Book 1: Astoria Greengrass and the Muggle-Born Slytherin

Song rec: "Afer Ventus" by Enya

Astoria's first morning in a dormitory went exactly how she expected. She was sharing a tiny closet in which she had her uniforms and casual clothes (which by anyone else's standards weren't that casual). She had only one full drawer to herself in the dresser. The twins in her dorm, Flora and Hestia Carrow, took a dreadfully long time to put on their make-up. In fact, they took as much time with their make-up as Astoria needed for her hair. Their dorm only had one small bathroom, as Astoria had been warned, and the three girls were silently fighting over the mirror and counter space when Rhiannon awoke to join them. To the others' relief, Rhiannon merely walked into the bathroom, combed her hair and tied it back, brushed her teeth, and went to get dressed.

"She's barely taken off the sleep," remarked Flora, her grey-green eyes glinting.

"Probably gonna put it right back on anyway," Rhiannon replied, having overheard her.

Hestia laughed, "That's a great point."

Flora and Hestia did not seem like bad roommates despite the way they hogged the mirror. They fortunately had nothing against Muggle-borns. There was no telling what kind of personalities Astoria might have been stuck with if Rhiannon had not secured this arrangement. Still, Flora and Hestia were identical twins, and it was nearly impossible for Astoria to tell them apart. In spite of wanting to make friends, Astoria decided it would be best not to address them by name unless she was completely certain who was who. They wore their dusty-brown hair in the same exact style and put on makeup in more or less the same way. Hestia told Astoria that they did all of that in case they needed to cover for each other, but it didn't quite click with Astoria why anyone would need to do that. Now, Rhiannon had made the twins' acquaintance long ago and did not have trouble with distinguishing the two. She claimed that Flora's face was slightly longer and that Hestia's was slightly pinker, features Astoria failed to see.

One way or another, all four girls managed to get ready for their day and leave their dormitory in a group. The twins seemed grateful to have new companions but hadn't been very conversational.

"What electives did you lot pick?" asked Rhiannon.

"I picked Muggle Studies and Arithmancy," said Flora.

"I picked Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, and Muggle Studies," Hestia said.

"I chose Ancient Runes and Arithmancy," said Astoria, hoping that she chose the best courses. The other third-year students had plenty of time to think about their elective courses the previous year, but she only chose hers the previous night.

"Mine are Care of Magical Creatures and Divination. I'm in Muggle Studies, too, to get an extra good mark, since I already know it all," said Rhiannon. "Did nobody sign up for an extra-curricular?"

The twins both said "no."

"I did," said Astoria. "I'm taking Music on Sundays."

"All right! I am too. What d'you play?" Rhiannon asked excitedly.

"The piano and the organ," answered Astoria.

"Oh! I play the guitar," said Rhiannon, and Astoria didn't feel as cool anymore.

"We are heading to breakfast, correct?" she asked before any questions came about the organ.

"Yup," said Rhiannon.

"It really isn't fair. I think the Great Hall is the most difficult to get to from our dungeons," said Flora.

"That's because no one liked Salazar Slytherin," said Rhiannon, grinning.

Hestia squeezed her nose and stroked a long, imaginary beard. "I do not like dose haff-bluds, Godric! They bathe regularly!"

When the girls arrived at Great Hall and began looking for seats at the Slytherin table, Astoria wished that the students sat by year and not by House. Students from age eleven to eighteen were seated at the table, and Astoria felt very small. Mainly, though, she wished everyone sat with their age group because she was stuck sitting across from Parkinson and Draco. Sitting across from people one doesn't like at a table was definitely worse that sitting next to them, because Astoria had to try to avoid looking up from her plate. Rhiannon wolfed down her breakfast in about five minutes whilst Astoria continued to eat her breakfast at a humane pace, wondering why Daphne had not made any effort to talk to her since they arrived at school. Was Rhiannon's "blood" discouraging Daphne from approaching her own sister? Astoria pushed the thought away. Daphne wasn't that much of a troll. She was just being negatively influenced.

It was much easier not to look up at Parkinson and Draco once the class schedules were delivered. Astoria held the parchment tenderly, since it was evidence of her hard work at home. It was so nice to see Astronomy 4 written on her schedule, but her excitement came with a smidge of disappointment. She wouldn't be with anyone her age, for one thing. She wouldn't be with anyone in her year, for another thing. The class could be far too difficult, for yet another thing. But the worst thing of all was that she had to take her favourite class with none other than Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy. Was there any chance at going back, or would that look even worse on her?

Astoria's eyes rolled from the schedule to the owls above her head. Astoria's owl's name was Twinkles — she had named her when she was nine and had since forgotten exactly what kind of owl she was. The small, white and brown kind, if she had to guess. She was quite difficult to discern in the busy group of feathered mail-carriers, but it wasn't long before she arrived overhead. This was Twinkles's first morning at Hogwarts, and already she seemed more adjusted to the place than Astoria. Maybe there was something special about Hogwarts that animals liked. It was definitely amazing how none of the owls left droppings on the tables.

"Ha, my mum Jessica wouldn't know what to do with an owl," said Rhiannon, watching Astoria handle the envelope. "What's your letter say?"

Astoria unfolded the letter. It was written entirely in French, but maybe Rhiannon didn't need to know that. Astoria translated its content from French to English shyly, without Rhiannon's knowledge.

My dear Astoria,

Congratulations on entering into Astronomy 4! Your father and I are very proud of you for studying and working so hard at home. Please remember to be careful when using your wand. It can be risky, as you know. Please do not work yourself too hard any longer! When you have time, write us back, and tell us what you think of school. We want to know all about it! We miss you already.

Love from Maman.

"Risky?" questioned Rhiannon.

"Er, my wand…" Astoria mumbled, having caught Draco's attention and therefore Parkinson's. Astoria tried to lower her voice for only Rhiannon's ears.

"I haven't had much trouble with it so far, apart from what's probably my own fault. Many of my spells are wobblier than I would like. The Summoning Charm involves me getting hit in the stomach with the object I want."

"What kind of wand you have that you get hit in the gut?"

"It's cherry and dragon," Astoria answered, not bringing it out at the breakfast table no matter how hard Rhiannon watched her pockets.

"Oh, wow," said Rhiannon. "Mine's an ebony and Acromantula web core wand. I got it from Jimmy Kiddle's for about eight Galleons, but I couldn't buy my uniform after that and had to apply for financial aid from the Ministry. I needed the wand more than the uniforms, so I got it first."

Astoria's wand had cost thirteen Galleons, which seemed like a reasonable price at the time. Astoria felt much esteemed to have her wand, and she wondered what it would have been like to walk into Diagon Alley with only around eight Galleons, as Rhiannon had.

"What exactly is an Acromantula?" Astoria asked.

"Giant killer spider," said Rhiannon plopping a piece of taffy of unknown source in her mouth. "Webs have th' ability t' conduct magih. Kinda hard t' come by, though. Think mine was sort 'f an esperimental wand, so I got it cheaper than normal eb'ny wands cost."

Draco couldn't contain himself anymore and spoke up, "Is that why you get bad marks in Charms? You couldn't afford a better wand? I always thought it was because you're a Mudblood. Guess that makes matters worse."

He was eating chocolate sent from home in a manner intended to make Rhiannon jealous. Astoria recognised a spoiled rich kid attitude when she saw one and hoped that she didn't act like one herself. Rhiannon looked truly insulted. She swallowed her taffy with slight difficulty.

"This wand chose me, Malfoy. And if I'm correct, your wand would have only cost about that amount, too."

"I'm sure it's just wonderful to be able to spend the Ministry's money with no debt," Draco said. "The rest of us contribute to that fund, you know."

Rhiannon reached across the table without trying to be sneaky and took a piece of chocolate from him.

"It's a real fun time, yeah."

Astoria noticed that Rhiannon's breakfast had gone ignored and she was eating only sweets. Draco had big plans to retaliate, but Rhiannon had fixed such a dangerous glare on him that he thought better of it.

The first class Astoria attended was the Study of Ancient Runes. Professor Babbling, the amulet-wearing, grouchy-faced teacher, made it clear that she did not want to teach anybody who wouldn't take her class seriously, making extra effort to glare at the students who were undeniably bored already. She gave an overview of the class but said that they would not start work until their second section. However, Professor Binns, the ghostly teacher of History of Magic, started lecturing straight away from the moment the students sat down to the moment the bell rang, and perhaps beyond that. In Charms class, Professor Flitwick said they would practise spells they had previously learnt as a review and then begin new material on Monday. And that was when the problems began.

The students were first practising simple Freezing Charms with insects and tossed projectiles. Released from a container, a large moth flew around Astoria. She really disliked moths even though she liked butterflies, and this brown behemoth was particularly sickening to her. With her aim following the moth's flight, she was careful to make sure that no one else was in range of the charm before casting it. When she did cast it, her arm jerked backward painfully. The moth stopped in mid-air and remained there, motionless. She then tried to cast the counter-charm, but it did not work completely. She saw that the moth's antennae were moving and tried to cast the counter-charm again. Nothing else happened.

"Professor Flitwick? Have I hurt it?" she called.

The professor walked toward where she was standing and asked her what the problem was.

"The counter-charm isn't working…" she said. It was rather embarrassing. Would the other students think that she shouldn't have been put into her third year? This was supposed to be a review, after all. Professor Flitwick had to cast it himself. The moth began to fly again, and he moved it back to its container. As much as she didn't like insects, she wouldn't want to hurt one.

"Let me guess, you didn't really want to make that little moth fly about your head, did you now?"

"…Not really, sir," Astoria said.

"Yes, that's the point. You have to have the objective to cast a spell for it to work properly. However…" he said, holding out his hand and motioning Astoria to hand him her wand.

"Cherry wood," he said as though that was a complete statement.

"Yes…"

"It's very moody, this wand. What is the core, my dear?"

"Dragon heartstring, sir."

"Ah," said the professor, subtly indicating that she would become a problem student. "You should certainly know by now that your wand's effects are never guaranteed. Have you ever noticed that it is very difficult for you to cast a spell when you are not truly confident in it, or if you are thinking about anything else?"

"Yes. Many of those times, I don't cast the spell at all," Astoria answered.

"And other times the spell is, let's say, more than you planned it to be?"

"Right," said Astoria. Her Hovering Charms were known to make objects hit the ceiling, her Wand-Lighting Charm was known to make the eyes sore, and she never did cast a successful Disarming Charm that didn't physically hurt someone.

"I see. Well, you have the ability, Miss Greengrass, but you must tame this wand. Just remember to focus, and more importantly, be careful," Professor Flitwick said, and went to talk to another student about motion form.

Astoria wasn't sure what to think. Had she been pointlessly home-schooled? Was it all because of her wand? The whole issue of her not coming to Hogwarts on time was because it took her so long to cast spells. Yet if it was the wand and not her that had caused the trouble, perhaps she really could become as great as her parents. A real witch, not an afterthought.

However, her hopes ebbed after lunch once she went to Transfiguration. The woman who had plopped the Sorting Hat on her, Professor McGonagall, was not as forgiving as Professor Flitwick when Astoria had difficulty with her wand. She muttered something about Astoria's entrance placement and told Astoria that she expected the problem to be corrected by the next class. In her frustration, Astoria thought the professor must have valued being a Gryffindor above being a good teacher.

Rhiannon took the mere existence of the Defence Against the Dark Arts class as some sort of an insult, claiming that it shouldn't even be a class since Professor Lupin left, since "crank teachers" got hired for it otherwise. Astoria, Hestia, and Flora had to nod their heads over the course of the day as Rhiannon vented until the third-year Slytherins finally shuffled into classroom 3C and took their seats. Rhiannon made sure that she didn't enter the classroom until the very second the bell rang, even though she was near the door. Nose in the air, she strode in, screeched her chair against the floor as she pulled it out, and dropped down with a sigh all of the students could hear. Professor Moody made no acknowledgement of her actions and began to take class role.

"Let's see… Slytherin class of 1999…" he said, fussing with the papers on his desk. He pulled out a small note, and said, "Professor Lupin only covered magical organisms with you last year then? So, your class is behind on dealing with curses, too. Very well."

Astoria thought that defending herself against curses would come in handy more often than fighting off Dark creatures, although Rhiannon had mentioned something atrocious about a basilisk and seemed to have something ready to say to the new professor.

"Last year's focus was supposed to be on magical creatures anyway," Rhiannon spoke out. "The whole year. That lesson plan was okayed by Professor Dumbledore. It's not like Professor Lupin put us behind or nothing. I'd say we were put ahead after learning zip in our first year."

Professor Moody didn't move a muscle on his mangled face, and after giving her that sickening stare with his one eye focused and the other rolling about, he asked, "Rhiannon Clarke, correct?"

Rhiannon stalled as the eyes of all the students fixed on her. A few students behind them began whispering. Professor Moody opened a drawer and grabbed an envelope with her name on it, creasing it inconsiderately as he handled it and sent it flying towards her with a spell. Rhiannon flipped the envelope all over and prepared to open it, but the professor addressed the class loudly:-

"You're not going to get scared today like the Gryffindors in your year, I assume?" A few giggles were his answer. "Right, then," he said. "Who can name the Unforgivable Curses for me?"

Twenty-nine hands immediately rose. Rhiannon looked too concerned that she got a detention slip to join them.

"I'd expect as much," Professor Moody said to the wiggling hands in his face. "Bit of a trend for the Slytherins to be better in this class, hm. Be careful what image you portray by being so eager. All right, all right, Mr Davis, what are they?"

Montel Davis, Tracey's younger brother, answered, "The Imperius Curse, the Cruciatus Curse, and the Killing Curse."

"Yes. And I guess most of you can tell me about them, too."

Alexa Crover, a pretty girl with an unnaturally loud voice, replied, "The Imperius Curse puts the victim in a trance that gives the one casting it control of the person's mind; the Cruciatus Curse inflicts terrible pain on the victim; the Killing Curse, well, you know, kills the victim."

"I do know, Miss Crover," Professor Moody nodded and posed another question, "Do any of you know the incantations?"

Max Manson answered, "Imperio, Crucio, and… Avada Kedavra…" from the back of the room.

"Five points to Slytherin. We're only five minutes into class. So we're moving right on."

Astoria didn't know whether to be proud or dismayed. It was stereotypically Slytherin of them to know so much about the Dark Arts. It couldn't be a reflection of everyone's true character, though.

"Do you need me to demonstrate the curses with the spiders here?" the professor asked, holding a container with fuzzy black arachnids in it.

Muffled "no's" were the answer beneath Rhiannon's absolute refusal.

"Get out your parchment and start writing," Moody met with his irritatingly gravelly voice, and began lecturing on the curses.

The students were able to conclude that in order to avoid these curses, one must have "CONSTANT VIGILANCE," since the professor shouted that about seven times. Rhiannon was out the door only seconds after the bell rang; Astoria had to run to catch up with her, avoiding the gyroscopic eye of the professor.

"What did I tell you — terrible class," Rhiannon harrumphed.

"You got a detention slip, Rhiannon," mentioned Hestia. "That makes any class bad."

Rhiannon unfolded the letter she had kept in her pocket during class. After looking at it with surprise, she held it in front of them. The paper was rather small and stained in spots with something blue. On it, in smudged ink, read:

Chin up, Rhiannon. Don't let the other students discourage you. You're here to make history — remember that!

- R. Lupin

Folding it up again, Rhiannon began to dash through the corridors. Lacking the same encouragement from their instructors, Astoria, Hestia, and Flora walked at a normal pace. Their steady footsteps echoed against the walls whilst the rapid pit-pat of Rhiannon's shoes sounded ahead of them.

That evening, Astoria finally had her first peaceful meal since she left home. Tracey Davis sat on one side of Astoria, and Rhiannon sat at the other side. Across from her sat a girl whose name also happened to be Tracey. Since Draco and Parkinson sat on the other end of the table, the only annoyance Astoria had was that neither Tracey could figure out which one was being addressed and that they both kept shouting "What? Me?"

After dinner, Astoria and Rhiannon had a very fun time complaining their hearts out about Transfiguration as Flora looked on, unimpressed.

"My brain's out of think-power," Rhiannon said. "I'm going to bed."

Astoria was going to go back to the dorm, too, but Daphne had come to the common room and wanted to talk to her. It was like she had waited until Rhiannon had left for bed, which already sat wrong with Astoria. She warily joined her sister on one of the uncomfortable couches.

"I am so sorry that I've been avoiding you, Astoria," Daphne said quietly. "I'm kind of in this… this group, you see—"

"Yes, I see, Daphne. They're all charming people," Astoria snapped.

"Astoria, look—"

"No, I get it. You don't want to be associated with your 'Mudblood-lover' of a sister, of course. I know, Daphne. I know."

"You're my sister and I love you, but it's just really embarrassing for me to have you go and be friends with her. She's the only one in Slytherin. Even you know she shouldn't be here. She just doesn't fit. And now you've made friends with those weird girls, too…"

This was a very hard conversation to have with Daphne, and Astoria felt it would have been easier to send her off with a jinx than to try to reason with her.

"Who are you embarrassed for, Daphne? Parkinson? Honestly, she's a waste of space! I bet the rest of your friends aren't half as hateful as you and Parkinson!"

Her fists were clenched, and her nerves were so tight that the slightest interruption could have made her jump out of the seat. Astoria could hardly believe her own anger. Why was blood status such an issue all of the sudden? They never talked about it before. Was it just a problem at this school, or had Astoria been sheltered far too much to know about it? Daphne remained silent. She pushed a few tresses behind her ears and looked down ashamedly.

"I'm sorry, Astoria. I really am, because I don't want to hurt you. I'd rather you play along, but I guess I get it… But can you try to understand me? I've got something to tell you. You see that guy over there?" She lifted her head and her eyes fell on the tall young man Astoria remembered from the train.

"What about him?" Astoria struggled to ask at a normal volume.

"Well, he's probably the most prejudiced guy in this entire school. But I… I like him. That's Blaise Zabini, you know. And I really like him."

Daphne sounded like she was apologising when she said that she liked Blaise. And as Daphne stared hopelessly at Blaise, Astoria nearly felt pity for her sister. Daphne's situation was stupid, yes, but Daphne herself was sometimes stupid, and that was something Astoria had known for a long time.

"Changing for him like that isn't right," she said, reaching out and touching Daphne's hand.

"I know. Oh, I know! He's so arrogant," said Daphne. "The only girls he pays attention to are Pansy and me. And he doesn't like Pansy, so I think he might like me. So when I say stuff about Rhiannon and such, I'm just saying it. Blaise hates Mudblood-lovers. And if I don't agree with Pansy and Blaise, I'll be in a bad situation. I'm so sorry, Astoria. We can talk and stuff at home. Or when they go home. You know. It's just—"

"That's enough. I don't want to know the details of your clique," said Astoria.

Daphne frowned and left to join Parkinson and the others. She was so easily manipulated. Wasn't a guy like that a bit extreme for Daphne? What could she see in him besides his looks? And who said that she had to hang out with them anyway? Daphne was chatty, pretty, and outgoing. She could have made other friends without half the effort Astoria would need. Astoria couldn't think of anything to say to Daphne to help her, and she was long gone anyway. Astoria needed to forget about it for now and get ready for bed.

The dormitory was decorated with various things that the four girls had brought with them from home. Flora and Hestia managed to make the room greener than it already was. Flora had brought decorative ornamentals, abstract sculptures, and embossed runes. She apparently had an interest in tiny green baubles, which were scattered on every flat surface in the room. Hestia had brought in a few plants that she placed in the corner. She cheerily said they fed themselves magically and they didn't need sunlight, which made them good for Slytherin dormitories. Rhiannon's monstrously large suitcase had remained mostly unpacked because she believed it was best to keep its contents hidden. She did have a few posters on the wall behind her bed that had Muggle music groups on them. Rhiannon loved Muggle bands, having grown up listening to them. She even had a zippered bag that contained a few cassettes that could be played with devices that used electricity. When Astoria had asked how she would be able listen to her music, Rhiannon said that she couldn't without a "boom box" and that if she tried, her tapes might explode from all of the magic in the castle. She said she did own a Hobgoblins album and a Spellbound album that both could be played at school, however. When asked why she bothered to bring her Muggle tapes if she couldn't listen to them, Rhiannon said that she did not want them to get sold or stolen whilst she was gone. It came across as paranoid at first, but maybe her home situation was worse than Astoria had thought.

Astoria had brought mostly clothes and toiletries. She hadn't thought of ways to personalise the room except with her celestial maps, which she had taped to the ceiling above her bed. It was the perfect way to see pictures of the constellations. It was like looking at the night sky, only it was greyscale and labelled. The other three girls told her that she should use those for Astronomy class instead, but she had memorised the maps already and did not need them for class. She went over the names of the stars in her head, staring at the maps as she tried to fall asleep. It didn't end up working.

Rhiannon's snoring was part of the problem. Looking over, she saw the girl lying on her stomach with her arms outstretched over the edge of the bed. Trying not to giggle at this spectacle, Astoria lit a small candle and began to write on a sheet of parchment.

Dear Maman and Father,

I am very glad that I am able to attend Hogwarts. I cannot thank you enough for my home-schooling. I was able to enter my third year and one fourth-year class, Astronomy, because of you. I share a room with Flora and Hestia Carrow and Rhiannon Clarke. Pansy Parkinson is most awful; she is in Daphne's class. She and her boyfriend, Draco Malfoy, have already bothered me. I try not to think about them too much; they call Rhiannon foul names. I chose to take the Study of Ancient Runes and Arithmancy for my two elective classes. I am also taking Music at the weekends. Professor Flitwick is my favourite teacher so far, though I have not had all of my classes yet. Daphne has a terrible crush on the blood supremacist Blaise Zabini, so she must ignore me for the sake of the crush. I am sure you understand that she cannot control her feelings and behaviour.

Thank you for writing me,

With love,

Astoria

Astoria read the letter again and was quite content with the way she indirectly tattled on her sister.

"Writing your parents?" asked Rhiannon, who was sitting on the edge of her bed. She rubbed her eyes until they went red.

"Yes. Did I wake you?" asked Astoria.

"Yeah, but that's fine. I was in a light sleep."

Astoria didn't believe that based on Rhiannon's snoring. She rolled the letter up and tied it with a string.

"I can't really write my parents," said Rhiannon softly.

Astoria turned to face her.

"I suppose you could ask the Headmaster if you could use the Muggles' postal system to write to them."

"The post ain't why I can't write to them. They hated that I'm a witch. Jessica wouldn't support me when I came here, so I had to steal her Muggle money and exchange it to Wizarding currency at Gringotts. Then I only had eight Galleons. Thought it was stupid of her to keep a jar of money under her bed in a neighbourhood like ours, eh?"

Astoria made a noncommittal expression of acknowledgement. Rhiannon didn't take offense.

"I didn't care about stealing. My parents treated me like shit my whole life. They hate me, you know. Think I'm possessed or something. That's why I haven't seen me dad since I was eleven; he just thought it'd be a great idea to scarper from his witch-kid," Rhiannon scowled. "Wouldn't want to see him anyway; he'd still be beating me when I come home in the summers."

"Oh… I'm… so sorry to hear that, Rhiannon," said Astoria, stunned.

It was all she could say. She couldn't believe that Rhiannon would need to steal from her own mother, who couldn't really be called a mother. She couldn't understand how Rhiannon's parents could hate their own child. Rhiannon had such a family dynamic that caused her to call her mother by her first name and to not even remotely miss her father. Astoria had somehow convinced herself that these situations were confined to the newspaper, that there were no such things as poverty and abusive families. Yet there was Rhiannon Clarke: living, breathing proof that there is a world outside of Quennell Park. It was world no one deserved.

Rhiannon yawned and slumped back on the headboard. "Hey, where are the twins?"

"I don't know; I thought they were still in the common room," replied Astoria.

"Well, it's 12:45. Could you get them, please? I don't want them waking me up when they come in," requested Rhiannon.

Going back to the common room was one of the last things Astoria wanted to do, but she agreed to go because being awakened by the twins would be unpleasant for everyone. To Astoria's relief, not very many students were lingering there. Flora and Hestia were working on their homework at the desks in the corner of the room.

"Would you mind coming back to the dormitory?" said Astoria. "We'd like to sleep."

"Ten more minutes," Flora said without looking up. "I'm about finished now. I don't want to have to do this tiny bit in the morning."

Hestia was more cooperative and said that it wasn't worth staying up all night to finish the stacks of homework she still had to do. She fumbled with her books and retreated to their room. Astoria sat down next to Flora, who was scribbling away on a Muggle Studies assignment.

"Hestia was loafing around the whole time I was working," Flora complained. "Sometimes I just can't believe her. She's taking three elective classes in addition to our core classes and doesn't want to do her homework until the last minute. You know she says she gets better marks that way? She's absurd. The only thing she gets good marks in is Herbology, and she's going to lose that too if she doesn't get with it."

Astoria silently agreed with Flora, though she didn't want to say anything that could insult Hestia. After Flora finished her homework, she leaned over to Astoria and said, "I heard that Draco Malfoy got turned into a ferret today by Professor Moody."

Astoria chuckled, taking it as a joke until she realised that Flora was speaking in all seriousness.

"Wait! Where did you hear that?" Astoria asked.

"From Professor Moody!" said Flora. "He asked me where 'that Malfoy lad' was after the bell rang for his class. I told him I didn't know, and he sort of smiled. He asked me if I saw him turn Draco into a ferret earlier. I said no, of course. When I caught up to you and Hestia, I still thought he was joking… until I passed some Gryffindors later, and that's all they were talking about!"

"A… ferret?" Astoria said as she pictured a pale-furred ferret squeaking noisily at everyone. Her face broke into a smile despite the fact that she almost felt sorry for Draco. But there were many good reasons to Transfigure the likes of Draco into a ferret.

Flora and Astoria went to their dorm to find an angry Rhiannon, who had to wait "thirteen minutes and twenty-six seconds" for them before she could go to sleep.

"I don't think you're gonna like Professor Snape," Rhiannon said after lunch on Monday.

"Why not? He's our Head of House, isn't he?" Astoria responded.

"Yeah, and he usually lets us off the hook, but sometimes I think he just don't like people."

Potions was scheduled with the Gryffindors. Thankfully, the one class Astoria had with them was taught by the teacher who preferred Slytherins. Astoria had been in Hogwarts for only a few days, but she could already sense the negative attitude toward Slytherin students. It almost felt like there were two Houses instead of four: Slytherins and everyone else. Before class, a Gryffindor girl claimed to be quoting Hagrid when she said, "'There wasn't a single witch or wizard who went bad that wasn't in Slytherin.'" Astoria was far beyond tired of making enemies, but having only been one table away, she grew more defensive than usual.

"Oh, please. You don't actually believe that," said Astoria to the girls, who laughed.

"Prove me wrong," the girl challenged. However, her challenge wasn't very strong. She had seen that she had upset Astoria and was already starting to relent. "Are you new here? I didn't see you last year."

Astoria gauged her quickly. She had long, red hair and a face full of freckles. The tone of her voice was feminine and small, but she used it in a gruff way.

"I am new," said Astoria. "My name is Astoria Greengrass."

"Uh-huh… I'm Ginny Weasley," said the girl, and turned back to her friends.

Astoria wasn't sure what to make of the interaction. At that moment, Professor Snape entered the room, which was all silent except for Ginny, and said, "Ginevra! You are talking when I'm about to start class. Summer is over. This is not a good start to your year. Five points from Gryffindor."

Ginny frowned. Rhiannon stifled a laugh, whispering, "I love it how he calls her 'Ginevra.' I have Astronomy and Care of Magical Creatures with her too, but it's never 'Ginevra' 'cept in here."

Professor Snape didn't dock the same points from Rhiannon for whispering, so maybe his bias towards Slytherin was true. By the end of class, Astoria was able to get on Professor Snape's good side, which Rhiannon described as being "very small." Astoria had become very interested in the effects of potions as she read ahead in her textbook. On the last few pages of the book, there was a list titled Advanced Potions. After looking it over, Astoria asked if they would be making those potions for the end-of-year exam.

Professor Snape gave what one might call the smallest smile in written history, and said, "No. In your sixth and seventh years, if you pass your Ordinary Wizarding Level Potions exam, you will be able to make advanced potions. Planning on doing something dangerous, are we, Miss Greengrass?"

"No, sir. There isn't much about them in the book… I wanted to, er, be prepared."

"Five points to Slytherin," said Professor Snape out of the blue.

The Gryffindors groaned and called Astoria a teacher's pet. Astoria would never consider herself a teacher's pet to someone with such an unpleasant attitude. Regardless, she didn't expect to earn any points for her House and got excited. She wasn't sure why she had been given House points, though the Gryffindors started complaining that he awarded Slytherins points for hardly any reason at all, which seemed like a logical explanation. She just had to show up to class and be a Slytherin. It sort of took away from the victory.

"Way to go," Rhiannon whispered with a smile that was much more rewarding than five points. "Guess you'll like Snape after all."

On Tuesdays, Astoria had Herbology. She had disliked taking this during home-schooling and hated being there in the official class even more. The professor, Pomona Sprout, was a kind and cheerful woman, but Astoria found her taste in a profession to be revolting. The farther away from the sky Astoria was, the less she liked it. Thus, digging around in dirt, dung, and gross-looking plants was one hour of torture for her, and the gloves that the professor provided them never seemed to be long enough. The most Astoria could plant were regular flowers, not the mutant, cellar-dweller plants they dealt with in class. The stench of fertiliser in the greenhouse and the sight of wiggling plants that had brown spots on them was overwhelmingly gross. Rhiannon, Flora, and Hestia didn't mind the class, and the Ravenclaws who looked so professional dealing with earth and plants made Astoria feel that she didn't fit in. Well… not all of the Ravenclaws looked professional. One girl with long and messy blonde hair was staring and picking at a puffapod leaf as though she was trying to decipher its secrets. Astoria later found out that most students called the girl "Loony Lovegood" instead of her actual name, Luna, and debated whether or not it was a fitting title.

At nine o'clock that night, Astoria had her first Astronomy class. She was excited to go in spite of Draco and Parkinson's being there. However, they sat close to Astoria when they came into class, which diminished the excitement. She didn't have time to move her seat, as the professor came sweeping by. Astoria recognised her as the witch who had spoken about Atmospheric Charms at the opening feast and couldn't contain her excitement. Professor Aurora Sinistra had vouched for Astoria's acceleration to this class. And for that, she idolised her instantly.

Professor Sinistra was a tall witch with black hair that she held in a braided bun. She was wearing gold and orange robes with tiny crystal jewels sewn on the seams and a matching headscarf. Her manner was very reserved. She was wearing a smile, beautiful but fake.

Professor Sinistra raised her wand above her head, and all of the windows in the tower flew open, sucking the night air in. The whole room was shaded in an inky blue. Upon the return of normal lighting, Astoria noticed that the professor had cleared an entire region of the outside sky from clouds with an even grander Atmospheric Charm than the one Professor Moody had used as on the Great Hall's ceiling.

"This year we will be focusing heavily on constellations, reviewing some planetary bodies, and learning about the different types of stars. I'll call attendance and then let you pick partners for the year."

"Professor Sinistra," Astoria called out, her hand raised desperately. "When will we learn Atmospheric Charms?"

The professor smiled, and it wasn't a fake one this time.

"I'm afraid that you will not learn those until your sixth and seventh years, and that you may not use them until you are licensed."

Why does everything interesting have to be crammed into the last two years? Astoria thought as Professor Sinistra started to go through the list of students. After Blaise Zabini was called, the professor did exactly what Astoria was hoping she wouldn't do.

"So you may have noticed that we have another student here with us. She is two years ahead in Astronomy. "

This announcement could only mean that the other students wouldn't treat her as a regular classmate. Everyone in the tower stared at Astoria as Professor Sinistra spoke. Most of the fourth-years were noticeably offended about having a younger student in their class.

"Now," said the professor, "you have five minutes to choose partners. When you've chosen, write your names on this list. There's an even number of you in here, so do not make this difficult."

Astoria thought that it would be best to sit at her desk and wait for the last unlucky fourth-year who needed a partner. In only a minute, however, Tracey Davis approached her.

"Got a partner?" Tracey asked.

"Well, no," said Astoria.

"I don't, either. So unless you were waiting for somebody else, I'll take the liberty of being with the rising star," Tracey said.

Tracey and Astoria signed their names on the chart and returned to their desk. The other students were still fussing about trying to choose partners; Astoria noticed that there were not very many inter-House pairs. She saw that Daphne had paired up with Sally-Anne, and Parkinson had paired with Millicent. Vince Crabbe and Greg Goyle were forced to be together since Draco had joined with Blaise. Astoria reasoned that he did this to keep his marks good, since Vince and Greg would bring anyone else's marks down.

"So… um… do you like school, Astoria?" asked Tracey.

"It's okay," said Astoria.

"Just 'okay?' I love it here! What don't you like about it?"

"I do like it," Astoria said.

But for one thing, she didn't like Draco and Blaise sitting at the desk right behind her. Parkinson sat a few desks away, blocked from Astoria's immediate view by a pair of Hufflepuffs. A small blessing. Perhaps Draco knew that Astronomy was Astoria's favourite class and was trying to ruin it for her. Perhaps he was trying to find out her weaknesses so that Parkinson could bully her harshly back in the common room. Or perhaps he was naturally irritating, because he could not bear to leave Astoria alone.

"You never did say how you managed to get in here. Did you cheat on your exam at home?" Draco asked, leaning over his desk. "I bet it was easy with no one watching."

"I had to take the exams at the Ministry, and I don't cheat," Astoria said, but the grin on Draco's face did not go away.

"Right, of course you don't. I bet Daphne's happy to be in class with you."

"Your sarcasm is mediocre," stated Astoria.

"You're both getting irritating," said Blaise in pure disgust.

Draco looked defeated and slouched back in his seat. Professor Sinistra then reviewed the partner arrangements aloud and pulled out a stack of parchment from a drawer in her desk.

"These are pre-tests to see what you know so far about the material we'll be covering this year," she said. "We have never covered any of this. I only want to see where you are. And yes, you're expected to use the sky as reference, as I did not clear it for no reason. Do your best."

In the dimness, Astoria finished the test in roughly twenty-five minutes. She was very confident with her answers, but when Professor Sinistra looked at the test with surprise, Astoria instantly thought she failed. She remembered that her marks determined if she would stay in the class. After most of the other students turned theirs in, Draco started an unwelcome conversation.

"Did you know all the answers?" he asked.

"I couldn't remember some," Astoria said honestly.

"That's too bad," he said insincerely. "What did you put on question number four?"

"I put the answer, of course."

"I bet you guessed on half of the questions."

"I did not. I knew most of them."

"Know-it-all," said Draco.

Astoria turned around and was speechless until the end of class. When Astoria entered her dorm later, the other three girls had numerous questions for her about taking fourth-year Astronomy.

Flora started with, "Is taking Astronomy with the fourth years dreadful?"

"I'm sure it will get better," said Astoria unsurely.

"What's wrong with it now?"

"The seat I have right in front of Draco Malfoy is permanent," said Astoria glumly.

"Oh… I have something in my drawer for headaches if you like," Hestia chimed in.

By the time Astoria had finished the plethora of Ancient Runes homework that Professor Babbling set, it was nearly time to go to Astronomy class on Thursday night. Astoria made her way to the top of Astronomy Tower, a journey that took her about forty-five minutes from her dorm in the dungeons — and that was providing that the staircase didn't move. Once there, she realised she should have procured some headache potion from Hestia, however little she trusted it.

"Look, Astoria! You failed your pre-test! And I thought this was your best class," barked Draco as he waved Astoria's test paper at her. Astoria nearly stopped breathing. How could she possibly fail that if she was confident of the answers? Did she finish it too quickly and not read the questions carefully enough? Were they going to kick her out of Astronomy 4?

"How did you get that?" she cried, trying uselessly to grab the papers from him as he held his arm in the air. When Professor Sinistra came near them to pass out maps, Draco immediately gave the paper to Astoria along with an impish grin. Marked at the top of the page in red was a small note saying that she did an excellent job and was one of six students to get almost all of the questions correct.

"I got that, too," Draco said, still smiling. Astoria wasn't amused.

"Quit taking my papers already!" she hissed.

"I'll try to do it more often," he said, walking toward Vince Crabbe and Greg Goyle, who turned out to be even more obnoxious than he was. Those two never failed to laugh in Astoria's face whenever Draco or Parkinson teased her.

Astoria shuffled back to her seat next to Tracey. The students were unfolding their maps of Capricornus, the constellation they were studying for their first test.

"Does anyone know why I handed this map out?" asked Professor Sinistra. A Hufflepuff flung her hand in the air before Astoria could.

"Capricornus is best visible during this month, though it is still difficult to see."

"Right!" said the professor. "And does anyone know which star is easiest to see out of this constellation?"

Another student answered, "Delta Capricorni."

"Take five points for Hufflepuff! Does anyone know why this star is the brightest in the constellation? I won't take 'It's big,' for an answer," continued the Professor.

This time, Astoria beat the Hufflepuffs.

"Delta Capricorni is in a quaternary star system. The light from three stars surrounding the white giant Delta Capricorni A, I believe… makes the system look like one bright star," Astoria said, recalling what she had read previously.

"That's five points to Slytherin! Is everyone taking notes as we go along?" Professor Sinistra asked the class.

Astoria felt the glares of many students on her, and there was much muttering.

"I never could have guessed," whispered Tracey.

"I'm kind of an astronomy fanatic," Astoria whispered back.

"Yeah, I got that part," Tracey said jokingly.

"Fanatic no doubt," Draco teased. "They should observe you in a lab."

"What now, Malfoy?" Astoria snapped, turning to face him.

"Nothing, I'm just imagining you'll be the biggest teacher's pet," he said.

"Like you aren't?" argued Tracey. "You're a total teacher's pet to Professor Snape."

"I—"

"Silence, class."

Professor Sinistra began her first lecture after she extinguished all the candles and the chattering. She had the most interesting way of teaching in Astoria's opinion; it was the polar opposite of Professor Binns's history lectures. In total darkness, the stars shone vividly against the sky from the view of the tower. The students all took out their luminescent ink and began to prepare their notes. Professor Sinistra had repositioned all the desks to face the window through which Capricornus itself was visible, or at least visible enough. She instructed the students to follow along with her lecture by looking at their maps, which had the constellation in great detail. The professor had charmed the maps to make the stars light up in blue whenever she said their names. But the best part had to be when she made the images come off of their maps and float in the air above them as she described the constellation's declination on the celestial sphere. Of course, the perfect presentation was difficult to focus on when the back of Astoria's chair was being unceasingly kicked by Draco.

"Would you stop already?" Astoria seethed in his direction. She didn't really expect him to stop, and she was right not to. She looked behind her to see that he was noticeably slouched. Even though Astoria was certain it would be much easier for him to sit normally, she knew he would much rather waste effort by annoying people than to be comfortable. It was very difficult for Astoria to take notes, since every time she went to write, he kicked her chair and the ink from her quill scribbled all over the page.

"Draco, stop it," she whispered louder.

"Someone has an attitude," he replied.

"This whole room is filled with your attitude," she sneered.

"Is there a problem?" the professor interrupted edgily.

"May Tracey and I move, please?" Astoria asked. "Draco's bothering me and has messed up my parchment."

The professor was not inclined to let them change seats, but she had a pretty strong threat ready for the perpetrator: "Mr Malfoy, if you don't stop annoying these young ladies, I will have you mop every step in this tower each night."

Draco didn't reply. Though he had stopped explicitly pestering her, he kept tapping the tip of his quill against his ink bottle, making a noise that he must have known would annoy Astoria. After sitting in front of Draco for an hour of class, Astoria just wanted to scream.

"Why do you let him get to you so much?" asked Rhiannon as Astoria fogged up the common room window with a sigh. She had just finished talking about Astronomy class.

"I'm not being dramatic. I'm truly angry!" argued Astoria.

"Well, I just try to keep my cool around him. If you're unresponsive, he loses interest. Or do you not want him to lose interest?" she questioned, elbowing Astoria's arm.

Draco, who was only a group of kids away, was looking at them. And if he heard Rhiannon say that…!

"Quiet," hushed Astoria.

"Hey, you were the one who said he was hot on the train," teased Rhiannon.

Astoria was getting angrier by the second and praying that Draco could not read lips.

"I also called him an idiot, and believe me, I could call him much worse things than that. Have you heard about what happened last month? I overheard Ginevra say he called a girl a 'Mudblood' at the Quidditch World Cup when a…"

She paused.

"When a what?" asked Rhiannon.

"When a riot was going on," said Astoria slowly. Rhiannon looked confused, so Astoria whispered "Death Eaters. It was like he was siding with them."

Rhiannon's dark brown eyes went wide. They were full of a strange harshness Astoria hadn't noticed before.

"I see," Rhiannon said grimly. Her gaze met Draco's, and he looked away from the girls.

"My parents said they knew of his father's connection with them. It hardly surprises me," Astoria said, her voice straining.

"I've heard about his dad, too," said Rhiannon.

After a very long silence, Astoria buried her face the map of Capricornus she was holding and changed the subject.

"I don't have a map this nice of Capricornus," she said. "Do you think I'll get to keep this?"

"If you spill something on it, I'm sure Sinistra won't want it back," Rhiannon said, her usual grin spreading slowly across her face again.