Astoria had stayed late at Draco's new apartment, partially because she hadn't wanted to go and partially because she could tell that Draco was uneasy with so much change. She wasn't surprised, for generations the Malfoy family had lived in their sprawling manor and accumulated wealth. Over the years they had realized that producing only one child to inherit all the gold in their vast Gringotts vault was the best way to keep the money in the family. And so there had always been only one Malfoy heir and they were invariably male. The family also came from the more strictly traditional side of high Wizarding society which eventually led to their affair with the darker side of magic.
The majority of Wizarding elite was more modern, Galleons were Galleons and if a family had enough of those then the matter of blood purity could be forgotten. Astoria's family were generally not as prominent in society as the Malfoys or the Zabinis but still received invitations to all the best parties. This was mostly because the Greengrasses were well-liked by almost everyone. Over the years they had maintained their position in society by getting along with pretty much everyone. Maybe that inherent Greengrass ability was why Astoria was unusually popular for a Slytherin. When the Sorting Hat had settled on her young head, it had reasoned that she would make an excellent Ravenclaw because of her vast amount of curiousity and her already budding love for new experiences. When she had rejected that notion, the idiotic piece of headgear had actually had the audacity to suggest Gryffindor. At this eleven-year old Astoria had vowed to master fraying spells until she could come back for revenge if she was sent to the house of red and gold. Half a second after that, the Sorting Hat had hollered out Slytherin and quietly ordered Astoria to never try it on again.
Beaming she had taken a seat at Slytherin table. Daphne sat at that table, a few seats down from her friend Pansy Parkinson and a blond boy Astoria would soon learn to be the Malfoy boy, Draco. During her years at Hogwarts she had realized that inter-House friendships were possible despite all the commotion that Harry Potter and his friends stirred up. So little first-year Astoria had plopped herself down in seats next to Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws and the rare Gryffindor. Becoming friends with them wasn't particularly hard if you kept the snobbery to a low minimum. Hufflepuffs were friendly by nature although they usually stuck to themselves much like the Slytherins, being intensely loyal and all that. Ravenclaws liked Astoria better than most because she had a sharp tongue and had a love of reading. Being friends with Gryffindors was a little more difficult. This was due to a number of different reasons. The chief one being that Gryffindors weren't interested in getting to know a Slytherin generally. Astoria didn't like Gryffindors as a whole because they had a tendency to paint things as black or white and Astoria herself believed that the world was painted in varying shades of gray. Too often Slytherins were painted as villains and as a non-Dark-magic practicing witch, Astoria resented the label.
She aced her O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T. exams much to the delight of her parents who were happy to have produced a child with an academic turn of mind. Despite being two years older than Astoria, Daphne Greengrass was far less concerned with her future. She was happy to chatter with her girl friends and flirt with every boy in Slytherin House. Daphne's one dream in life was to meet the love of her life and settle down in a fancy house which would then be filled with children. Astoria respected this although on her more cynical days she was prone to scoffing. On those days she could at least admit that the role of a wife and mother was one that Daphne was well suited for. Daphne had rounder curves and hair a lighter brown than Astoria; she helped out the first-years before they were taught not to ask a Slytherin for help and kept her room in Greengrass hall organized. Tragically, Daphne fell in love several times a month despite harboring a deep crush on Theodore Nott for years. While Astoria had been content in being alone, her elder sister was restless unless she had a hand to hold.
When everyone realized that Harry Potter had been telling the truth and that the Dark Lord was indeed returned, apparently from the dead, the Greengrasses had summoned their daughters home immediately. Astoria had been only thirteen and incredibly alarmed at her parents' nervousness. For as long as she could remember her parents had remained steady and calm in the face of everything. But that day they had been panicked and shaky, her mother's hair had been a flyaway mess. Daphne and Astoria had been carefully instructed to call no attention to themselves. To avoid trouble and conflict whenever possible. Above all, they were to keep themselves safe, self-preservation was a Slytherin trait after all. The Greengrass sisters had managed to follow their parents' instruction through the ever-increasing chaos at Hogwarts. But in Daphne's Seventh year, Astoria's Fifth year, things had veered in an awful direction.
The majority of her friends had been in Dumbledore's Army, if not openly then at least they had exuded an air of defiance. When the Carrows were introduced as teachers Astoria had received several detentions, not for supporting Harry Potter or the Order of the Phoenix, but for mouthing off at inopportune moments in class. This at least earned her some passing respect from her friends in other houses who couldn't have let her into Dumbledore's Army as a Slytherin, if she had wanted to join. Post-war Hogwarts was an awful mess and classes were horribly chaotic. Still Astoria managed to graduate towards the top of her class and both of her parents and Daphne had proudly shown up for her graduation. After that Astoria had spent that summer trying to find a purpose for the rest of her life. That summer stretched into a year and then two. This left her where she was now, flitting around the world, trying to find something to hold her in one place for more than a few weeks. So far this had proved unsuccessful.
** I'm thinking about adding something a little racy in a coming chapter. Thoughts?
