the Head Girl's and answered simply, "Astoria Greengrass."

"House?" came the next prompt.

"Slytherin," was the reply; she practically hissed as she said it.

"Right," the elder took note. "And is this true? Did you assault these girls?"

Astoria set her gaze on the Gryffindor then, and asked coolly, "What do you think?"

And that was when Ginny Weasley appeared next to the Head Girl, directing a smile towards her friend as they greeted one another briefly.

The redhead moved to leave the elder to attend to her duties when the sight of the seething look on Astoria's face and the thinly veiled identical ones adorning the features of the three Hufflepuff girls she knew to be in the year below her, seemed to intrigue her enough to stop her in her tracks.

"What's going on here?" Weasley inquired.

"Look, they've already said, do we really have to rehash it to every person who comes by?" Astoria said; she was already miffed by the whole affair, never mind the fact that she'd been caught, she didn't particularly want to have to answer to Ginny Weasley of all people as well. "Now, I didn't do anything, my wand's right here, as you can plainly see, and there is no 'assault weapon' in sight. Her cheek's barely red, it's probably just that stupid make-up she cakes on in that ridiculous manner, and she's trying to pin it on me – as usual."

Astoria shot a look at the trio when she finished, before turning back to Hermione.

"Now, can you just give me my punishment, take away house points or give me a detention or whatever it is that you Gryffindor's do whenever a Slytherin is accused of something, so I can leave?" she asked, and then shot a disdainful look at the three girls who still insisted on standing too close to her for her likely. "I think I'm beginning to adopt a smell hanging around these three, and I'd really rather it didn't linger for any longer than it must – not pleasant at all, I assure you."

She flashed the trio a dazzling smile, and they huffed and puffed and looked ready to lunge right for her; it took a resounding amount of willpower not to laugh in their faces.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Granger informed her. "I need to investigate this matter a little more. Your punishment, should it be proven that you did indeed do as you are accused, will be decided after. Now could I please see your wand?"

The Slytherin narrowed her eyes slightly and looked set to refuse, her grip tightening around the thin sliver of wood, before she finally relented, ignoring a certain Gryffindor's amused eyebrow raise at her actions, and thrust her wand into the older girl's outstretched hand.

"Thank you," Granger awarded the younger for her trouble.

As the Head Girl began to perform a few routine manoeuvres to determine what spell had last been cast from the wand, the redhead took the opportunity to sidle up to the brunette.

"Been causing trouble already, Astoria? Tut tut, what would big sis say to that, hmm?" It wasn't difficult to recognise that the lower-rank Gryffindor was baiting the other girl; the amused look on her face evidence enough of the fact.

"Buzz off Weasley, I'm not in the mood to be the centre of your games at the moment. In case you haven't noticed, I'm already the prize in this trio's – and I can't please everyone, sorry," Astoria replied, half-glaring at the other girl; seriously, it wasn't enough that she had to deal with those twits from Hufflepuff, now she had the Gryffindor ragging on at her as well.

"Shame. Though you've never really been one to please, have you Astoria? Doubt you-know-who was pleased with you during the Battle of Hogwarts," Weasley mused, locking eyes with the smaller girl as soon as she whirled around.

"What's it to you, what I did during the Battle, Weasley?" Astoria questioned coldly, eyes narrowed.

The Head Girl moved quickly then to intervene, but she wasn't quite quick enough against the prized Chaser of Gryffindor.

"My brother died in that Battle, you little harpy," was the redhead's seething reply. "And so did loads of my friends."

"And what? Just because I'm a Slytherin means I had something to do with it? Give me a break, Weasley; I fought on your side. No doubt, you'd have me aiming for my own sister as she stood next to me if you had your way," Astoria hissed back.

The Gryffindor's eyes narrowed. "If that's what you think, it's only because you're the one who's made it that way."

"Yes, of course, because I chose to be ostracised from the rest of my school when I was eleven years old. I chose to be bullied and judged by teachers and pupils alike from my first day here, because of who my predecessors were. I chose to have the rest of my house abandon me and my home after our Headmistress all but dismissed us as a lost cause because of the acts of one person."

Her face was mere inches from the other girl's, despite the height difference, her eyes narrowed, chest heaving.

"Look a little closer to home for who to blame next time, Weasley. Slytherin's have been made to play the villains in a school full of victims for a wee bit too long, don't you think? And we certainly didn't get there on our own, either."

The redhead's expression looked positively murderous; the irony didn't escape her.

"After all, Gryffindor's are nothing if not wonderful examples of leadership," Astoria snapped, whirling round, and snatching her wand suddenly from the Head Girl's hand as she stood back in a moment of shock. She ignored the sparks that had just shot out of it and instead stalked off. If she'd actually wanted to wound Judith any, she'd have just cancelled her incoming mail; everyone knew the girl would be a lost cause without her precious make-up.

"You will report to Gryffindor tower for detention at 9pm sharp," the Head Girl shouted after her. "And I will be informing Professor Slughorn of this."

"Well, the only thing in Slytherin is murderers and traitors," was the redhead's call to her, however, as she took a bold step forward after the brunette. "And we are victims, and you are villains – and until you stop trying to kill us all, that's the way it will stay."

Astoria ignored the audible gasp from the older Gryffindor and the reprimand of, "Ginny!"

In an instant she had spun round, and was in front of Weasley, her fist flying towards the other girl's face faster and harder than either could ever have fathomed.

"You know nothing of what makes a victim," Astoria hissed venomously, sending a chill through the Gryffindor's very core, before turning on her heel and storming away, leaving chaos in her wake.

And all the Head Girl could do was watch the retreating figure while she tried to stem the blood slipping between her best friend's fingers.

One of the girls next to them apparently caught sight of the blood and promptly threw up, while another had fainted, barely supported in her sister's waif-like arms.

Astoria drew a deep sigh as she walked away and wondered if the rest of the year would be as confrontational. Despite what she knew would be public opinion, she didn't actually want that; she just didn't like being blamed for things that weren't her fault, never mind completely out-with her control. And she certainly didn't like when people spoke of things they had no knowledge about.

She wondered if she mightn't have been better off had Daphne been placed into Ravenclaw. All that information and knowledge could've led them to something better; or at least taken her sister someplace better.

Knowledge is power after all.

Maybe that was why the elder was in Slytherin; she held the power.

That thought alone allowed Astoria to calm somewhat, just in time to see a familiar figure appear before her.

She clasped her hands behind her back and greeted Blaise with a wide smile as she strode towards him. He took up step a few paces behind her and allowed her lead the way, wand still in hand.

He didn't comment on it, and she smiled. Astoria might have trusted her sister to get them through this, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to be prepared for any immediate occurrences that happened before Daphne harnessed all that power and used it to save them.

She was a Slytherin, after all, and self-preservation was always top priority.

Besides, who'd leave a mutinous environment on the streets only to get struck down by the deadly lifestyle confined within a castle?

They weren't stupid, they knew it wouldn't be an easy road; but such was their world.

She's drawn from her reverie when she feels a hand reach over and take hers, cool to the touch. The blood disappears and the skin starts to reform across her bones, their crunching and clicking signifying their own mending and realignment.

She doesn't see anyone else as she turns to look at him with a question in her eyes.

"It was unsightly. I did you a favour," he answers only to her.

He drops her hand from its place in his, and shoves his wand back in his pocket.

"You should be bloody thanking me, not judging me," he says then.

She smirks at this, knowing he'll cast it up to her later and claim she owes him because of it.

Astoria can see the slight twitching of his lips before it seems to blur with the world outside at her whisper of, "Thank you, Draco."

.

TBC…

A/N: apologies for the lack of Daphne/Astoria – I promise more variation in parts from the next chapter onwards.
Also, apologies if you feel any characters were OOC.
Ginny, I used, for obvious reasons here. She has a fiery personality, and I feel that the effects of the War would still be ricocheting through her and her family; especially if the Trials are ongoing as I imagine they would be. And people deal with Grief and War in different ways.
Point to note, for future reference: This is not a Ginny or Gryffindor-bashing story. However, since I am writing from a Slytherin POV, it might appear that way at some stages.
Also, I doubt most other chapters will be as long, but I could be wrong haha

Thanks so much for reading – please let me know what you think, it means a lot!
Steph
xxx