It was apparent, after the meeting in the Hogs Head to discuss the Defense Harry would be teaching them, that Umbridge had somehow gotten word of their plans. She sent out an executive order, stating that all groups would have to be disbanded immediately and sent to her for consideration of being allowed again. However, that just made the group all the more determined to begin training.
They planned to meet at 8 o'clock on a Friday, having worked around the Quidditch schedules of everyone attending. Aster was eager to go, having planned to meet up with Fred, George, and Lee Jordan to arrive together with them, but she first had a tutoring session with Draco.
It was increasingly hard for her to pay attention, and there was still tension in the air from the previous words Draco had said about her eating, or lack thereof. She had been making sure to at least eat dinner, as she noticed that was when Draco had eyes on her the most. She was making progress, even if slightly.
"Which plant is this?" Draco demanded harshly, his ring clad finger jabbed towards a rather pointy looking plant on the page.
"Erm, mimbulus mimbletonia?" Aster guessed, her eyes flicking towards the clock. Still twenty minutes to go.
Draco slammed the book shut in frustration, the sudden movement startling her. He huffed angrily, pale strands of his hair falling into his forehead. Once again, he hadn't put any styling gel in his hair. It looked rather soft, and it appeared that if she were to run her fingers through the strands it would feel like silk, Aster decided, then quickly squashed the thought.
"Why do I bother wasting my time trying to teach you when all you do is ignore me?" Draco bit out angrily, glaring at Aster.
"I don't mean to waste your time," Aster replied softly, a blush coating her cheeks. "I apologize. My head is somewhere else."
"I've got much more important things to do then waste my time studying with an oaf who puts Crabbe and Goyle to shame," Draco spat, standing up from his chair harshly. "Even if I miss out on my extra credit."
Draco grabbed his book, and his bag, and stalked out of the library. Aster felt frozen in her spot, his words processing slowly. How could she be so stupid? So rude? She knew Draco was doing this for her benefit, and that she owed him a great deal of thanks, yet she repaid him by letting her mind stray somewhere else.
Tears pricked her eyes out of embarrassment, and she roughly shoved them away. Now wasn't the time to cry. It just wasn't fair, she thought, that she was failing Herbology because it reminded her too sharply of Cedric. It wasn't fair that he died.
Aster slowly put away her books, giving one great sniff, and then slung her bag over her shoulder. She left the library slowly, clipping her wavy hair up with a silver clip. Down the hallway she went, spotting the red headed boys almost immediately. They must have been headed for the library, she realized, as that was where they originally were going to meet up.
"There's my favorite serpent princess," Fred beamed, pulling her into a tight hug. "How've you been, beautiful?"
The nickname princess sent a crack through her still fragile chest, reminding her of Cedric, and her recent tears burned again at her eyes. "Fine," Aster sniveled, furiously rubbing her eyes. "Sorry, I don't mean to be a mess."
Fred rubbed her back consolingly, and she felt George place a hand on her shoulder. "Don't apologize, love, what's wrong?"
"Just Draco." Aster mumbled into Fred's shoulder, sniffing once more.
Fred stiffened. "What did the ferret do this time?"
Aster pulled away, eyes still damp, swatting gently at Fred's arm. "Don't call him that. I wasn't paying attention during our tutoring session, and he called me out, then said I was as dumb as Crabbe and Goyle, and stormed off."
Fred's eyes grew hard, his mouth tightening. "I'll take care of the prat."
Aster quickly shook her head, wiping the remains of her tears. "No, please don't. It's my fault, I was excited for the meeting."
"Doesn't mean he insults your intelligence," George spoke up, shaking his head. "Can't you just have Neville tutor you? He's loads better at Herbology than Malfoy."
Aster paused, and shrugged. She knew it was stupid, but she usually quite liked the sessions with Malfoy. She got to see a softer side of him, less of his cocky pompous attitude, and he was quite funny. Plus, she knew it made him happy to pass along the knowledge his mother had passed along to him. It was complicated.
"We'll bring it up to Neville after the meeting," Fred decided, taking Aster's hand in his. "Speaking of, let's head there, shall we?"
They walked towards the Room of Requirement, which the twins were apparently well versed on. "Once was a great hiding place from Filch." They explained simultaneously.
Once they reached the Room of Requirement, Aster was impressed by the room. She was quite familiar with it, as she had grown up part time in the castle, that it had shifted to fit their needs so perfectly. When she was younger, she would have it turn into a spectacular indoor jungle gym, and now, being back with a more serious purpose, gave Aster a great feeling of nostalgia.
The meeting began with them deciding on a group leader, with little doubt in their minds that Harry was the one. Then, they gave their group a name, Dumbledore's Army, which Hermione hastily scribbled across the top of the parchment they had all signed their names to. Finally, they were onto their first spell, expelliarmus.
The twins paired up with each other, Ron and Hermione paired up with each other, and as Aster looked around the room, she noted everyone else was paired up except for Neville Longbottom. With a subdued feeling, Aster offered for the two of them to partner up. He nodded shyly, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.
The room was suddenly full of "Expelliarmus!": Wands flew in all directions, missed spells hit books on shelves and sent them flying into the air. Aster was faster than Neville, and his wand flew out of his hand, hitting the ceiling with a shower of sparks and then falling back down, a few feet away from him. Aster smiled to herself as Neville retrieved his wand, glancing around at the others. There were few who were successful, many causing their partner to jump back a few places or wince as the feeble spell whooshed over them.
Her father had taught her basic spell work every summer, and they would practice dueling frequently. Just for fun, of course, as he wanted her to be prepared for anything. She just never thought he had been preparing her to fight Voldemort. Yet, knowing everything the way she did now, it seemed like a fitting piece of the puzzle she was putting together about the hidden implications in her life that was nothing she thought it had been.
As Aster was distracted by watching Fred and George mess with Zacharias Smith, Neville managed to disarm her, sending her wand flying behind her.
"I did it!" said Neville gleefully. "I've never done it before-I did it!"
Aster sent him a smile as she retrieved her wand, and they resumed their practice. Aster was able to disarm Neville a considerable more amounts of times before a whistle sounded sharply through the air.
"That wasn't bad," said Harry. "But there's definitely room for improvement. Let's try again.."
For the next hour or so Neville and Aster kept duelling, and eventually, Aster started to give Neville tips on the spells, seeing his confidence grow smaller and smaller at each misstep. By the time Harry called them to a stop for the final time, Neville was grinning in pride at his improvement.
The time for their next meeting was set for next Wednesday night, deciding to decide future ones then. Harry began to let them leave in threes and fours, and as Aster waited, Fred and George came up to her.
"Did'ja ask Neville about Herbology lessons?" Fred asked, slinging an arm over her shoulder.
Aster shook her head. "No, I didn't think of it."
Truthfully, she simply didn't want to lose the sessions with Draco. She enjoyed interacting with him, when he wasn't in a sour mood.
Fred frowned, but before he could say more Harry called Aster's name.
"Aster, I'm going to have you leave by yourself, alright?" Harry asked, and Aster nodded.
She bid farewell to the twins, and slipped out the door, taking caution as she made her way to the dungeons. She didn't miss the way she was the only Slytherin who attended, and she didn't miss the way others had eyed her. It was odd to her, how if she had not discovered the truth about her and Harry, she probably never would have been given an invitation to join the group.
In the common room, Aster curled up on an armchair by the fire, reluctantly pulling out her Herbology book. She had an assignment she had planned to get done during the tutoring session with Draco, but obviously, she blew that chance. She sighed, and slipped off her robes, letting the fire warm her exposed skin.
Nearly half an hour had passed by, and Aster had gotten nowhere. She let out a groan of frustration, and chucked the book to the floor, watched the pages get bent as it landed haphazardly. She slapped a hand to her forehead, shaking her head in frustration. Now, her pages would be wonky the next time she had to open the blasted book.
"Looks like someone should have paid attention this evening."
Aster turned to see Draco standing behind her chair, his arms crossed, an eyebrow raised, as he gave her a haughty look. Her already poor mood soured, and she rolled her eyes.
"Piss off, Malfoy." Aster retorted, crossing her own arms.
Draco let out a low whistle, his eyes narrowing. He suddenly bent down to her, invading her space as he grabbed hold of her chin. "I believe the words you're looking for are, please help me with my assignment."
His breath smelled of mint, and his expensive cologne was heavenly. Aster's heartbeat raced, and the odd feeling reappeared in her healing chest, as she jerked her chin out of his grasp. Draco smirked, resting his hands on the arm of her chair.
"I'm not going to beg you for help with something you're receiving extra credit for," Aster retorted, crossing her arms.
The smirk slid from Draco's face, replaced with a look of frustration, and he shoved himself away from her chair. He bent down, and retrieved her Herbology book. He muttered a spell under his breath, causing the pages to return to their previous unwrinkled position.
"Here." said Draco, holding the book out towards her.
Aster hesitantly reached for the book, and Draco's eyes narrowed. He held the book away in one hand, and his long slender fingers grasped her wrist, flipping the inside of her arm outwards. In the firelight, the smooth pale words scarred onto her skin were easily visible.
"What happened?" asked Draco quietly. He set her book down on the small table next to her, and sat on the ottoman in front of her armchair. Goosebumps rose on her arms as he brushed his fingers over the raised scarring.
"Umbridge," replied Aster quietly, gently taking her arm back from Draco. He was reluctant to let her arm go, but he did at her gentle tugging. "It was my detention."
"She cut you?" said Draco incredulously, running a hand through his hair. It fell messily in to his face, as it was getting a bit long and wasn't styled yet again.
"Not exactly," faltered Aster, gnawing on her lip. "It was her special pen. It uses your blood as ink."
"That's her detention?" said Draco, shaking his head when Aster nodded yes. "Then perhaps you should try harder not to get in trouble with her."
The way Draco said the last part made Aster's temper flare, and she glared at him. "Sorry I was the only person sticking up for Harry and Cedric. I'm not going to be coddled by the ministry into thinking Voldemort hasn't returned."
"I didn't mean it like that," Draco quickly responded, looking uncharacteristically flustered. "I just meant that I didn't want you to be hurt like that again."
Perhaps it was the tone of voice he used, or the way he genuinely looked concerned for her, but it stirred something in Aster's chest once again. The flames weren't there, for the first time in awhile, instead a different kind of burning replaced them. Draco seemed to have realized what exactly he had said, and he stiffened, his fingers clenching into hard fists.
"Since when do you care what happens to me?" challenged Aster, lifting her chin defiantly and squinting her eyes.
Draco huffed, once again running his hand through his platinum hair. "I don't know, I just do, alright? I apologize that it doesn't seem like it, I just don't know how to act around you."
"What d'you mean by that?" queried Aster, biting the inside of her cheek as something fluttered in her stomach.
"You don't expect me to be anything," Draco faltered, seeming to be searching for the right words to say. "You just take me as I am and you don't expect me to.." he trailed off, letting out a frustrated groan.
Aster gently took his hand in hers, the size difference amusing as his seemed to swallow hers. She gave him a tentative smile. It made her feel a little hollow, the new ground she and Draco were entering, but it also felt a bit liberating.
"Let's get your Herbology homework done, shall we?" Draco cleared his throat, again looking flustered. "Wouldn't want you to fail and have me miss out on my extra credit."
Aster knew this time, there was no venom behind his words. He seemed to switch emotions so fast it made her head spin. With a smile still on her face, the odd hollow yet liberating feeling in her chest, she opened her Herbology book and they began.
hello! thank you for all the lovely reviews i received last chapter! im glad everyone appears to still be enjoying this story. as always, please leave me your thoughts about this chapter as well. hope everyone is healthy and hydrated!
-TheFlyingGraysons