ASTORIA
1 September 2000

On the first of September, the streets of Diagon Alley were as quiet as they had been in months. With summer over, the children had all headed off to board the Hogwarts Express and no longer ran through the streets buying ice cream and sorting through the bins of Weasley's Wizard Wheazes. Angelina was happy for the reprieve as it allowed her some time to sleep in, but she had an appointment at noon and if she slept in any later, she would be late. So reluctantly she dragged herself out of bed and waddled into the kitchen.

It was no secret Angelina had a bit of a rough exterior. On first impression she definitely didn't come across as the maternal type, but that didn't deter her from hoping that someday she would become a mum. Granted, the circumstances were less than ideal but she and George had quickly settled into a happy relationship, further accelerated by the onset of parenthood. Sometimes she wondered why the two of them had never considered pursuing a romantic relationship in the many years they had known each other.

"Ange?" George poked his head in. "You ready?"

"You really don't have to come," she assured him. "This appointment will be just like the others. I don't need a chaperone."

"Has it ever occurred to you," he sighed, "that I might want to go."

"In that case," she smiled, "we'll leave as soon as I have a shower."

Angelina left George to make a pot of tea while she got ready. She was never one to take too long in the morning so he was only halfway through his cup of tea before she had reappeared in the doorway.

"Shall we?" she asked.

"After you," he gestured toward the fireplace.

With a flash of green flames they were both en route to St. Mungo's where a slender witch named Astoria led them to an empty bed on the second floor. Angelina tried her best to get comfortable but she instantly felt sick when she saw Audrey, her least favorite healer, approach her bedside.

"Good afternoon," Audrey reintroduced herself. "Before we start, I want to inform you that I will be training a new healer today. Please allow Astoria to join us."

Angelina nodded, as if she had a choice. The slender witch with raven-black hair smiled discreetly as she watched Audrey unroll a parchment bearing Angelina's name in large letters at the top. Meanwhile, Angelina laid against the pillows with bated breath, cursing the powers that be for consistently assigning Audrey as her healer. The latter uttered a few words to her trainee and then Astoria began the examination.

George took his girlfriend's hand and watched as she breathed a sigh of relief. The healer-in-training had a much gentler touch than her mentor and was quickly putting the pregnant witch at ease as she dragged her wand across her patient's exposed abdomen. Angelina did her best to try and steal a glance at the parchment Audrey held in her hands but the indignant healer was unwilling to share, keeping the parchment practically pressed against her nose. After what seemed like an eternity, Audrey finally rolled up the parchment and handed it to George.

"Everything looks fine," she told the expectant parents. "We'll see you in six weeks."

On that note, Audrey stood up and turned to leave. Astoria tucked her wand into her pocket and hurried to catch up. She hardly even noticed her patient had gotten up to leave.

"That's it for today," Audrey told her pupil. "You have thirty minutes for lunch and then you report to the fourth floor."

"Oh, okay," Astoria muttered as the healer turned a corner.

With Audrey no longer in sight, she ran up the steps to the cafe on the top floor of St. Mungo's. She ordered a glass of pumpkin juice and a Cornish pasty to go with latest old copy of Witch Weekly. As she settled in her booth, she took a sip of pumpkin juice. It was only a matter of minutes before a house-elf wearing a crocheted scarf and a red bow wrapped around her head, carried over a tray to her table. Astoria thanked her kindly and the elf disappeared with a pop.

She had to admit she was startled when house-elves first began allowing themselves to be seen. Having grown up in the Wizarding world, she was accustomed to the role of house-elves in her family's home. For the most part they only spoke to her mother, as head of the household, but as a child she remembered wanting to play with them in her her sister's absence. It wasn't until she had finished school and SPEW became a staple in every copy of The Daily Prophet that she understood the house-elves were being held captive.

She spent the next three months knitting jumpers for each of the three house-elves that had kept the Greengrass home in order since before she was born. That Christmas Eve her mother was livid when Astoria handed her packages to the elves. With no staff to cook Christmas dinner, the family spent the holiday at the Leaky Cauldron. She never went home after that and it was nearly a year before her mother spoke to her again. That's not to say she was suddenly reformed. Astoria still showed nothing but disdain for Harry Potter and his band of misfits. Had she known her first patient of the day was months away from giving birth to a Weasley, she probably wouldn't have shown them the same kindness. No, it was her love for house-elves and other helpless magical creatures that inspired the rift between her and her family.

While she nibbled at her lunch, Astoria buried herself in an article about the infamous Draco Malfoy. His stoic face graced the glossy page, steely gray eyes practically boring into her. She remembered him from the few years that they had overlapped at Hogwarts. He always strolled through the grounds with a sense of superiority and a smirk plastered on his face. Her sister had told her plenty of times that crossing him would be the last mistake she ever made. Still, she was engrossed in his article. It had been two years since the war and in that time Draco Malfoy had allegedly turned over a new leaf. He no longer terrorized Harry Potter or anyone else affiliated with the Order of the Phoenix, in fact, he tried to align himself with them after the war.

Most wizards believed the Malfoys' claims of being under the Imperius Curse were purely an act of self-preservation in the wake of a reformed Ministry. Astoria was among them knowing exactly how calculating the Malfoys were, having been longtime family friends. Yet she said nothing, her own family barely avoided prosecution by exploiting the same excuse. Luckily, she was too young to have been involved in the war on Voldemort's side, but she still didn't wish ill on her family, despite their falling out.

Draco Malfoy's involvement, however, was dubious. Having been seventeen at the height of the war, he would be the youngest Death Eater ever recruited. It was very possible that he was unaware of the true gravity of his actions, working under the orders of his parents. In fact, it was far more likely that he was acting under the Imperius Curse than anyone else. And he spent the last two years trying to convince the entire Wizarding world of that. Immediately after the war, without returning to Hogwarts to take his final exams, Draco began lobbying for the reform of the ministry. He was the first to acknowledge the problems of the past and began a valiant effort to eliminate Pureblood supremacy, beginning in England. He soon began spreading his advocacy throughout Europe and the last time Astoria heard of him, he was speaking in Belgium.

Still, many thought it was a ploy to avoid sentencing. Others believed he had an epiphany on the grounds of Hogwarts that night. As legend tells it, he was saved by Hermione Granger, a girl he once tortured in school, calling her a Mudblood, a crime that was later cemented with Draco's aunt permanently engraved the word into Hermione's arm. Maybe it was remorse, maybe it was a sudden awakening from the Imperius Curse, Astoria didn't really know what to believe but she had to admit that he was successfully carrying on the ruse several years later. If it was in fact a ruse, she had to commend his dedication to the charade.

Taking the last bite of her salad, Astoria flipped the magazine closed, bringing and end to her private musings about Draco Malfoy. She had no time to dwell on the veracity of his newfound career as a lobbyist when work needed to be done at St. Mungo's. She stood up, leaving a few sickles on the table for the house-elf who would shortly appear to clear her tray. Then she dropping the magazine in a rubbish bin and returned to her training on the fourth floor.


I hope you liked my interpretation of Astoria. Coming up, Hermione and Ron are getting married!