Astra Blishwick – Twenty-Five
Astra didn't speak to Augustin for a full week after storming out of his class. Not even during her Tuesday evening detention with him, where he ordered her to make the dreaded Wolfsbane potion, which she did in complete silence, nor during their visit to see Eily on the Thursday evening.
Astra had wordlessly taken hold of the Portkey Augustin had offered her and proceeded to fall to the floor of the hospital ward, fighting the urge to throw up. Augustin had watched her in exasperation as she refused his outstretched hand and forced herself to her feet, marching silently over to her sister. The Blishwick sisters had enjoyed a short conversation about how much Severin looked like Eily and Valentin before a medi-witch had come over and demanded that she be allowed to assess Eily alone. Then the blue curtains had gone up once again, and Astra had stood awkwardly to the side, still stoically ignoring Augustin.
"You know I've never thought any less of you because you don't have a man, Astra." The tall, dark haired man had begun quietly, "But others will, and I'd be a fool to let you go out into the world without realising that."
Astra had sighed, not facing him, "I do know it, Prince. And you are a fool to think that I'm blind to the prejudices of our world; I did grow up in it, you know."
"I know." He had muttered solemnly, "I know."
The following day, Astra had finally gotten around to offering her congratulations to Venusia and Elias and, thankfully, they had been far too heavily engaged in poorly hidden public displays of affection to be angry at her for not doing so sooner. Kerrick had divulged that he and Matilde Northern were now planning their third date in as many weeks and Gerbold had tried in vain to hide a blush when asked about his own love life.
"Well I've committed myself to a lifetime of celibacy with a side-line of occasional prostitution, should it all begin to go downhill." Astra announced, slapping her usual grin onto her face.
Kerrick snorted into his breakfast and Astra turned on him, glaring, "What, Shacklebolt? Think I couldn't manage it?"
"Which bit?" Kerrick choked, "The celibacy or the prostitution? Because I can't help but feel that one rather ruins your chances for the other."
Astra tilted her head thoughtfully and mused, "I shall focus my efforts on whichever one will make my beloved parents angrier; I haven't quite decided yet."
This was greeted by a round of laughter and the group headed off to Divination, Kerrick and Elias peeling off a few floors before they reached the classroom.
Professor Bloom was, as usual, already in the classroom when they arrived and was sipping tea from a mug the size of his own head. Whilst he briefly had the mug lifted to his mouth, Astra wondered whether he would be less annoying if he had the mug in place of his head. At least he would stop spouting nonsense every ten seconds.
"Oh, come in, come in!" Bloom encouraged the influx of students, plonking his tea down and swooping to the centre of the room. His hair had more flowers in it today than Astra had ever seen before and she wondered why he didn't just press them like a normal person with a floral based hobby.
Astra, Kendra, Venusia and Gerbold took their usual seats around a table and prepared themselves for an hour of boredom before Bloom cooed, "Today, class, you will be taking it in turns to come to the middle of the room and predict something for one another."
"As if this class isn't ridiculous enough already, it now includes public humiliation." Astra muttered tersely.
"Better still," Bloom cried, throwing his hands up dramatically, "you will be predicting for a classmate with whom you have not yet interacted!"
There was a collective groan of annoyance, but it did not wipe the smile from Bloom's face. If anything, he looked even keener on the idea.
"Sadist." Kendra noted. Astra bit back a snort.
Cicero Lovegood was called up first and Bloom asked Venusia to join him. The two Ravenclaws seemed fairly at ease with this; they were, after all, reasonably good friends. There was a tense pause, during which the pair of them seemed to be waiting for the appearance of a crystal ball or some tea leaves or anything with which to predict the future before Bloom's wavering tones came again, "Oh, go ahead, dears. There will be no instrument of prediction today, only your minds. I wish to see who truly has the eye!"
Kendra rolled her eyes at Astra who nodded at the sentiment. She couldn't care less whether or not she had 'the eye' as Bloom put it, but she was aware that this was an utter waste of her time. She cursed Augustin for persuading her to take this damned subject.
"Uh…I….I think- I think Venusia is going to prosper at the Ministry, Professor." Cicero began nervously.
Bloom dashed forward, his eyes coming level with Lovegood's, "Yes, my boy? Can you be any more specific?"
There was another, lengthy pause until Bloom sighed, shaking his head and saying, "No matter, my dear, no matter. Miss Crickerly's turn I suppose."
Venusia spluttered out something about a writing career, something Astra was fairly sure her Ravenclaw friend had known about Cicero Lovegood anyway, and received faint praise from Professor Bloom.
Returning to her seat ashen faced, Venusia mumbled, "We both just said things we already know the other wants."
"It's stupid anyway, Ven," Kendra reassured her, "making us guess things out of thin air."
Bloom called forwards Guildford Rowle and Matilde Northern next. They both gave feeble attempts at each other's future prospects and then retreated to their chairs. Professor Bloom seemed less than impressed with the direction the class was taking.
"I don't want to hear guesses at future careers." he chided, "I want dramatic predictions full of tension that loom above your mind's eye, begging to be brought to light!"
"He's such a nutcase." Gerbold observed as Bloom moved back a few steps and placed his hands over his eyes.
Then the curtain clad Professor announced, "Rosier! Blishwick! Next!"
Astra felt her heart sink. As if this class could have gotten any worse.
She forced herself to her feet and padded forwards, meeting the repulsed face of Aisling Rosier opposite her. The other Slytherin's cropped black hair was tucked neatly behind her ears and her green eyes gleamed.
"It's just a feeling I'm getting," Astra began, her voice laced with obvious sarcasm, "but I think Aisling might get devoured by a troll sometime next week."
Rosier glared daggers at the blonde. Snickers ran around the class and Astra waited for the reprimand, but it never came. Instead, Professor Bloom smiled widely, bouncing up and down on his feet, "Ooh, yes, Miss Blishwick! An unlikely prediction, certainly, but exciting nonetheless."
As Rosier opened her mouth to protest, Astra herself cut in. She was fairly sure that she should just accept the praise she had been given but she was so frustrated at the amount of time she had wasted in this classroom over the term that she did not have the patience.
"I'm sorry, sir, but are you congratulating me for making something up? Are you, in fact, suggesting that outright fallacies are preferable to earnest attempts at reasonable truths?" she demanded, not caring for the shocked whispers that had now taken over the room.
There was a prolonged silence during which Professor Bloom gaped open mouthed at Astra as if she had cast some sort of curse on him, and then Rosier finally spoke, her tone venomous and calculating.
"You know what I see, Professor?" she stared directly at Astra, "I see Blishwick making a life altering decision over a Prince-"
"Don't you dare." Astra spat at her, but she kept going.
"A decision over a Prince that will land her in a heap of trouble. Such a reckless, foolish, nasty little decision, in fact, that she'll spend tortured hours wishing she hadn't made it, and everyone will think so lowly of her that she'll wish she were dead instead." Aisling Rosier announced, carefully watching Astra's face as it grew more and more furious.
The logical part of Astra's brain knew that she herself had made it fair game to go in for the kill with these predictions, having started with her own devious story concerning Aisling's own demise. But to mention Prince was such a wearisome, personal dig that Astra knew she was going to shout at the girl.
She was prevented from doing so, however, when Professor Bloom began to slowly clap. The attention of the entire room slowly focused on him and he reached up to his hair and clasped one of the freshest looking flowers. He approached Aisling Rosier and handed her the flower, smiling kindly.
"An excellent use of the inner eye, Miss Rosier, you really do have a gift. Even I, myself, could sense what you spoke of but not put it so perfectly into words." He crooned. Rosier took the flower, beaming malevolently.
"What?!" Astra yelled, "She just predicted my torture and death and that's fine, is it?"
"You did the same to me!" Rosier hissed, her tongue flicking like an angry viper.
"I heard only truth fall from Miss Rosier's lips, Miss Blishwick. Perhaps you would do well to learn from her." Bloom chided the blonde Slytherin and then ordered for the next pair of students to take up their positions.
-AB-
"It's got to be about Constantin's proposal." Astra said firmly, striding up and down the small section of the library that she and Kendra had been occupying since lunchtime.
"But which decision is more likely to bring me torture and death, if I refuse him or if I marry him?" she asked, feeling the sweat build up on her hands.
Kendra raised her eyebrows at her friend, somewhat nervously, "Astra, we both know that Bloom's classes are a load of rubbish, why are you suddenly applying so much meaning to this?"
"Because Rosier was so specific!" Astra protested, "And then Bloom agreed with her!"
Kendra shook her head, "Bloom will agree with anyone who predicts something depressing and drastic, you know that. And Rosier can afford to be specific; she knows your family have a connection to the Prince's and that predictions concerning them have always annoyed you."
Astra forced herself to stop pacing, considering her best friend's words carefully. They seemed more rational than the train wreck of terror currently spiralling out of control in her own mind.
"Yeah," she relented, "you're probably right."
"Maybe you should talk to Professor Prince if you're really worried about it, Astra." Kendra began tentatively, "I know you're angry with him at the moment and I don't know why but he might be the only one able to properly put your mind at rest."
Astra could tell from Kendra's anxious expression that the Gryffindor knew she was walking on eggshells. It had been her, after all, who had begun the conversation that had led to Astra walking out of Potions class the previous week. But Astra also knew that Kendra had only been trying to tease her friend and that she would not have done it, had she known the entire story.
"I argued with Augustin the other week." Astra sighed, sitting down next to Kendra and wiping her sweaty hands on her skirt.
"He seems to think that if I don't marry Constantin I have to find someone else because I couldn't possibly manage in the world without a husband. And, well…I told him to get lost."
Astra could see that Kendra was fighting a smile, "Good for you." She said honestly, "But I thought you said he was different from the rest of the purebloods?"
Astra barked a sour laugh, "I thought he was. And he's no Constantin, or Valentin for that matter, but he's most certainly not the Prince I need to rescue me from the dragon."
"Obviously," Kendra chuckled, "because you don't need a Prince to rescue you. You can fight dragons perfectly well on your own."
They both chuckled.
"Of course I can." Astra nodded, "Or….I could ally myself with the dragon and begin my inevitable take-over of the entire world."
"Sounds reasonable." Kendra yawned slightly, "Might want to warn Minister Spavin though; give him a bit of a head start and he might get around to responding to the threat in five years rather than ten."