Chapter Thirty Six
The Goblin Wars
0o0
Fred and George were in the entrance hall when Astoria's Care of Magical Creature's class returned to the castle. Astoria made a beeline for them immediately, pulling the letter she had received that morning out of her pocket.
"Hello!" George beamed at her, his face darkening slightly as he caught the look on Astoria's. "What?"
Astoria handed him the letter sternly.
"Why has Marcus Flint been writing to you?" asked George at once, reading the signature before the letter the same way Astoria had.
"Shh," Astoria hissed. Several feet away, Draco Malfoy had stopped on his way toward lunch in order to listen to them, his interest piqued by Marcus's name.
Astoria pulled Fred and George toward a suit of armor for greater privacy. "Just read it."
"Blimey," muttered Fred, reaching the end of the note.
"We had no idea," added George.
"How do we know Flint isn't bluffing," said Fred. "He might be lying to you, just to make you drop out..."
"I don't think so," said Astoria at once, wishing to put an end to this theory before it took root. "That's not the sort of thing I've ever known him to do. Look, he even said he'd bet us fifty galleons." Astoria pointed toward the end of the note.
"Couldn't bother to remember either of our names, though, could he?" muttered George resentfully. "The git- he just called us 'the Weasleys'. We knew him longer than you did!"
"What are we going to do, then?" asked Fred, handing then letter back to her. "Give up on the whole thing?"
"Well," said Astoria slowly, "I vote that we meet with the goblins."
Fred and George were both uncharacteristically hesitant at this suggestion.
"I don't know," said George at last. "Goblins are tricky, Astoria. Our brother Bill works for the bank- the stories he tells. They can be really nasty, Goblins can."
"But what harm can it do just to meet with them?" Astoria pressed, slightly surprised by the twins fearfulness. "Worst case scenario, we can't work anything out and we tell the Goblins ourselves that we won't be any taking bets."
Fred let out a long, slow gust of air into his hands, rubbing his mouth nervously. "Alright, yeah. I guess that's true."
"But it's just a meeting!" insisted George cautiously. "Listen up, Astoria. You have to promise that you won't do anything to provoke them! Our little feud with Bagman is bad enough. The last thing we need is trouble from a clan of rogue Goblins."
0o0
Astoria spent the next week in a state of agitated suspense.
The idea of meeting with goblins was bad enough, but having to wait to do so was nearly torturous. Every scenario in which the meeting might go wrong was given time to mature and play itself out in her head. What if the Goblins threatened them? What if the Goblins hurt them or tried to hold them hostage in Hogsmeade?
Astoria spent hours going over the book on Gobbledegook that Theodore's father had given her years ago, wincing every time she mispronounced a word or read a particularly violent passage, written out lovingly by the hand of Urg the Unclean.
By Saturday morning, Astoria had lost half of her courage and most of her desire to even parlay with the goblins in the first place.
"Alright, we have a decision to make," said George, as they set off across the windswept grounds after breakfast. "Do we do as Flint suggested, and go to meet Hodrod at the Three Broomsticks or do we hunt down the 'nutter' Ragnuk?"
"Hodrod," said Astoria without having to give it a second thought, trying to swallow some of her nervousness as they reached the village. "Anyone that Flint thinks is a nutter is bound to be more than half-crazed."
The Three Broomsticks was characteristically packed for a Hogwarts weekend. Here and there, Astoria spied adults that she imagined were only in town because of the upcoming First Task.
"Look," said Fred sharply. "Its Bagman!"
It was indeed Ludo Bagman. To their collective sorrow, Ludo was sitting with a pack of Goblins, among whom, Astoria was certain, Hodrod must be one.
"What do we do?" hissed Fred, freezing in the doorway, alive to the awkwardness of the situation. "We can't talk to Hodrod with Bagman here!"
"No," Astoria agreed, studying Ludo and the goblins carefully. Ludo looked very tense. Something about the way he was sitting on his chair and the twitchy manner that his eyes kept leaping about the room made Astoria feel sure that he was there under duress. "Come on, we're leaving."
"What?" said Fred unhappily, following her back out into the autumn streets. "You want to give up?"
"No," said Astoria, turning them about and heading up the hill, the wheels in her brain turning very fast. "We're going to treat with Ragnuk instead."
"The nutter?" exclaimed George. "Why don't we just wait for Bagman to leave?"
"Think about it," said Astoria, panting as she took the steep slope up to the Hogs Head at a speedy clip. "What do we know? We know Ragnuk hates Hodrod and Hodrod is working with Bagman, right?"
Fred made a face that suggested he thought Astoria might be half a nutter herself.
"So, what if we went to Ragnuk and told him that we don't want to work with Hodrod, because he's partners with a person who we know is a thief," Astoria continued quickly. "We can use what we know to butter Ragnuk up. Who knows, maybe we'll even manage to get our money back from Bagman this way!"
"That's insane," said Fred slowly, his expression clearing as he processed this logic. "I love it!"
The entrance to the Hogs Head was just as dingy and frightening as Astoria remembered it from the year before.
"Keep your heads down," Astoria whispered as she opened the door, thinking of how Aberforth had corralled Theo, Draco and herself into his office. "The barkeeper won't want us here. He'll kick us out for looking so young, if he sees us. Don't try to order drinks."
Astoria blinked in the grim light inside the pub, trying to let her eyes adjust without having to stand still for overlong or draw any attention toward the doorway.
"Nice crowd," muttered Fred darkly, gesturing toward a man with a head that was so bandaged, no part of his face was visible except his eyes and his nose.
"Over there," said Astoria, pointing to a particularly dark corner where several goblins were sitting around an up-ended wine barrel and playing cards.
They crossed the room quickly, their footsteps muffled by the hay on the bare stones beneath their feet.
"Excuse me," said Astoria, drawing level with the make-shift barrel table. "We're looking for a man named Ragnuk."
The goblins stared back at her with dark, beady eyes. There was something unpleasant about the way their faces seemed to pinch around their brows, creating a look of resting hostility.
"Ragnuk you might find," said a particularly sharp-nosed goblin at last, "but he's no man."
The rest of the goblins tittered cruelly.
"I'm sorry," Astoria amended quickly, remembering what Flint had said about being respectful. "Can you tell me where to find Ragnuk the goblin?"
The goblins around the table exchanged dark, suspenseful looks.
"You're speaking to him," said the pointy-faced goblin that Astoria had already been addressing. "Now you know my name but I still don't know yours."
"My name is Astoria Greengrass," said Astoria, "and this is Fred and George Weasley."
Fred and George both exchanged uncomfortable glances as she named them, but Astoria knew enough about Goblins to know that trying to remain anonymous was probably a moot point now that she had gained their attention.
"I see," said Ragnuk. "Why are you here, Astoria Greengrass, asking for me by name when I have never met nor heard of you."
Fred and George shifted uncomfortably but Astoria was determined not to loose the audience while they had it.
"May I sit?" Astoria asked, gesturing toward one of the vacant, rickety wooden chairs.
Ragnuk chuckled nastily under his breath but nodded in assent, perhaps amused by the ludicrous notion of a Hogwarts student seeking him out in a bar.
"It was brought to my attention that I might be offending you," said Astoria, sitting down on the very old chair.
"Is that so?" said Ragnuk evenly. His amused smile had all but vanished.
"Yes," said Astoria. "For the past few years, I've taken bets on the Quidditch Tournaments that take place at Hogwarts. I would like to continue that legacy by opening up a betting pool on the the Triwizard Tournament."
Ragnuk's expression had hardened. The goblins on either side of the table began muttering to each other in Gobbledegook but their speech was much too fast and guttural for Astoria to catch even a third of what they were saying.
"I'm afraid I cannot allow that," said Ragnuk dangerously, provoking a shuttered laugh from one of the other goblins on his right. This laughing goblin leaned forward to mutter in Ragnuk's ear and Astoria caught nothing but the words 'girl' and 'fool' in his gravely stream of speech.
"Does the language of my people upset you?" asked Ragnuk, following Astoria's eyes toward the speaking goblin.
"No," said Astoria flatly, feeling a bit of the insulted anger she needed to continue forward with bravery. "Although I think it's a bit rude to speak a language in front of company who cannot understand it."
"Is that so?" asked Ragnuk, a cruel leer crossing his sharp features. Behind her, Astoria felt Fred Weasley stiffen. "Perhaps my companion simply wishes for privacy?"
"If he wants his conversation to be private, he might try excusing himself," Astoria went on coldly. "Goblins aren't the only creatures who can understand Gobbledegook. As it is, I know that your friend thinks I'm an idiot and I'm fairly certain it's mostly because I'm female."
This must have been close enough to what the goblin had said because there was a very long and tense silence, in which Ragnuk's expression did not change, and the goblin who had been muttering took off again at full speed, obviously offended.
"Astoria," said Fred tensely through gritted teeth, trying to push her off the chair she was sitting on. "Get up-"
It was on Astoria's mind to comply when, to her great surprise, Ragnuk began to laugh. He raised his sharp little hand to silence the muttering goblins.
"You'd be surprised how many men much older and more important than you would not have be able to understand as much," said Ragnuk. "Gold rules society. Wizard gold, as they call it, but that is a misnomer. Who is it that guards the wealth of all wizard-kind, girl? Is it the men of business?"
"No," said Astoria carefully, forcibly reminded of one of Mr. Nott's rants. "The goblins do."
"You've told me your purpose," said Ragnuk, with a note of finality, brushing hay off of his velvet pants. "I'm afraid I cannot allow it, although I thank you for making your business known to me. You have spared yourself a good deal of... unpleasantness."
"I came to you on purpose, you know," said Astoria recklessly, feeling as though she had nothing to lose. "I could have gone to Hodrod, but I thought you and I might understand each other better."
At the mention of Hodrod's name, the goblins seated around the table collectively hissed and the effect was very menacing, indeed.
"Is that so?" demanded Ragnuk, his interest regained at the terrible price of his anger.
"Yes," said Astoria, raising her voice in order to be heard over the wrathful clamoring of the goblins, "because I know the kind of company Hodrod keeps. One of his friends robbed me personally."
The goblins around the table suddenly ceased hissing and the atmosphere was so still in the wake of so much sound that Astoria could hear Fred's ragged breathing.
"It's a dangerous thing to call a goblin a thief," said Ragnuk in clear, cold voice.
Sensing that this was the part of the conversation in which Astoria would either win over Ragnuk or be chased off the property when he turned his angry companions loose on her, Astoria proceeded carefully.
"It's a dangerous thing for a goblin to be friends with thieves," Astoria returned firmly. "Hodrod is working with a man who stole from me. I won't make any deals with him. I've come to you because I respect you, and I want to form an alliance."
Ragnuk gnashed his teeth together thoughtfully. Fred reached out a trembling hand and grasped the back of Astoria's chair firmly.
"How much does this friend of Hodrod owe you?" asked Ragnuk thoughtfully.
Astoria turned to look at Fred, who cleared his throat looking startled, before answering. "Just over three hundred galleons."
"Ha!" laughed Ragnuk. "A pittance."
"My pittance," said Astoria firmly, surprised by her own nerve. "It wouldn't matter if it was ten galleons or a thousand. The money belongs to me, not Hodrod."
This seemed to be good goblin logic because Ragnuk was pensive again.
"Suppose I allowed you to collect bets," said Ragnuk slowly. "What would you give to me by way of payment?"
"I don't know that I should have to pay you anything," said Astoria, phrasing her words mindfully. "I am willing to strike a deal, however."
"Are you?" asked Ragnuk, properly showing his pointy teeth for the first time. "All debts owed to you by Hodrod will be mine, that is my first condition. You may not have the force to extract payment, but I most certainly do."
Astoria thought this was a very good bargain but Fred coughed angrily.
"We can agree to that," said Astoria, shooting Fred an angry look.
"Good," said Ragnuk. Astoria hardly had time to marvel at the ease with which they had managed to strike this bargain when Ragnuk spoke again. "I can see why you might find it degrading to pay me for the right to collect bets at Hogwarts, when you have been doing so for years. To show you respect, I humbly request only that you bet against me."
Here it was; a goblin's trick. Ragnuk would not give them what they wanted unless he had access to all three of their necks.
"What do you mean?" asked Astoria shortly, sensing that the devil was about to present himself in the details of this deal.
"You will bet the same sum that you collect at Hogwarts back against me," said Ragnuk. "Every deal has its risk. That will be yours."
George shook his head. "No, Astoria."
Ragnuk glanced triflingly at George, who had not spoken once throughout the entire meeting and who did not seem to command Ragnuk's attention, much less his respect.
"You want me to turn around and bet everything I earn again to you, on one of the champions?" asked Astoria, wanting to be very clear.
"Everything you earn for each task," said Ragnuk nastily.
Astoria could foresee several problems with this arrangement almost immediately. The first and most prominent among them, being the fact that she and the twins had no collateral. If they did not win money on the first task, Astoria would not even be able to pay the students, let alone the goblins.
"Do I get to choose which champion we bet on?" asked Astoria tensely.
"You will take what I offer you on good faith," said Ragnuk, his grin becoming deeper still. "I'll allow you to bet on the youngest champion, your famous Harry Potter."
Unwanted, Astoria's mind flashed to Draco and the contempt he would surely feel if he had heard this statement.
"If Harry Potter wins the tournament, I pay you," Ragnuk continued, his eyes as deep and dark as unfathomable pits. "If he loses, you will pay me."
"That's mad!" exploded George in exasperation.
"That's business," said Ragnuk firmly without even looking at him, his eyes trained on Astoria.
Astoria pondered this, her true feelings on Harry's odds as a champion put to the test for the first time. Did she truly think that Harry could win?
"Fred," said Astoria, inclining her head without breaking eye contact, "George, I think we should take the bet." Fred made a choking sound, so Astoria quickly went on, determined. "But only if Ragnuk will allow it so that Harry doesn't have to come in first place."
Ragnuk's eyes narrowed.
"What are you talking about, Astoria?" asked George nervously.
"We'll bet on Harry, but only if he comes in first or second place. Harry is the youngest champion, after all. He has a significant disadvantage. I know Ragnuk wouldn't want to offer us unfair odds."
Ragnuk gnashed his teeth again and let out a long breath through his slit like nostrils. "I'll allow it."
"Good," said Astoria, standing up, dizzy with a mixture of relief and absolute awe at her own madness.
What if they lost the bet? Not paying the Goblin's would not be an option. Could Astoria bring herself to ask Maudlin for money in such a case? Then, even if Astoria did manage to swallow her pride and beg, would he even give it to her? Was this the moment that would lead to Astoria's eventually having to become Roland Yaxely's child bride?
Ragnuk extended his long-fingered hand. Astoria, knowing she should be running in the opposite direction, shook it.
0o0
They headed back down the steep drive in tense silence, waiting to be certain that they were out of earshot of Ragnuk before speaking. Despite the fact that nearly a hundred feet separated them from the clan of hostile goblins up the hill, none of them said a word until they were back in town.
"Bloody hell!" Fred exploded as they reached high street. "Did we just sell Ludo Bagman to the goblins?"
None of them knew what to say to this and, very slowly, all three of them began to grin stupidly.
"We did!" said George, a look of pure awe making his face go slack as he clutched his wild, ginger hair with both hands. "Bagman wouldn't pay up, so we sold him."
The idea of what they had just managed to achieve was literally so ridiculous that, for a moment, neither Astoria nor the twins could hold a straight face.
"That was a terrible idea, though," said Fred at last, with the first twinge of regret. "If we don't win our bet, we'll have a ruddy goblin force after us. You don't just not pay a goblin, either. If they don't get their gold, they'll come back looking for blood."
"We'll figure it out," said Astoria quickly and dismissively, before the twins could become worried. "Harry's faced worse that this before, hasn't he? He only needs to beat two of the champions."
"That's true," said George hopefully. "Harry's good at this sort of thing."
"We'll offer Harry help when we can," said Astoria, "but for now, let's not worry about money until after the first task."
0o0
It was with a certain amount of smugness that Astoria awoke the following Sunday.
In her opinion, Astoria had triumphed in a way that few Fourth Years would have been capable of; she had managed to strike a business arrangement with a pack of adult goblins and she was determined to enjoy that success with pride. Astoria did not want to think about the potentially disastrous results that her actions might result in and she found herself tucking her fears away as she dressed, allowing them to do no more than lurk beneath the surface of her consciousness.
Astoria left the common room around noon in search of Theodore and bumped headlong into Maudlin Mendel on the landing outside the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"What are you doing up here?" asked Astoria, startled at the sight of Maudlin in such a familiar place.
"Looking for you, obviously," said Maudlin. "What else would I be doing up here?"
"Oh," said Astoria, edging away from the Fat Lady toward the stairs. "Well, come on. Let's not linger."
The idea of anyone Astoria knew bumping into her outside the Fat Lady with just Maudlin was faintly embarrassing, and she was particularly eager to be away from such close proximity to her common room.
"Alec's in the entrance hall," said Maudlin. "Come down to the Beuxbatons carriage with us. Madame Maxime is out with your groundskeeper."
Something about the way Maudlin said this spoke of a faint disapproval for headmasters dating groundskeepers, but he seemed to know enough to take the freedom that the scenario allowed without complaining.
Alec was lingering in the entrance hall with Draco Malfoy, leaning against a suit of armor and causally flicking open his gold zippo, lighting it rhythmically.
The sight of both boys struck Astoria as vaguely foreboding almost at once, and not necessarily because of Alec's apparent fascination with flame. Draco was not with Crabbe or Goyle, a rare occurrence at Hogwarts and Astoria was faintly uncomfortable with the extreme since they appeared to be waiting in.
"Found her, Maudlin?" asked Alec, not bothering to look away from the blazing wick of his lighter. "That certainly took long enough."
Draco continued to lean against the wall, watching Astoria and Maudlin approach silently.
"Her dormitory is literally in the most remote part of the castle imaginable," said Maudlin, amused now that his work was over. "It's as if they're hiding her entire house up there."
"How did you find me?" asked Astoria uncomfortably, coming to the delayed realization that she had never given Maudlin the exact specifies of where the Fat Lady was located. "You haven't been asking my classmates where I sleep, have you?"
"No," said Maudlin, bristling with mild annoyance as he caught the tone of embarrassment in Astoria's voice. "I asked Draco."
"Oh," said Astoria, turning her eyes onto Draco. Draco raised his eyebrows almost challengingly but said nothing.
Astoria looked away, beginning to detect a contrived test of some kind. Determined to deflect this energy, Astoria allowed Maudlin to do most of the talking for the entire way down to the carriage, chiming in only when it seemed necessary that she should do so.
"This way," said Maudlin, leading them down a purple carpeted hallway. The Beauxbatons carriage had been magically enhanced so that it was much larger on the inside than looks suggested. Astoria turned her feet after Maudlin and Alec, eyeing the two doors they passed, each marked with a gold plaque, denoting these as the janitors closet and the showers, respectively.
The front hallway delivered them into a circular atrium, which had been painted an ostentatious gold. Maudlin chose the door directly across from them.
It was much darker in this new space, but Astoria could tell that it was just as thickly carpeted and golden as the front rooms had been. There were two beds, separated by collection of armchairs and a polished-looking coffee table. On top of the table stood a vase full of out-of-season lilacs.
"Luc's been asleep all afternoon," said Maudlin, seizing a large decorative pillow from a purple armchair and throwing it at a sleeping lump in one of the two beds. "Get up, Luc. It's past lunchtime."
The lump stirred and kicked the invading pillow to the ground. The carpet, Astoria noticed, was decorated with images of several plump, beatific cherubs.
"They do more for you at Beauxbatons," said Draco in an approving voice, taking in the sitting area.
"Beauxbatons has always been known for its taste," said Maudlin pompously. "It's less renowned for its teachers, however. How Madame Maxime ever became headmistress is anybody's guess."
Draco laughed and threw himself into the armchair Maudlin had just removed the throw-pillow from.
Alec was hunting for something in a cabinet near Maudlin's vacated bed. He pushed about a few biscuit packets aside and stood up, clutching a bottle of sparkling water.
At the sound of the cap being opened, Luc began to stir.
"That's an alcoholic for you," sneered Maudlin, eyeing his roommate. "It's only water, Luc. Alec and I finished off Maxime's stolen wine last night without you."
Luc rolled out from under his blankets and found a robe, impervious to Maudlin's snideness. "Just as well. I had a long day in the village yesterday," he yawned. "I went to visit the pubs."
"I'm sure you did," said Maudlin, pushing a glass toward Alec so that he would not feel compelled to drink the water straight from the bottle like a heathen. Ignoring the glass, Alec sunk into the nearest chair.
"I tried out the Three Broomsticks first but it was desperately busy. When one of the locals told me to head up the hill, I took them at it and went for a pop-in at the Hogs Head. Dodgy place."
"I was kicked out of the Hogs Head once," drawled Draco smugly.
"Were you?" asked Maudlin, intrigued at once by the idea of a forbidden drinking place.
"Yeah," said Draco, putting his feet up on the table. "Astoria was there," he added, watching Maudlin closely. "It was her idea in the first place."
"That's funny," said Luc, frowning in Astoria's direction. "I could have sworn I saw you there yesterday, holding court with a pack of goblins."
"Don't be ridiculous," scoffed Maudlin. "What would Astoria be doing with goblins? It was obviously someone else."
Astoria felt Draco's eyes turn on her sharply, obviously knowing her better than that.
"Yeah," said Astoria, much more smugly than she meant to, unable to keep her feeling of triumph from leaking into her tone. "Me, dealing with goblins? That's ridiculous."
Draco's eyes narrowed in suspicion but he did not voice his thoughts out loud. Astoria plucked a lilac from the vase, eager to hide her face.
"Is it just students who aren't allowed?" asked Maudlin, satisfied that the mystery woman who had met with goblins had not been Astoria.
"Most customers hide their faces," offered Astoria. "It's not the kind of place anyone wants to be seen in."
Astoria had not even seen Luc in the Hog's Head's because of the dim lighting, and she made a mental note to wear a hood herself, if the occasion to meet Ragnuk ever arose again.
"I could have sworn it was you," said Luc, chewing the inside of his cheek, still staring at Astoria pensively.
"Well, it wasn't," said Astoria firmly, loosing her edge of smarminess completely. "It's awfully dark in there. You probably mistook me for hag."
Alec laughed heartily at this, but Luc did not seem convinced. "Whoever it was, they were with two redheaded boys and they looked young."
Draco's eyes flashed with annoyance, his suspicions entirely confirmed.
"Enough," sighed Maudlin, tired of the conversation already. "What do you think they've got planned for the First Task, Draco?"
"Something dreadful, I suppose," drawled Draco, shaking himself free of his annoyance and sitting up straighter in his chair. "My father doesn't know. I've asked him, but apparently they're keeping the details of the Tournament under very close watch. The ministry is afraid the champions will cheat, of course."
"I thought cheating was a Triwizard tradition," joked Maudlin.
"Not this year," sneered Draco.
"Aren't you glad you weren't called out as champion now, Maudlin?" remarked Alec. "What a bother it would be."
Maudlin shrugged. "I never really wanted to compete in the first place," he admitted. "A hundred ways to die for nothing more than a thousand galleons? Still, I had to try. It would have looked ridiculous if I hadn't shown some interest."
"Why would it have looked ridiculous?" Astoria laughed. "Nobody would have blamed you for wanting to keep your head attached to your body."
"Nobody would have had any respect for me either," said Maudlin resentfully. "I wonder what the Goblet saw in Fleur- you do realize that it chose her over me, don't you?"
"Why do you care?" asked Astoria. "You've just admitted that you didn't want to be champion, anyway."
"I don't know," said Maudlin. "It's just sort of insulting to be passed over for a girl, isn't it?"
"Not really," said Astoria coldly, feeling as though her entire gender had been leveled a blow.
"Well you wouldn't think so, would you?" said Maudlin carelessly.
"Fleur's not just a girl, is she?" said Astoria, knowing she was being needling, but finding herself unable to resist. "She's also part Veela. You weren't just passed up for a female, you were passed up for a female that's also part being."
"Yes, well," sniffed Maudlin, insulted but unwilling to admit it, "I didn't really mean it when I put my name in, so I'm sure that's why I wasn't chosen."
"Must be," said Astoria flatly.
"Makes you wonder what sort of secrets Fleur has been hiding all of these years, doesn't it?" said Alec, fascinated by the idea of Fleur being secretly in possession of a strange violence.
"Ha!" laughed Maudlin scornfully. "She's nothing special, Alec. Any powers she might have are completely illusionary. She can't do anything that you or I couldn't."
"Nothing expect stun people speechless with a single look," remarked Astoria slyly.
"I'd love to see her try to win that way," said Maudlin sarcastically, "but unless the First Task involves seducing a Bulgarian quidditch team- oh, wait..."
Draco and Alec both laughed, but Astoria felt as though her point had been made nonetheless.
0o0
That night in the common room, Astoria found Harry sitting alone by the fire.
Thinking of the bargain that she had struck the day before, Astoria felt herself pulled toward Harry by a mixture of guilt and fear.
"Where's Ron?" asked Astoria, sitting on the edge of the couch and studying Harry's profile, trying to imagine him competing against the unknown within a month's time and feeling absurdly corrupt for taking out a bet on his life.
"Dunno," said Harry darkly. "Off with Dean and Seamus somewhere."
It was most unlike Harry to not know where Ron was, but Astoria didn't pry.
"Listen," said Astoria, wanting to get some of what she had to say off of her chest before she chickened out completely, "I know this whole Tournament thing is rubbish, and you'e saying you didn't enter."
"I didn't enter!" insisted Harry angrily. "Not that anyone will listen..."
"Well, if you say you didn't put your name in the Goblet, then I believe you," said Astoria, feeling an uncomfortable swoop in her stomach at what the alternative reason for Harry's being made school champion might be. "I just wanted to tell you, that if you need any help, Fred and George and I are behind you. I know you're supposed to do it all alone, but if you end up stumped, we've all agreed to help you. No matter what."
"Oh," said Harry, obviously surprised by the unsolicited offer. "Well, thanks. Honestly though, I don't even know where to begin looking for help, so you shouldn't worry yourself. The champions don't even know what the First Task is going to be."
"Yes, well," said Astoria, sinking down onto the couch next to Harry, pulling his wand out from underneath her before she accidentally broke it and buffing out the smudges on its surface before handing it to him, "just stay sharp. Let us know if you need anything."
Harry took his wand back and nodded. "Alright."
"Alright," said Astoria, feeling no less dirty for having made this offer than she had before. "Goodnight."
0o0
There was a great commotion at the Slytherin table during breakfast the next morning. If Draco's central involvement in it was any clue as to why, Astoria suspected that the badges he had been making were finally finished.
Determined not to give in to such foolishness, Astoria attempted to skirt past the cackling crowd toward Theodore, but a voice called out for her before she could reach him.
"Astoria!" hailed Maudlin, who was sitting amongst the crowd of laughing Slytherins. "Over here!"
Seeing no other choice, Astoria allowed herself to be lured right into the center of this unsavory mix.
"Like them, Greengrass?" asked Montague, brandishing a badge at her. Red letters glowed on the front of the bronze strip, which now read: Support Cedric Diggory - The Real Hogwarts Champion.
Draco was watching her closely. "That's not all they do, either," he drawled. Draco fidgeted with the front of the badge until it glowed green.
"Potter stinks," Astoria read out loud, thoroughly unimpressed.
The Slytherins on either side of her roared with derisive laughter.
"Offended, Astoria?" asked Pansy Parkinson, shoving in past Montague to close the gap between herself and Draco. "Potter is your champion, after all."
Draco sneered reflexively at this comment. Astoria, however, was having a radical thought.
Perhaps the badges weren't such a bad thing? Wouldn't they only make the public less likely to think of Harry as a capable champion who might win the First Task? This could only be a good thing, as far as the goblins were concerned. From a tactical standpoint, Astoria did not want the goblins doing anything other than underestimating Harry.
"I want one," said Astoria.
"What?" scoffed Pansy, annoyed. "Come on, Astoria! Everyone knows you always stand up for Potter! She probably just wants it in order to re-charm it to say something else, Draco. Don't give her one."
Draco was fighting a battle between knowing in his heart that Astoria did not approve of the badges and private delight at her interest. He scoffed, but made a motion toward Montague. "Give her one."
Blaise Zabini laughed as Astoria took a badge and inspected it. "Actually," said Astoria thoughtfully, "I'll take a few more."
Astoria managed to make off with five badges, thinking that this was probably the most she could possibly push on the public, anyway. She went to find Fred and George as the bell rang overhead.
"Hey," said Astoria, thrusting the badges into George's hands. "Start passing these out."
George lifted a badge and read the front of it. His face became stony at once.
"Who made these?" demanded Fred indignantly, catching sight of the inscription on the badge as well.
"Doesn't matter," said Astoria. "Start handing them out to people you think might be willing to wear them."
"Why would we do that?" asked George, looking very non-plussed. "Everyone will think Harry's a complete quack!"
Astoria raised her eyebrows suggestively.
"Oh," said George, catching on. "Aw, come on, Astoria- I don't want to be responsible for giving these to people!"
"Me neither," said Astoria defensively. "What I really don't want the goblins to start thinking Harry's got more going for him than meets the eye, though. Especially before he's even had a chance to compete in the first task. Start giving them out."
George stared at the badge in his hand, his brow wrinkled with disgust, but he nodded.
"Yeah, alright. There's probably a few Hufflepuffs who will take one," he muttered truthfully. "That lot is still pretty bitter about Harry taking the edge off of Cedric's thunder. I can't bring myself to try to convince any Gryffindors to wear them, though..."
"That's fine," agreed Astoria appreciatively. "Just get them onto some robes without a Slytherin badge on the front."
Astoria was running very late for potions by the time she finally skidded into the dungeon hallway. By the look of things, however, Astoria's lateness hardly mattered. Some sort of a fight seemed to have broken out and as Astoria drew closer, Hermione broke away and ran past her whimpering, heading back up toward the entrance hall.
Snape was standing by the door to his classroom, looking very pleased with himself. So, several feet away, was Draco.
"What's going on?" Astoria muttered to Theo, joining the back of the pack.
"Draco and Potter just had a duel in the hallway," said Theo somewhat scornfully.
"Ah," sighed Astoria.
"You're one to talk," muttered Theo as they entered the classroom. "What's with you and the badges? That's a new level of instigation, even from you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Astoria, offended.
"Hey, Astoria!" called Draco cruelly from across the room. "You're not wearing your badge!"
On the other side of the dungeon, Astoria saw Harry's eyes flick toward her, surprised and a little hurt.
"Do I even want to know?" asked Theodore.
"No, probably not," said Astoria, her face glowing with shame at the look Harry had just given her.
Halfway through class, Harry was called away for a press meeting with the other champions and from all around the dungeon, angry green lettering flickered at him as he made his exit.
0o0
Two things were happening within the castle to affect Astoria's mood over the next few days. The first was a growing anticipation for the First Task and Astoria, with a little help from Fred and George, had gleefully begun taking down their first bets.
The second matter was far less definable, as it concerned her life in a more social way.
Draco and Maudlin, who had taken to each other in the beginning mostly out of curiosity for each others respective family names, were starting to become somewhat inseparable.
What had started out as a lunch together here and there, was now rapidly becoming a regular habit. So much so, in fact, that Astoria was becoming accustomed to associating the back of Maudlin's head with the lurking figures of Crabbe and Goyle.
Astoria could have lived with this friendship peacefully enough, if only there was some way of avoiding Maudlin. As it was, he almost never let Astoria pass him by without drawing her into his conversation and he rarely made it easy for her to leave. Toss Alec Hundin into the mix, and it was beginning to take a toll on Astoria's reputation.
There had always been a curious, dark glamour around Alec and Maudlin. One which Astoria had never truly been associated with, as she had always lived and gone to school in a different country.
Alec, of course, was infamous for being misbehaved and Maudlin was rather notorious for being exceedingly wealthy, good-looking and aloof. Now that Draco had joined them, he was adding something as well, by bringing the bulk of Slytherin opinion into the mix. It was starting to become rather public knowledge that, while Astoria was still generally thought of as a nice person, she was quite mixed up with a dangerous crowd.
Nowhere was this opinion more marked than among the Hufflepuffs, who now thought of Astoria as something of a mix between a supporter of the champion that had robbed Cedric of his glory, and a mouthpiece for some of the most unpleasant students that Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had to offer.
They were not the only ones that had started watching Astoria with narrowed eyes either. Pansy Parkinson was becoming increasingly sharp with Astoria, never missing an opportunity to publicly mock her.
Draco, however, seemed to remain exempt from much of Pansy's unpleasantness. Draco had the lure of Alec and Maudlin to blame, but as far as Pansy was concerned, it was Astoria's friends that had stolen Draco's time and limited attention from her, and it was Astoria that she chose to hold her grudge against.
Draco, for his part, was not helping matters either, as he seemed to be queerly unwilling to invite Pansy to spend any time with his new friends. The only chance Pansy had to associate with Maudlin and Alec was at mealtimes, whereas Astoria, without having to try and sometimes against her will, was always extended an invitation by Maudlin.
"I don't know what Maudlin Mendel sees in her," Astoria heard Pansy complaining to Flora one day that week in the girls bathroom. "He seems sensible enough, doesn't he? I know Draco thinks highly of him- and his good opinion is hard to come by. Astoria's just so ridiculous and desperate. Maybe Mendel feels sorry for her? That would explain it."
This was the sort of thing that Astoria might have been able to brush off, if only she hadn't been confronted by yet another proof of her own unlike-ability in the hallway an hour later on her way to Arithmancy.
Draco, Blaise and Montague were all clustered in a corner, sans foreigners, and reading something from a magazine. Blaise was laughing so hard that he was actually clutching a stitch in his side.
"Here," said Montague, "Greengrass, come have a listen to this!"
"What is it?" asked Astoria. "I'm running late."
"No you're not," said Draco dismissing this claim at once. "Arithmancy doesn't start for another fifteen minutes. Listen to this," Draco cleared his throat and began to read out loud: "I suppose I get my strength from my parents. I know they'd be very proud of me if they could see me now... Yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not ashamed to admit it-"
Draco was forced to stop reading mid-sentence because he was laughing so hard.
"What is that?" demanded Astoria, almost offended by the saccharine sappiness of the text. "Are you lot reading a romance novel together?"
"It's Potter's interview with the Daily Prophet!" exclaimed Draco with an effusion of glee. "Can you believe this?"
"Are we going to class or not?" asked Theodore, coming up behind Astoria.
"Nott, listen to this!" said Blaise, snatching the magazine out of Draco's hands. "Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts," read Blaise while Draco howled with anticipatory mirth. "His friend, Colin Creevey—she quoted Creevey!— says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl, who, like Harry, is one of the top students in the school!" Blaise gave the magazine a flourish. "Merlin, am I reading this right?"
"Who wrote that?" Astoria demanded, shocked that such blatant misrepresentation had managed to make it into final print.
"Rita Skeeter, of course," drawled Draco.
"There's more," said Blaise, flattening out the magazine again and reading on, "But readers may rest assured that Harry Potter is not without other support as well. "Harry has a real fan club here in Gryffindor," reports Creevey. "Especially since we found out that he was going to be a champion." Indeed, Creevey adds, "I've seen loads of people go up to him to wish him luck and just the other day—"
Blaise froze ominously mid-sentence. His eyes flicked toward Astoria, suddenly so overcome with glee that he could not find his voice.
"What?" Astoria snapped, feeling a faint blush rise to her cheeks for no reason.
Montague looked toward where Blaise's finger was holding his place halfway down the page and choked on a sudden, violent fit of hilarity.
"What does it say?" asked Draco impatiently, wanting to hear more of Harry's sickly sweet, supposed sentences.
"Just the other day," said Blaise, picking up where he left off, "I saw his friend Astoria Greengrass offering him advice while she gave his wand a good polish." Blaise choked and could go no further.
"It doesn't say that," scoffed Theodore, grabbing the magazine from Blaise's now strengthless fingers.
Draco, who was no longer laughing, leaned in to read along.
"I saw his friend Astoria Greengrass offering him advice while she gave his wand... bloody hell," muttered Theo, handing the magazine over to Astoria fearfully.
Astoria checked for herself, unsurprised to find the offending sentence glaring up at her in print. A ready made, black and white dirty joke featuring herself and Harry Potter.
"What's that rubbish?" sneered Draco."Where would she have gotten that from?"
"Her imagination?" scoffed Theodore, carefully taking the magazine back from Astoria and closing it. "None of this is true. Skeeter just couldn't resist adding a little sexual innuendo to her fictitious article about a minor. Ignore it, Astoria."
"That's a direct quote," snapped Draco sharply, frozen in place. "Why would Creevey say that?"
"I don't know," returned Astoria waspishly, "I probably just..." she trailed off as the actual moment that Colin had been speaking of came floating back to her.
"What?" spat Draco almost shrilly. "You haven't been randomly wand-polishing in your bloody common room?"
Blaise had lost his ability to breathe evenly and even as Astoria watched, he turned his eyes skyward and mouthed something that looked suspiciously like 'thank you' to the heavens.
"No," shot Astoria indignantly, blushing despite the stupidity causing for her embarrassment. "I was sitting near Harry on the couch about a week ago ago and I found his wand in the cushions. I picked it up and..."
"...you polished his actual wand?" supplied Theodore, trying very hard not laugh himself now.
Blaise had turned purple. So had Draco, although not, perhaps, for the same reason.
"Why would you do that?" Draco snapped.
"Why wouldn't I?" Astoria returned hotly. "It's sort of an innocuous thing, really, isn't it?"
Theodore had one of his long hands placed over his mouth and he seemed to be fighting down the same urge to laugh that was currently crushing Blaise Zabini.
"Give me that," said Astoria, taking the article back and marching across the hall because she had just seen Fred and George. "Oy," called Astoria, "are you two going back to the common room?"
"Yeah," said Fred.
"Give this to Colin Creevey, if you see him," said Astoria, foisting the article into Fred hands. "Tell him thanks for me, and make sure the little idiot understands that I'm being sarcastic."
"Alright," said Fred, his eyes scanning the page. "Blimey, what is this?"
"Trash," replied Astoria, trying to shake off the feeling of swooping shame.
"There's no way Harry said any of this," declared George defiantly. "Oh, look, there's your name..."
His eyes darted quickly toward Astoria and his lips suddenly pressed into a thin line, as though he would have dearly liked to snicker.
"What?" sneered Astoria. "Amused by the wording?'
"It certainly sounds oddly sexual," suppled Fred, turning the article about, perhaps testing to see if it might strike him differently from another angle.
Montague and Blaise, who had paused to listen to Astoria's conversation with Fred and George, burst out laughing again.
"Give it to Colin," insisted Astoria darkly, before returning to Theodore. "Let's go to class."
"It'll blow over," insisted Theo reasonably, hurrying after Astoria up the stairs. "No one will even notice your part. Not with all that talk about Potter crying over his dead parents surrounding it."
"What's up?" asked Tracey, who had been waiting for them near the landing that led to the Arithmancy classroom.
"Nothing," said Astoria dismissively, plowing past and taking a seat.
Tracey and Theo followed suit and several moments later, so did Draco, looking warm around the neck and more than a little sour around the mouth. Apparently Draco's passion for Rita's article had been somewhat cooled by Astoria's addition to it, because he did not bring up the article in front of Tracey either.
"Psst," whispered Ernie, who alone among the Hufflepuffs remained unchanged in his attitude lately towards Astoria lately. "Astoria!"
Draco made an irritable little motion with his shoulder as though he would have dearly loved to punch Ernie in the chest.
"Astoria!" called Ernie again, getting up and moving toward her end of the table unsubtly. "Listen, are you taking bets on the First Task? Someone said you were."
Astoria made a faint motion of assent, uncomfortably aware that anyone could be listening to their conversation.
"Brilliant," hissed Ernie. "I want in. Ten Galleons on Cedric."
When Ernie continued to loom over the desk, Astoria made another motion to make it perfectly clear that she had heard him.
0o0
I'll be honest, it may not be the best chapter ever, but I really like this one. It was just immensely enjoyable to write.
The only apology I'll make is for the long goblin bit at the beginning. That, ideally, probably should have been situated mid-chapter somewhere and was potentially a little confusing. If anybody rubbed their head and went, "Effing, huh?" while they were reading that section, feel free to ask any questions and I'll try to clear things up (and maybe make amendments to the chapter itself for clarity). I know the goblin-gambling piece is a weird and convoluted plot line, but the business transaction itself is necessary for future story developments. Astoria seems to pull off a whole lot pretty effortlessly, but let's face it, this is a scenario where she's cruising for a bruising. I probably won't write another eight pages of nothing but Goblins striking deals for a really long time, so the worst of it is over. I promise.
As always, reviews are a rewarding treat!