AN: This story is primarily inspired by 'Finding A Place to Call Home' by TheGirlWithFarTooManyIdeas. I had a lot of problems with that story, however, and never finished it, even if I really like some of the places it was going and some of the themes. I quite enjoy Astoria as a character, but I feel the Greengrasses in general get a better rap in fanon then they really should, particularly Daphne and the elder Greengrasses.
This is also a response to the apparent need within fanfiction to explain everything. I'm looking at you, TSM.
I'm not going to say anymore.
Enjoy.
Days of Gold
Today was going to be the first day of the rest of her life, Astoria Greengrass had decided.
She got up that morning, went through her morning routine, and then thought that today was her day. She couldn't really say why she picked today, but that wasn't important, anyway. What mattered is that she did pick today.
She was going to talk to Harry Potter.
Talking to Harry Potter wasn't in itself a great achievement. She had done it for various purposes numerous times throughout her life, be it at parties and galas where everything was so pretty and you could feel the magic running through the air, almost as strong as the overwhelming sense of pretentiousness and snobbery suffusing the attendees. She had bumped into him in the hall, once, and he had once hexed some people bullying her.
Everyone thought Potter was so unapproachable; he was always shy, and kept to himself most of the time. If he did travel with people, it would always be with his two friends and no one else. Maybe he might talk with that Longbottom boy, or some of the other members of the Weasley clan.
But Today, Astoria decided. Today that was going to change.
She flicked her dark hair over her shoulder and hit it with a spell that froze it into place. It wasn't as functional as a strip of leather to tie it into a ponytail, but it was 'proper' and not 'tomboyish' and 'unbecoming of a daughter of house Greengrass'.
Stars forbid she do something practical. Personally, Astoria wanted to wear one of those muggle 'lastick' hair ties, but her parents would probably die of a heart attack.
Maybe she ought towear them…
Astoria slipped out of the Slytherin common room that evening, hiding from prefects, professors, and paintings alike. It was a Saturday evening, so she knew almost exactly where Harry would be. He always spent Saturday evenings brooding on the astronomy tower. She didn't know why he did it, but she knew he always did.
She snuck through a secret passage Daphne had forbidden her to travel through and came across the entrance to the astronomy tower.
Just like every night, Professor Sinistra stood watch over the entrance. How Harry snuck passed her was truly a mystery. She'd notice someone pulling the same trick every night. Astoria had a trick up her sleeve, however, Maisy had told her of a secret passageway that went straight past Sinistra, and according to Maisy, no one else used it. She slipped into the tunnel, crawling up on her hands and knees, before finally coming out into the hall. From there, it was a short journey up the rest of the spiral staircase. The thick, stone steps and walls were relatively easy to travel up, and wide enough to accommodate a gaggle of students laden with telescopes.
"Hello Miss Greengrass." Harry's voice came out from the top of the tower just as she reached the final step. "What brings you here, alone, on a Saturday night?"
He was speaking to her. He hadn't seen her, yet he knew who she was, and was speaking to her. How did he do that?
"Well." She started. "I wanted to speak with you, Harry Potter."
"Really now?" Harry shook his head. "You sure you don't just want the full story?"
"No." She shook her head. "I just wanted to talk with you. I don't care about the full story."
That was a lie. Lying to Harry Potter was probably a bad idea. "No. That's not right. I do care about the full story, but I just want to talk with you."
"That's a new one." Harry snorted. "Pull the other ones. It has bells."
"Ok, I will." Astoria replied. "Where is it?"
She could see Harry now. He was seated on the edge of the Astronomy tower, legs swinging out over the drop below. The Astronomy tower was almost two-hundred metres off of the ground! Wizards were tough, but not tough enough to survive a drop like that unless they were exceptionally lucky.
Harry was very brave. Braver than most, if the stories were true.
The Greengrasses were a Slytherin family, and Astoria was a Slytherin. Slytherins weren't brave; they were cunning, and clever, and pragmatic, and occasionally deceitful, but not brave.
Astoria was a bad Slytherin.
She walked forward and sat down next to the raven-haired enigma, letting her legs swing off the precipice. Wind blew an icy chill through them, and Astoria shivered. She pulled out her wand and cast a warming charm on her body. The artificial heat suffused her, and she felt quite pleasant.
"So, will you talk with me now?" She turned to Harry and asked. He just snorted.
"Hmh." He just gazed out at the quidditch pitch, the wind rustling his messy scruff of hair. His wand twirled around in his hands.
"You worried at all about falling off?" She asked.
Harry gave half a laugh, like there was some sort of inside joke he was laughing at.
"I'm guessing that's a no."
Harry just kept staring off into the distance, brooding.
"You seem so sad." Astoria observed. "Why is that? What does the Boy-Who-Lived have to be sad about?"
"Why do you care? It doesn't matter how I feel, Astoria. All that matters is I defeat the big, bad Voldemort-" Astoria flinched at that, shocked that someone would say his name. She was half convinced Dumbledore just said it whenever he had a chance because he got a kick out of watching people jump or flinch.
Harry snorted again.
"Why do you say his name?"
"Miss Greengrass." Harry dripped sarcasm like a bubotuber dripped pus. "Of all the people out there, why would you be surprised that I am not afraid to say his name?"
"Well… I…"
Harry shook his head. "It's not even his real name, you know? But 'Tom' doesn't have the same meaning to it. I know a lot of 'Tom's' that are good people. And a single Tom that's a bad person.
"His real name is Tom?"
"It is." Harry nodded. "His real name is Tom. What, did you think his mum named him Voldemort, or that he crawled out of the pits of hell fully formed?"
"I didn't know." Astoria replied, staring at the ground. A couple of the windows had light emanating from them, but most didn't. The moon was rising, just out on the horizon, and it cast a beam of white light onto the black lake, the ripples distorting it and causing it to shimmer.
It was beautiful.
Astoria didn't brood, but if she decided to start, she'd definitely brood here.
"What's your favorite colour?"
"My favorite-" Harry turned to her, asking incredulously. "My favorite colour?"
"Well, yeah!" Astoria nodded vigorously. "What is it?"
Harry thought about that for a moment. "I don't know. I've never thought about it. Never came up before."
"Never came up before?" Astoria looked aghast. "Everyone needs a favorite colour. Mine's golden yellow, like the first sunlight that peaks through the windows, or of a field of wheat."
"Hmmm." Harry nodded. "Why do you care?"
"Because I do!"
"No one cares." Harry muttered. "No one at all."
"I care." Astoria said softly. "I care."
"That's likely. No one cares about me as a person. Everyone is interested in me as a hero, or a saviour, or after a slice of my fame."
"What about your friends? Your parents? Don't they care?" Astoria gazed at him. His bright green eyes glistened with faint hints of moisture.
Harry barked out a solitary laugh, a dark expression of pain, humor, and laced heavily with irony. "My friends? Ron's a good mate, sure, but he gets so caught up in the whole 'Boy-Who-Lived' thing sometimes. Hermione… Hermione's great, but I overheard her talking about me once. Her whole friendship is wrapped up in a complex about me being her saviour and some sort of noblesse oblige. The only difference between her and everyone else, aside from about thirty IQ points, is that I actually did something to save her, and she can actually help me in a substantive way."
"What about your parents? Don't they love you? Don't they care?"
"Do your parents care?" He pondered.
"Touche." Astoria scrunched inward. "I thought my parents were the outliers there."
"Welp. They aren't. Family. What a bludgeoning curse to the groin."
"I care."
"We've been over this. No, you don't"
"Yes, I do." Astoria insisted.
Harry shook his head.
"Actually, I take that back. Luna cares."
"Luna? As in the Ravenclaw with the radish earrings?"
"Yes, that Luna."
"She cares?"
"Yes. She cares about everything and everyone. I think she'd probably even shed a tear for the death of old He-Who-Must-Be-Defamed. Just one, though." Astoria giggled at his nickname for the Dark Lord.
"My parents would probably curse me for saying that."
"Your parents sound terrible."
"They can be sometimes." Astoria giggled again. "Good for Luna."
"Good for her indeed." Harry shook his head.
"What would I need to do to prove I care?"
"Nothing. You can't prove you care. It doesn't work like that." Harry shook his head. "Luna didn't stalk me and find me in the middle of the night on the astronomy tower. Luna just dropped into my life and then dropped right out. She flits in and out occasionally, like some sort of butterfly. She can find the beauty in everything. Even thestrals. Probably would have jumped off this tower if no one else could see them, or no one else could explain them."
"Thestrals? If you don't mind my asking –"
"I do." Harry barked.
Astoria was quiet for a few moments, after crossing that line. Then after what seemed like an endless silence – but was probably only five minutes – she finally spoke up again. "How'd you know it was me, at the beginning?"
"A master never reveals his secrets."
"That's vague and a non-answer."
"I learned from the best."
"Dumbledore would have been simultaneously less and more condescending and have added a hint of mischief to it."
"That's… what he would do. Something like… 'You'll find, when you have spent as many nights on the Astronomy tower as I, that certain secrets are revealed to you when the time is right.'"
Astoria giggled at that, and even Harry couldn't help letting a laugh through his dour countenance.
"Why doesn't you-know-who scare you?"
"Who?" Harry asked.
"You-Know-Who." Astoria repeated.
"No, I really don't." Harry shook his head. "Are we talking about Ronald Weasley? Because that man's appetite is bloody terrifying. Hermione Granger? Got between her and a book once." He faked a shudder. "Lucius Malfoy? I mean, have you seen the way he dresses? The way he swoops into a room? One of the most melodramatic people I know, and Sirius Black's my Godfather. The only thing scary about him is how much product he must use in his hair."
"No!" Astoria slapped him, dissolving into peals of laughter. She had to lean back and rest on the stone floor of the tower, for fear of falling. "I mean the Dark Lord."
"Which one?" Harry asked. "Grindelwald? Emeric the Evil? Koscheii the Deathless? Zacharias Smith, Dark Prince of Hufflepuff? I'm going to need you to be more specific."
Astoria leaned back again, chortling heartily. She laughed so hard salty tears flushed her eyes, and she wiped them on her sleeve. "You know who I'm talking about!"
"Nope. I mean, Grindelwald's locked up in Nurmengard, Emeric is dead, Koscheii didn't live up to his name, and Zacharias Smith is boring and proves that while not all 'Puffs are Duffers, at least some of them are." Harry shrugged.
"I… I can't say his name."
"Why not?" Harry asked.
"Because… Because you just don't!"
"I say his name all the time! Zacharias Smith! Zacharias Smith! Zacharias Smith!"
"No!" Astoria squealed in frustration.
"I know." Harry nodded sagely. "Speaking his name gives even me chills."
Astoria let out a frustrated sigh.
"Here." Harry said. "It's just a name. Say it! Lord Voldemort!"
Astoria shivered. "I can't"
"Yes, you can, Miss Greengrass. Say his name!"
"Fine. Lord Vol-. I… I can't."
"Yes, you can. It's just a silly made up name. Lord Voldemort."
Astoria took in a deep breath. She exhaled, then took in another deep one, letting the fresh air clear her mind. "Lord Voldemort."
She shook violently the moment it passed her lips.
"See? Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Harry smirked.
"Ugh."
"Think about the bright-side. Your parents would probably have had an apoplectic fit if they heard!"
Astoria brightened. "They would've, wouldn't they?"
Harry smiled, a dumb look on his face. A flock of something was moving in the forest, and the leaves ruffled in a way unlike that of wind. He just stared out there for the longest time.
"Cedric Diggory."
"Cedric Diggory?"
"Cedric Diggory. The person that died that I saw. I wasn't fast enough, and Cedric died." Harry stated softly. Astoria felt the pain infused into every word.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really."
"Ok. I don't have to know. And you don't have to tell me. But if you want to talk about it with someone, I'll listen."
Harry sighed, and looked up at the stars. He took a deep breath, and started talking. He rambled up, and down, and left and right, and occasionally through non-euclidean space, but he told the story.
"At the end of the tournament, Cedric and I grabbed onto the Cup Together. The cup was a Portkey, and it transported us to a graveyard. Peter Pettigrew was there, and he started dueling us. They needed me alive. They didn't need Cedric alive. The killing curse has a certain majesty to it, really. It's a green bolt of power, hatred and death made manifest. Cedric didn't get out of the way in time. I could have pushed him out of the way, or made a barrier, or any number of things, but I didn't. I reacted exactly according to training. I used the moment where Pettigrew turned his hatred onto Cedric to take him out. And in that moment, Cedric died. I stopped Pettigrew. I found a little bundle of Voldemort they were planning on reviving. I killed it."
"Voldemort's still alive?" Astoria's eyes flashed all the way open, her mouth opening in shock.
"Yep." Harry grunted. "By some definitions of alive. He's still out there, little more than a wraith. Only a matter of time before he crawls on back to life."
"That's scary."
"And in stopping him from returning, he's killed people I care about, or shouldn't have been in there in the first place. And I can't stop him from doing that."
"It's not your fault."
"Yes, it is." Harry snapped. "It is my fault. I could have saved him. I could have done any number of things, but I used his death to win. And in that moment, I lost. Cedric didn't deserve death. I'm the chosen one. I'm supposed to save people." He jerked a leg in a kicking motion. "But I can't save anyone."
"That's not true!"
"Is it? Ginny Weasley. Cedric Diggory. Dudley Dursely. I couldn't save them. In fact, I sacrificed them, or as good as. Ginny Weasley and Cedric Diggory died to stop Voldemort. Dudley Dursley was only killed because I was in the area."
"But you didn't kill them. And by stopping You-Know – Voldemort, you saved other people."
"I did, didn't I? I saved myself and stopped Voldemort in each case. And that is little consolation."
"You shouldn't beat yourself up like that."
"What else can I do?"
They sat there for a while, the only noises the whistling of the wind through the astronomy tower and the occasional light thrum as the wards vibrated.
"You sound like you need a friend."
"I have those."
"No, you have Luna, and maybe Ron and Hermione? You need a real friend."
"Sure. And you'll fill that role for me?"
"Of course! I won't tell anyone that we're friends."
"Mhm." Harry nodded. "Sure you won't."
"I promise!"
Harry shook his head. "Promises can be broken."
Astoria paused to consider that, before a conspiratorial smile crossed her face. In a flash, her wand was in her hand, raised towards the sky. "I, Astoria Belladonna Greengrass, do swear upon my magic that I will not speak of, discuss, imply, or reveal the status of my relationship with Harry James Potter until he permits me to or releases me from this oath. As magic my witness."
A flash of light emanated from her wand and a strand of magic lashed out from her, connecting her to Harry Potter for the purposes of secrecy. The boy gaped at her.
"Why would you do that?"
"So I can be your friend!"
"I'm flattered, but that was a little extreme."
"I know." Astoria nodded. "But sometimes you have to take a few risks in life, to have any hope of seeing a reward."
"Sounds like something Dumbledore would say."
"Picked it up from him."
"How? You're a Slytherin."
"Well… He was wearing a floral dress and stroking his beard in front of a tapestry, staring at it intently, when we stumbled upon them. He turned to us, said that, and walked away."
"Weird."
"I know, right!"
The weekly meetings with Astoria atop the astronomy tower had grown cold as Scotland slipped into winter, the lazy autumn days giving way to the damp and icy winter nights, with biting chills and freezing winds..
Harry liked Astoria. Harry could be himself around Astoria, in a way he couldn't around anyone else. Talking about how he felt with his mum or dad would have him met with passive disinterest or worry. Not about him – but of the status of Britain's saviour.
For once, he was having a normal year. No tournament, no basilisk, no dementors…
Life was good. All he had to contend with was studying for his OWLs and a funny Slytherin Girl. He could do that.
Astoria had a way of bringing light into every moment. Of making every day a little bit better.
No one knew about them. His parents would have a fit; being friends with a pureblood princess from a dark family was a 'publicity nightmare'.
Her parents would have a bigger fit; being friends with the great avatar of the light was a threat to the Greengrass's stance of neutrality, publicly, and their sympathies with the darker elements, privately.
The student body would have, perhaps, the greatest fit of all. All of the hopeless romantics would think they were the next Romeo and Juliet, star crossed lovers that couldn't be together due to the circumstances of their social situations. Never mind the fact that they weren't dating, they were just friends, thank you very much, and Romeo and Juliet committed suicide at the end of the story.
Harry never got the appeal of that bit.
The last rays of sunlight dipped below the horizon, and the faint glow of the last bits of sunset began to fade like the last coals of a fire, blood red hues giving way to violet and then black.
Harry slung his bag over his back and jumped into the air. With a soft whisper, he shifted into the form of a bird. He beat his wings several times, lifting himself up towards the sky. The blackish-brown feathers of his short-toed snake eagle alter ego caught the wind, and he went flying. Real, proper flying. He caught air current after air current of violently blowing air, gusts of icy wind, and worked his way up to the astronomy tower. Much to his chagrin, his favorite snake was already there, gazing out across the school. She was bundled up tightly, and her hair whipped around her face.
Harry swept in, figuring he had gotten to know her well enough that she wouldn't go and rat him out. The wind was coming in just the right direction, and he caught the currents just right, hovering in front of her.
She stared at him, floating just there. With a smirk, she held out an arm.
Harry swept in, landing on it. Her arm gave way a bit, due to his weight, but she recovered quite quickly.
"Why hello there, little birdy."
Harry whistled musically at her. He flapped his feathers a few times to stabilize himself.
"What are you doing here? If I recall correctly, I think you're some sort of snake-eagle. A species rarely seen within fifteen hundred kilometres of here. That migrates to the Sahara during the winter."
Harry whistled again. Unfortunately, the Short-Toed Serpent Eagle was a rather soft spoken bird, and could really only whistle softly at things. He couldn't squawk like a lot of birds.
He did quite enjoy the fact that he was a bird of prey that primarily ate snakes.
"And you have awfully green eyes. Harry, this explains so much."
Harry whistled at her again.
"Come on out now."
Harry leapt from her arm and used his wings to slow his fall to the ground. He touched down and shifted into his human form.
"There you are."
"Indeed."
"You're an animagus?"
"Astoria." Harry stated seriously. "Your power of observation continues to impress."
She slapped him playfully. "Arsehole."
"Noticed that, did you?"
She rolled her eyes. "Can you say anything without sarcasm? You're almost as bad as most of the Slytherins."
"That's a low blow there."
"I aim low."
Harry shook his head. "Yeah. I'm an animagus. Been one since second year."
"Blimey." Astoria gaped at him. "Really?"
"Yep. Started the process before Hogwarts."
"Crazy. Did your parents know?"
"They pushed me to do it. The, uhh… The Potter family tree is mostly animagi."
"I never heard of any Potter Animagi." Astoria smiled at him, twirling a lock of hair around a finger.
Harry coughed and looked down sheepishly. "Mostly unregistered animagi."
"My father did always rant about how the Potters were a bunch of thieving troublemakers and ne'er-do-wells..."
"Hey!" Harry defended himself. "The Potters haven't stolen anything with the exception of women's hearts and knickers since Raphael Potter!"
"I like how that's what you contest." Astoria rolled her eyes.
"I was raised by James Potter. I can't honestly contest any of the other statements."
"Isn't he a Lord?" Astoria asked playfully.
"He doesn't act like it." Harry muttered darkly. "The man's less mature than Fred and George."
They were quiet for a moment, their collective mirth simmering under the surface.
"I'm just teasing." Astoria giggled, the joviality spilling back out. She pulled a large comforter out of her bag and placed it on the ground. With a flick of her wand, she cast a warming charm on it and slipped inside of it. Harry did something similar with his own comforter. The sky was a glistening blanket of stars, and the icy winds coming in only made the hot chocolate Astoria had brought taste even better.
"So, I need to append something I said a while back." Harry commented.
"And what is that Mr. Potter?"
"It's about people who care." Harry stated simply. "I am going to have to make that list a list of three."
"Three?" Astoria let sarcasm drip into her voice. "Three's a lot more than one, Harry. Are you sure you can handle that many?"
Harry smiled, his lips contorted in a bittersweet line. "I don't know. I'll have to think about it."
"Don't think too hard, you might break something."
"Anyway." Harry sighed a contented sigh. "Luna is still on the list. Oh – I'm fairly sure she knows we're friends, she keeps mentioning that I 'shouldn't beware the starry mother of magic'. Which would mean you're good, or it could mean something entirely different. I never know. Beyond Luna, I'd say I know you care."
Astoria grinned at that, the warm feeling rushing through her body doing more for the cold then the hot chocolate.
"Finally, Mad-Eye Moody cares." Harry nodded assuredly.
"Mad-Eye? The grizzled paranoid Auror?"
"That's the one. And he's no longer an Auror."
"Hunh. He seems spiky and disagreeable."
"He's a big softy once you get to know him. He trained me since I was – gosh, about six or seven years old. Learned more from him then anyone else." Harry's fondness for the Auror was evident.
"Never would have guessed."
"He has an interesting way of showing affection. If he constantly gives you tips on staying safe, hiding from everyone, paranoia… that just means he cares."
"Ok." Astoria nodded. "He's taught you a lot?"
"Loads." Harry exclaimed. "He's taught me all sorts of great stuff. According to most of the people I've met, I'm near Auror level in defense. I could probably take my NEWT tomorrow and pull a solid O."
"That's incredible." Astoria breathed. "I feel better knowing that Britain's in your hands."
"I don't." Harry shook his head. "I'm just one guy. Still a kid. What can I do against the evils lurking at the gate?"
"I don't know." Astoria admitted. "But you can do more than the rest of us. You've already foiled Voldemort's plans four times now, and one of these days you'll get rid of him for good."
"I can only hope." Harry nodded. "I can only hope."
"Brrr. It's cold up here." Astoria changed the subject abruptly.
"You're the one that wanted to stargaze on the astronomy tower in the middle of winter." Harry replied dryly.
"Yeah… Well." Astoria started. "Ok, you may have a point."
Harry rolled his eyes.
Astoria lay quietly for a moment. With a rapid bout of motion, she got up, walked over to Harry, and slipped under his comforter, laying hers across both of theirs.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked.
"Staying warm." Astoria shrugged.
"That's what warming charms are for!"
"They aren't as toasty as Gryffindor's with a hero complex."
Harry rolled his eyes. "You just can't do it because your sister is the Ice Bitch Supreme, and her ice magic powers and demeanor is at least a little bit contagious."
Astoria laughed heartily. "Ice. Bitch. Supreme!" She took a deep breath. "I'm going to have to use that on her sometime!"
"I'm sure she'll appreciate it."
"Oh, I'm sure she will. This will be almost as fun as that one time I charmed a bunch of snitches to loudly shout 'Voldemort' over and over again, disillusioned them, and released them into the Slytherin common room." Astoria grinned maniacally, and they shared a moment of humour at that. "Seventeen students had to go to the infirmary for calming draughts, and three are still meeting with a mind healer."
"So that actually happened?" Harry crooked an eyebrow. "I thought it was just a rumour."
"Most definitely." Astoria nodded. "It was hilarious. If I ever get a pensieve, I'll make sure to share the memory with you."
Harry shook his head. "Do they know who did it?"
"No, not yet. And I don't think they will." Astoria shrugged.
Astoria had well and truly gotten over her fear of the name 'Voldemort', and had started to take a perverse pleasure in weirding out others with it, just like Harry, Dumbledore, and the two Marauders still alive and in Britain.
Harry had spent much of the day drilling with his father and was exhausted. He drifted asleep in the warm, soft comforters, Morpheus claiming him before he was aware of what was happening.
Astoria followed soon afterwards, content with life.
Harry's eyes snapped open. Wakefulness rushed through him, and he got up immediately.
Someone was coming.
He was sleeping at the top of the Astronomy Tower.
Astoria Greengrass's head was on his chest.
Any one of these was perfectly fine on its own, and any two weren't particularly damning, but… but all three at once was a bad look.
Harry acted quickly. With a flick of his wand, he cast a shrinking charm on the comforters, then summoned them with a thought. Astoria was using his chest as a pillow, and his body resisted the need to move her off. He plunged his hand into his mokeskin pouch and pulled out his invisibility cloak. He pulled Astoria to her feet and wrapped the cloak around both of them.
"Astoria, wake up." He whispered under his breath.
"Mhmmh?" She mumbled, rolling over into him.
"Astoria, you need to wake up!" He hissed. "Someone's coming!"
"I'm almost up." She moaned.
Harry sighed and hissed out a quick silencing charm.
Dumbledore walked out onto the astronomy tower, wearing a pink nightrobe and a lime green sleeping cap. The fuschia garment and it's lurid green companion were blowing wildly in the breeze, and yet Dumbledore stood there, as static and unyielding as ever.
"Mhhm. What a delightful early morning." He stated, to no one in particular. His half-moon spectacles glistened reflected the moonlight, and the twinkling in his eyes seemed to increase to an almost excessive level.
Harry held his breath, staying as quiet as he could.
"You know, I don't know if there is a pair of students from Gryffindor and Slytherin Houses engaging in a pleasant friendship that will almost certainly develop into a romantic relationship in, oh, a few months. But, because I'm sure I wouldn't know if there was a relationship like that, I must therefore assume that there is, in fact, such a pair, as I do not know of such a pair." He muttered loudly, seemingly to himself. With a stroke of his long, white beard, which was whipping around in the winds, he continued. "As such, I must award Gryffindor and Slytherin houses 50 points each for inter-house unity, cooperation, and overcoming prejudices."
Dumbledore nodded. "That seems about appropriate. Of course, if we assume the existence of the relationship, then the only logical explanation for the rather amusing 'Voldemort' snitches prank must be the Slytherin member of the duo. And since we now know the house of the perpetrator of that prank, if not the name, I am afraid I have no recourse but to award Slytherin fifty points for excellent spellwork and working to overcome their fear."
Astoria cocked her head in confusion.
A little quieter now, but still well within the hearing range of Harry and Astoria, Dumbledore gave a jovial snort. "They'll be going over this little change to the books for weeks now." He muttered to himself. "And they say Tom is evil… He's got nothing on Albus Percival."
And with that, he turned around and walked down the stairs.
"What was… What was that?" Astoria
"No clue." Harry shook his head. "But if I had to guess, I'd say Dumbledore's been spying on us?"
"That sounds… ridiculous, so by Dumbledore's logic it's perfectly reasonable?" Astoria shrugged.
"He has to get his kicks in somehow."
"Yeah… Say, I didn't know you had an invisibility cloak." Astoria pried.
"And until tonight you didn't know I was an Animagus either. I keep a lot of secrets. I have to."
"Mmmm. It's a nice invisibility cloak."
"I know. My parents bought it five years ago from an Indian cloak company. It's real demiguise and thestral hair."
"That's a nice story. What's the real one?"
"What do you mean, the real one?"
"You Gryffindors think you are so clever…" Astoria shook her head in disdain. "They don't make demisuise and thestral hair invisibility cloak. It's one or the other, the fibers don't get along. So, either you have a supplier that has overcome the fundamental limitations of magical weaving, you were scammed, or it's an invisibility cloak of shady or mythical origin and you're trying to deflect people from it. Somehow I doubt it's the first, I'm going to be charitable and assume it isn't the second – your parents' sound like vapid socialites sometimes, but Lily Evans did set numerous academic records, and they're a Lord and Lady, so they can't be that stupid – so what's the real story behind this cloak? Is it the mythical Cowl of Slytherin? The Cloak of Death? The Cape of Minerva?"
"Slytherins." Harry scowled. "You think you're so clever."
"I don't think; I know!"
"You're impossible."
"Nope, I'm right here."
"I'm not telling you the real story."
"I don't expect you to."
"That's nice."
"Be my boyfriend."
Harry blinked a few times, his dark eyelashes flashing up and down in front of his gorgeous green eyes.
"What now?"
"Be my boyfriend!"
"Ummm. Where'd this come from?"
"You heard what Dumbledore said. We should start dating."
Harry didn't know what to think about this. He knew that a lot of the people in his year were in relationships, but for the most part he just didn't have the time to engage in that sort of stuff.
He also really didn't think there was a right sort of girl for him. Like, maybe Luna, but she was just such a princess Harry would almost feel bad dating her.
He thought about Astoria. She was rather pretty, with soft features and shimmering sleek black hair. Her eyes were a rather nice shade of hazel and seemed to glint with mirth whenever she was amused. Which was a lot.
He thought more about his feelings on Astoria. He got along with her pretty well, which was apparently an important benchmark in relationships, though Dean and Lavender's relationships suggested that that might not be the case.
Come to think of it, he really didn't think Dean and Lavender had a healthy relationship, so he probably shouldn't base his standards on them.
Why hadn't his godfather ever given him advice beyond the best way to raid a knickers drawer? (He had practiced, blindfolded, on a 'test' drawer Sirius had made, until he could do it in fifteen seconds. Something Sirius had adapted from his stint in Her Majesty's Armed Forces. Something about field stripping. Harry didn't know what that was, and didn't think he wanted to know. ) The best relationship advice he had ever heard was from Moody, but that amounted to 'Don't have relationships, your enemies will just rip your loved ones apart to get to you."
Solid advice, sure, but not the sort of advice Harry wanted to follow.
He visualized Astoria. Her gracefully, princessly beauty juxtaposed with her impish, chaotic nature that simmered under the surface. The more he thought of Astoria, the more he felt some sort of large, scaly reptile erupt in his stomach and… no. That was a horrible metaphor! He didn't feel anything of that at all. It was like a hoard of fireflies pushing through his intestines towards Astoria. No! That was almost as bad!
It didn't feel half bad.
Really, what was there to lose?
A lot. There was a lot to lose. So very much to lose.
But he was a Gryffindor, right? Leap first and look later? It had worked surprisingly well for him so far.
Really, he didn't know how he had survived this long.
"You gonna say something, or just stare into the middle distance all day?
He shook his head. "Right, umm… Sure. I'll be your boyfriend."
"Sure? Sure? Of all the things you could say, you say sure?" Astoria demanded, her face contorted into an image of rage and disgust, a rather nasty sneer marring her otherwise beautiful features. Harry felt a sudden desire to do what he needed to make sure she never let such an ugly expression defile a beautiful face. "Not, Yes my dear, or I would absolutely love to, or even, hell, let's give it a shot!" She shook her head. "No, you use Sure.".
"Well, umm. I … umm..." Harry stammered. He really wasn't sure what he was supposed to do here.
Astoria's face rapidly returned to her normal impish, half-grinning self. She slapped Harry's chest with the back of her hand. "Come on, I'm' just messing with you! Now, I've got some cake from the kitchens, and I need a strong, hungry boy to help me consume it!"
"Well… If you insist."
Astoria flicked her wand, muttering a few words, and the blanket she had brought unfolded itself into a little picnic. Next, the basket open and out poured a waterfall of cake, pudding, and other desserts, all in small sizes.
"So, Boyfriend. How went your day?"
"Are we not going to talk any more about this? I mean, I'm not exactly going to pretend that any of the male figures in my life, Sirius Black, James Potter, Or Mad-Eye Moody are exactly the most well adjusted of people. I'm not exactly sure how to go about being a boyfriend."
"Nah…" Astoria rolled her eyes. "It's not that hard. You just care about what they say and about them, cuddle with them every now and again, and occasionally get them gifts." With that statement, she scooted over along the blanket and leaned back onto Harry's embrace, resting her head on his chest.
"Astoria… We did all of that before today. What makes now any different?"
"What makes now any different?" Astoria inhaled sharply. "Because now… Now it's official."
"That's… You're crazy."
"You're the one dating me." Astoria snuggled deeper into his chest, like she was trying to burrow her way into his heart, ignoring the fact, of course, that she had already taken it long ago.
Harry just shook his head. "What am I to do with you?"
"Cuddle me more, obviously." Astoria grinned. Harry rolled his eyes and twitched a finger. A small cup of pudding flew across the space and landed in his hand with a soft slap.
"Wandless magic. Show off." Astoria muttered.
Harry spooned a helping of the pudding between her lips, which was fairly effective in shutting up her indignation.
"What's your favorite class?"
"I like defense the most."
"You would. Any class that gives you a chance to hex people is something you're going to be all behind."
Astoria giggled at Harry's comment and squirmed around in his embrace.
"You know me too well. What's your favorite class?"
Harry thought about it for a while.
"Charms."
"Really?" Astoria asked. "Charms? Not Defense? Not Transfiguration? Of all of the classes, you like charms the most? That totally doesn't fit with my image of you as an Auror-coat-wearing, arse-kicking and name-taking badass."
"I never wanted to 'kick names' and take arse'." Harry stated before he realized his mistake.
Astoria giggled. "Said the actress to the bishop."
"Wait a minute…" Harry shook his head. "Anyway, I never was that interested in the whole 'kicking arse' and 'taking names' thing. That was Sirius's and Dad's vision for me. The badass Chosen One, going around slaying dark forces and protecting the fair people of magical Britain. I wanted to take runes and Arithmancy because they are both prerequisites for a charms Mastery, but my parents made me take care of magical creatures and Applied Defense because those are 'proper' classes of the Boy-Who-Lived to take. That's enough sop from me complaining about my life. Onto Charms! I love charms. Charms is fantastic. All of my favorite defense spells are really Charms: The Disarming Charm, The Patronus Charm, and The Locomotion Charm."
"That's very…" Astoria paused, a grin blooming across her face. "charming."
"And that was terrible." Harry replied. Astoria just beamed at him.
"I do my very best." She nodded, her head shaking up and down with vigor and her dark hair flying around her face. She swept some of it back behind her ear, then grew thoughtful. "Hey, Harry?"
"Yes, Astoria?
"You're good at charms, right?"
"I'm going to start pursuing a Charms mastery the moment I turn 17 and am no longer limited by my parents. What do you think?"
"Teach me the Patronus!"
"The Patronus Charm?" Harry coked his head at her.
"Nooo, The Patronus Curse." Astoria drawled. "Yes, the Patronus Charm. The one with the silver animal that shoots happiness light everywhere!" She shook her head. "Gosh, you're thick sometimes. I presume you're familiar with the Patronus?"
"Yes, I'm familiar with the Charm." Harry sighed. "As I've proven several times… Sure. I'll teach you the Patronus."
"Thank you." She ripped herself from his grasp and hopped to her feet.
"Now?" Harry asked.
"Now!" Astoria was bouncing on the balls of her feat. She had pulled out her wand and was twirling it around in her hand.
"Alright then." Harry nodded and stood up slowly. He walked over to her and pulled out his wand. "The exact somatic motion for it is rather difficult, so we'll work through it slowly."
He pointed his wand out towards the air and gestured for Astoria to copy him. "I'll go through the motions slowly, and you can follow me. Ready?"
"Ready." Astoria nodded. Harry began moving his wand in the, slowly, giving Astoria plenty of time to copy his motions. Every few moments she would make a mistake, or her motions wouldn't be tight enough or loose enough for the Patronus, and Harry would stop to correct her. Finally, after a significant portion of time spent on guiding Astoria through the motions, Harry deemed her ready to attempt the full Patronus.
"Ok. The incantation is easy – just say expecto patronum – though I find shouting it can help. The real trick with the Patronus is the happy memory. You need to think of a memory that evokes pure happiness and joy. A memory that brings forth all the good within you. It needs to fill you up with warmth. Then, once you've pulled all of this to the fore, wave your wand in the motions and say the incantation. Got that?"
Astoria nodded. "I got that."
"Excellent. Think of a memory. Bring it to the fore." Astoria closed her eyes and began to think. After a few moments she scrunched up her face, like she had hit a stumbling block on a test. Finally, she smiled, and brandished her wand.
"Excellent;" Harry encouraged. "Now, cast the spell."
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Astoria waved her wand. A thin wisp of silvery mist curled out of her wand. For a few moments it cast a bluish-white glow across the top of the astronomy tower and illuminated both Harry and Astoria faintly in the glow from it.
Astoria let her wand arm fall to her side and released a long breath. "Ugh."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "That was great! Almost no one gets a Patronus that large on the first attempt!"
"Really?" Astoria looked up at Harry hopefully. "That was a good performance?"
"That was an excellent showing for someone who tried it for the first time." Harry nodded.
"You aren't just saying that to make me feel better?" Astoria accused.
Harry held his hands up defensively, his wand clasped between his thumb, middle finger, and index finger. "I'm not! I promise!"
"Ok." Astoria seemed to accept that. "Can you show me yours?"
"Said the actress to the bishop." Harry smirked.
Astoria slugged him in the chest.
Harry snorted in mirth and shook his head. He brandished his wand and waved it in the motions he had shown not a few minutes earlier.
"Expecto Patronum." Harry murmured. A brilliant silver light poured out of his wand and coalesced into the shape of a wolf. The spectral hound pranced around, preening in front of them. It radiated an aura of happiness and contentment, and Astoria felt any stresses or worries that had cropped up that week wash away.
"Woah." Astoria gasped. Harry nodded with a slight smile, his face strained against the power of the Charm.
"Woah is right." Harry nodded.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Astoria shouted. A cloud of mist formed on the edge of her wand. She held it for a few moments before letting it dissipate.
"It still isn't working." She complained.
"Your technique is flawless." Harry commented. "And contrary to popular belief, the Patronus isn't that power intensive, it just feels taxing. The only thing that leaves is the memory. What are you using, if you don't mind my asking?"
"The first time we met on the Astronomy tower." Astoria replied with a sheepish look.
"You mean the time I was brooding on the top of the Astronomy tower and you stalked me?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. That's the one." Astoria nodded.
"Why, Miss Greengrass." Harry stepped forward. "Do I not make you happy enough?"
Astoria blushed. "No! It's not that. It's… I don't know."
"Do you have a happier memory you can think of?"
She shook her head.
"Well then, Miss Greengrass." Harry smirked. "We'll just have to make one, then."
Astoria felt her cheeks growing hot. Harry stepped forward and reached out a hand, cupping her face.
"May I?"
She nodded, and Harry leaned in.
It was electric. Her lips purred in satisfaction at the numerous sensations dancing across them, and it felt like a wave of hot and cold power was flashing through her body. It was absolutely bloody fantastic.
Harry reached an arm around and grabbed her back, sensations rippling across it as he braced her. Her whole body grew warm, and her toes curled, tingling in happiness. After holding it for a few moments, Harry backed away.
"Wow." He gasped, sucking in greedy lungfuls of air. Astoria nodded, breathing heavily.
"That was bloody amazing."
Astoria grinned at him, a pure, happy, ecstatic grin. With a new bolt of energy, she whipped out her wand and incanted. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
A rush of air seemed to blow past her, and a ball of glowing mist emanated from her wand. It coalesced, collapsing into the familiar form of a Serpent Eagle.
She looked at Harry, whose face was filled with pride and tinged with ruddy colors.
"That's incredible." He breathed, staring at the patronus. "Your Patronus… He's… He's me."
"It looks like he is." Astoria nodded. "He's gorgeous."
Harry agreed. "Bloody incredible. That's great."
Astoria beamed at him. They basked in the glow of the spectral creature for a few moments.
"So… What are you going to name him?" Harry asked.
"Name him?"
"Yeah. It's a bit of a tradition amongst the few of us with corporeal patronuses to give them a name. Mine's name is John. My father's is Prongs, my mother's is Faline, Dumbledore's is Flaming Cuddles, and my Godfather's is Regulus." Harry explained. Astoria crooked an eyebrow at the mention of Dumbeldore's Patronus.
Shethought about it for a moment, then her entire face lit up. "I've got it! Zeus!"
"Zeus?" Harry asked. "Why Zeus?"
Astoria nodded vigorously. "Because Zeus was the Lightning mage that led the Olympians when they deposed the Dark Wizards of old Greece in the Titanomachy, just like you have your lightning bolt scar! Also, my parents named me after one of those Dark Wizards, so it has extra irony?"
"Your parents named you after an ancient dark wizard?" Harry was taken aback.
"Yes." Astoria nodded. "Asteria, the heavy, long range mage of the titans. Called down stars onto the Greek Light Wizards. Just like they named my sister after a poisonous flower. The Greengrasses aren't exactly what one would call a cuddly family."
Harry shook his head. "Even still."
"Also…" Astoria blushed. "Zeus chased after Asteria after the war."
Harry nodded. "That would make sense. Wouldn't want anyone getting away to commit further crimes."
Astoria blushed an even deeper ruddy shade. "No…. He was interested in her."
"Oh." Harry's mouth formed an -O- and his face joined Astoria's in its crimson hue. Astoria giggled. "Your parents sound like they suck."
Astoria shrugged. "They pretty much do. They probably agree with old Voldemort on almost everything, but he was bad for business, so they stayed neutral."
Harry nodded severely. "Sometimes parents are like that. On a happier note, I like Zeus. Now that you've explained it."
"You would." Astoria rolled her eyes. "He's named after you! He takes after your animagus form!"
"You're the one who named him."
"Astoria, Darling." Phoebe Greengrass said. She was reading a magazine of some sort and sitting near the crackling magical fire. The faint scratching of her husband's quill could be heard faintly, an ever-present sound as a backdrop.
"Yes Mother?" Astoria asked from where she was sitting. The muggle fashion magazine in her hands was surprisingly easy to conceal with a few Charms Harry taught her and filled with photos salacious enough to give her parents an apoplectic fit. It made rather excellent reading material.
"We'll be hosting the Notts for dinner next week, and we would like it if you would work to entertain Theodore Nott. Also… It would be in the best interests of the family for you to pursue a relationship with him. With Daphne looking to forge an alliance with the Parkinson's by taking their Violet's hand, and the consensus among society that young Malfoy is going to end up with their Pansy, it would forge strong relations with all three of those families. The Nott family imports a great deal of raw materials, and if we were bound to them through blood, it would persuade them to buy through the Greengrass business rather than the Selwyn-Longbottom import scheme." She stated offhandedly.
"But Nott is so creepy!" Astoria whinged. "I'm a person, not a pawn in your games."
"You are a daughter of House Greengrass, and you will behave in a manner becoming of one." Her father snapped.
Astoria huffed and went back to her magazine. "Yes, Mother. Yes, Father."
They went back to their various diversions. After almost two backbreaking hours of sitting primly in the room, flipping through the magazine and occasionally her schoolbooks, her mother spoke up.
"Your father and I are so proud of you for your OWLs Scores. High marks across the board, and an O in Charms, DADA, and Potions!" Her mother stated. "Though the Defense score is rather cute, like you'll actually need it. At least it will look good to employers."
"Thanks, mother." Astoria replied, shooting her a bright smile, pushing thoughts of Harry into it.
"What did you do to get the O in charms and Defense?" Her father asked. "I thought you only had an E in those classes."
"Oh, it really wasn't hard." Astoria shrugged. "The examiners were ever so impressed with my Patronus Charm. Probably gave me a bucketload of points for it."
Castor Greengrass dropped his quill, and his hand shook. "The… The Patronus? You can cast a corporeal Patronus?"
Astoria beamed at her father. "Of course, I can. It took a while to make, but it's quite simple once you master it."
"You… You are just messing with us, right?" Her mother inquired with a nervous laugh. "This is another of your stupid jokes?"
Why would I joke about something like this?" Astoria shrugged. "Here, let me show you!"
Her wand slipped into her hands. She gave it a twirl and sang. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
Zeus formed quickly from the tip of her wand, coalescing into shape. He winged around the room a few times, before landing on Astoria's shoulder. There, he preened, nipping his spectral feathers with his spectral beak.
"Astoria, you're a Greengrass." Her father stated.
"That is our last name." Astoria faux-pondered. "Or had we changed it? I can never remember with us."
"The Patronus…. The Patronus is a light spell, Astoria. Greengrasses don't cast them."
"Well… We do now?"
Her mother got up and walked over to where her father was sitting. They conversed in hushed whispers for a few moments.
"Astoria, your father and I are profoundly disappointed in you." Her mother said with great force. "Go to your room, and think about how much of a disappointment you are to our family name and legacy."
"What?" Astoria snapped. "Are you disappointed that I'm not enough of a foul bitch like the rest of this family so I can cast a Patronus. That I'm the first decent Greengrass to come out of this family in ages?"
"The only thing you are is too soft to work in the family business, and naïve enough to meet the esoteric requirements for 'Pureness of heart'." Castor sneered at his daughter. "Next summer… Next summer when you are old enough that you may cast something besides the Patronus, we'll go about breaking you of those. For the mean time… For the mean time you are grounded until September."
"I've got excellent news, Harry." His father looked up from his meal and stated. The table was laden with juicy meats and delicious, buttery mashed potatoes. His mother was absentmindedly moving a fork between her plate and her mouth, carrying up a bundle of spinach and returning back to the plate to pick up another load of greens; her attention was taken up thoroughly by the charms journal floating in front of her. Harry had been told he inherited his mother's green eyes, but he wasn't entirely sure; rarely did he see her face from behind whatever book or article she was reading – and likely mentioned in – this week. He did see her face at social events, but he couldn't know if she was pulling on a false one at those just like he did.
"What would that be, father?" Harry asked between bites of bread.
His father smiled at him. "Lady Patricia Rakepick and I had an absolutely wonderful conversation the other day, and she has agreed to be your Master for your DADA mastery!"
"That's great, Father." Harry replied. He picked up his fork and pushed some of the mashed potatoes around. "I was thinking about that, actually."
"What about it?" His father peered at him. "Don't tell me that you don't want to do DADA mastery. I thought we got over that?"
"It's not that…" Harry started. He sighed. "It's that I was wondering if I could take a year or two off and do an intensive study of Arithmancy and Runes?"
"Arithmancy… and Runes?" His father barked out a laugh. "Why would you want to take a break and study Arithmancy and Runes?"
"Well…. I want to become a Lord one day, like you!" Harry pushed as much of his enthusiasm he could into his speech. "But, after DADA and Transfiguration, I'll need to take a third mastery. I've only the prerequisites for Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology, and neither of those strikes me as a really interesting Mastery to do. If I studied Arithmancy and Runes, I'd be able to take a Warding, Magical Theory, or maybe even a Charms Mastery, to provide a stronger foundation for the DADA and transfiguration Masteries."
His father stared at him. He blinked a few times, and then shook his head. "Really? Warding? Magical Theory? Charms? I didn't know I raised a son that was one for soft options. There's no need for any of those to get a DADA mastery. No… You'll take a Mastery in creatures to complete the set."
"But father, what if in the fight, I come across a static defense that needs to be unraveled, or some charm that needs a specific counter spell, or maybe I want to throw down one of those fancy shields like Great Uncle Charlus did?" Harry asked.
"No." His father shook his head. "That's what we have eggheads on our teams for. Those defenses are static, they can be gone back to with someone who knows what they're doing; why waste your time on that? As for Uncle Charlus's fancy shields, most of those have counters now."
"But… I find Charms really interesting." Harry whined, having lost control of his emotions for a moment.
"And what good are Charms going to do for you when you're fighting Voldemort?" His father demanded. "What are you going to do – locomotor a rock at him? Change the color of his robes to pink and hope he dies of embarrassment?"
"There's more to Charms than movement and color changing spells!" Harry raised his voice. "Or have you forgotten that most spells used in defense are either Dark Charms or Defensive Charms?"
"That's a pedantic classification by magical theorists who don't like the validity of the Gamp-Belcount classification system." Lily interjected, not looking away from her journal.
"What your mother said!" James Potter shook his head. "The gulf between cold-blooded Charms and Hot-Blooded Defensive magic is a well documented phenomenon. Charms isn't a serious course for any son of mine, especially not the son prophesied to defeat The Dark Lord Voldemort once and for all."
"I'm also your only son, Father." Harry rolled his eyes. "Your only child, now that I look around our supper table."
James Potter's eyes flashed with a dangerous glint. "You do not talk back to your father like that, Child. You have a destiny, and that destiny isn't to muck about with Charms!" He shouted, half-rising from his seat to do so.
"Yes, Father." Harry grunted. He turned his eyes back towards his plate and speared another bit of roast with his fork.
The table sat in uncomfortable silence for another half an hour or so. Angry and turbulent emotions roiled inside of Harry. He felt inordinately bitter at his family – at least more bitter than usual.
His father finally broke the silence again as the house elves took away their plates and replaced them with bowls of pudding. "So, son. Now that we've had a moment to calm down from any misspeaking that might have happened earlier, how's your romantic life going?"
"I know there is a certain appeal in staying single – it's great for your support from the single girls and mothers with daughters' sectors, but it's kind of growing stale. Our research has really suggested you ought to find someone and start dating them soon." His mother commented.
Harry felt a sudden surge of anger and a rushing feeling filled his body at his parent's words. It was his life, not theirs. They were talking about his love life, the role Astoria filled for him, like it was some facet of running a brand. He saw an erumpent horn on the table and decided to give it a toss. He just needed to prime it. "Quite well, actually."
James Potter grinned and gave a sigh of false relief. "That's great! I was beginning to worry we might never see grandkids. So, who's the lucky girl?"
"Or boy." His mother cut in. "Same-sex relationships test really well with the 'mildly bigoted' – they love lauding our progressive laws on homosexuality over muggles, and the hopeless romantics. That'd be fine, too."
Harry grinned and adopted a fond, wistful expression. "Astoria Greengrass."
To quote Sirius. 'Bomb's away.'
James Potter's face grew a bright red, outshining the light that came off the disarming charm. He blinked and tried to speak – only to find he couldn't. He was choking on a bite of cake, and spluttering everywhere.
"Waddiwassi." Lily incanted, the bit of cake flying out of James's mouth and into the air. It disappeared, a house elf presumably deciding it didn't belong.
James took in several gulps of air, and then turned his gaze to his son. His voice was as cold as ice. "What? Astoria Greengrass?" He took several further gulps of air. "What would compel you to even approach the daughter of those foul, dark sorcerers? I command you to cease all contact with her immediately."
Harry looked solemnly at his father for a few moments. His mother had pulled down her journal and was staring at him in deep concern. It did turn out, however, that her eyes were green, just like his.
And then Harry burst out laughing. Anger turned to confusion, and confusion to mirth, as his parents joined in. "You should have seen your faces." He forced out between giggles.
"Oh… Man." His father leaned back. "My son finally learned how to prank! Oh… That was masterful. That's… That's getting shared with Sirius."
"I'm glad you approve, father."
"That was excellent. So – who is it really?" His father asked.
"No one. That was just a joke." Harry shrugged, lying through his teeth.
"Alright…" His father considered. 'What about… What about Granger? Keep up the Potter tradition of dating the smartest witch of the generation."
"Tests really well with all groups except the dark faction, which is a positive."
Harry shook his head. "No, she's too close. More like family than anything. And her name is Hermione."
"Alight." James considered. "How about Cho Chang?"
"I can't believe we're doing this." Astoria commented. She was rather nervous; she did not normally fumble with the button on her robes.
"Neither can I, but do you really want to back out now?" Harry grinned at her. "I've heard it's great. Now, it was Sirius extolling the virtues of it to me, but I think we can trust him, of all people, on this subject."
Astoria nodded, and took a deep breath. She released it slowly and stepped behind the privacy screen so she could finish changing into more… appropriate attire for the evening. The garment was soft and black and was so revealing compared to wizards clothing! However, it looked great, and she felt incredibly comfortable and free in it, even if it was revealing.
Harry coughed from the other side of the screen. Astoria realized she was taking too long and finished getting ready.
Harry was breathing heavily, and Astoria was stretching out her body in strange ways to pull in more air. They were both absolutely covered in sweat.
They had also both thoroughly enjoyed it. Harry had a goofy smile, and Astoria was grinning from ear to ear.
"That was…. Bloody amazing." Harry stated, between gulps of oxygen. "Sirius wasn't exaggerating, that's for certain." He stopped to compose himself. "Want to go again?"
Astoria pulled her sunglasses down and shot him a coy glance. "So soon, Eagle? One might think you were rather eager."
"You can't lie to me and tell me you didn't enjoy it." Harry shook his head.
Astoria rolled her eyes. "Enjoy it? I loved it. Of course I want to go again!"
Harry reached into the pocket of the cargo pants and pulled out some of the muggle money. He slapped it down on the counter and spoke. "Two tickets, please."
"Want to go again?" The attendant nodded. "I was like that right after my first experience with laser tag."
Harry smiled. He turned to his girlfriend. Astoria looked right out of a muggle action movie. He thought she was absolutely gorgeous. The black tank top and cargo pants, muggle 'functional' attire, made her look fantastic. Someone had commented that she looked just like 'Sarah Connor', whoever that was. The way they said it, he took it to be a good thing. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, the way she preferred to wear it, when her parents or sister weren't around to tell her off for her mugglish ways.
"What are you looking at?" Astoria smirked at him. "I hope you at least like what you see."
"Oh, I do, Miss Greengrass." Harry responded.
"Flitwick has offered to Mentor me in an unofficial charms mastery, to give me a head start when I'm finally able to do one." Harry commented. The Leonid meteor shower was in full swing, painting the sky a number of bright colors. A dark pink meteor streaked through the sky. It broke up into several smaller meteors, which quickly disintegrated.
Astoria squeezed his hand. "That's fantastic, Harry. I'm sure you'll make a great Charms Master."
"Thanks Astoria." Harry squeezed her hand back. They enjoyed the glimmering sky for a few more minutes before she spoke up again.
"Harry, why don't you call me Tori, like everyone else does?"
"People call you Tori?" Harry raised an eye at her. "When was this?"
Astoria rolled her eyes. "I forgot. You're mister I couldn't get a clue if it bit me. Everyone calls me Tori. Everyone but you and my parents."
Harry thought about it for a moment. "I quite like Astoria. Has a nice sound to it. Also, what do you think your parents would think if someone informed them your proper, pureblood name was being used by a half-blood blood traitor like myself?"
Astoria giggled. "They'd probably have an aneurysm."
Harry pretended to be especially thoughtful. "Maybe I should tell them, then."
Astoria giggled harder.
"What are you doing over Winter Break this year?" Harry pondered.
"Nothing much. Probably going to be going to the Malfoy's New Year's Ball. Maybe if I'm lucky Malfoy will stop making eyes at me over pudding." Astoria leaned over, resting her head on Harry's chest. "Why?"
"Mad-Eye wants to meet you. Give you a few pointers on defense. Make sure you aren't going to 'compromise' me in a dangerous situation."
"He's super scary."
"Yes." Harry conceded. "But he's also a big softie once you get to know him."
Astoria shrugged. "I suppose so. At any rate, it will be more fun than sitting around my family manse doing 'proper pureblood things'. Unfortunately, I wasn't gifted with natural wandless ice magic like Frigid Bitch Sis, so it'll be knitting and other such activities for me."
"That sounds horrible."
"At least you'll be able to practice magic." Astoria muttered. "Don't give me that look, mister. You're an unregistered Animagus, you've been practicing magic since you were six. The Potters aren't exactly known to be rule followers."
Harry sighed. "Yes, there will be some magic practiced. Yes, we might invite you. And by we, I mean me. When my parents aren't around."
Astoria grinned. "I'll sneak out, then."
"You naughty, rebellious girl."
"Yep, that's me."
"We could run away." Astoria stared into Harry's eyes. They were full of longing, and hope, and a desire burning behind them. "We could leave. Pick everything up and go. Find some place they would never be able to track us down to. See the world! We've already cracked the clay molds our parents have forced us into, why not shatter them?"
"I don't know..." Harry waffled. "Voldemort is still out there."
"You stupid, noble, Gryffindor!" Astoria huffed. "Screw Voldemort! He's not your problem! You did nothing to make the world laud you as a savior, initially. You did nothing to contribute to his rise, and you've done more than anyone to cause him to fall!"
"I know." Harry started.
"Then leave!" Astoria shouted. "Leave with me. Let's leave together!"
"What's brought this on?"
Astoria stood very still for a few moments, then looked back into Harry's eyes. "My… My parents found the muggle clothing. The clothing I wear when we go out into the muggle world. They called me a harlot, and then they demanded to know where I got it, and when I didn't tell them, they yelled at me, and cursed me. Harry, I…"
Harry pulled her close as tears dampened her eyes. She sobbed into his chest. "Harry, I can't live like this anymore, and I know you can't either. Every time you talk about what your parents make you do, every time you put on a false smile, every time you have to attend a class you don't want to, just because you need to fit into your parent's image of you as some… as some warlock who travels the world and smites dark wizards. Every time you talk about training with anyone but Mad-Eye. Every time these happen, I see you die a little on the inside. I see you wilting, your fire growing colder, your soul turning a little bitterer. Harry." Astoria sobbed. "We can't live like this anymore. When the fire is gone, only ice will remain."
"Astoria…" Harry started. "I have friends. You have friends. We have people that care about us. We have people we care about. We can't just leave them."
"Harry… If they really cared about us, they would tell us to live our lives. They'd tell us to do what we wanted to do, not what our parents wanted. Not what society wanted. We'll never be happy as long as we are under the control of our families. If they really loved us, they'd let us go."
"Your parents said that to you after your first pet ran away, didn't they?" Harry whispered between his kisses on the top of her head.
Astoria looked up at him. Rivulets of tears had left their mark on her face, two paths glistening with moisture. She gave a dark laugh while nodding. "Yeah. They did. But it doesn't change what I want to do. I want to be free."
"Are you sure about this?"
"I'm absolutely sure. I want to be with you. I want to run away with you. I want to see you get your Charms Mastery without bearing the disapproval from your parents and society. I want to see you happy for once in your life. I want to never see my parents again if I can help it."
Harry gazed off into the distance. His mind ran kilometres in seconds. "Ok."
"Really?" Astoria asked. The hope was dripping from her voice.
"Yes." Harry exhaled. "Yes."
"Thank you." Astoria murmured. She looked back up at him. "Let's go."
"Hold on." Harry raised his hands. "Not yet. We need to get some things in place. Figure out where we are going. I've leapt before I've looked too many times to do that again. Let me plan some stuff out first. Gather what we need, arrange a way out of the country. Where are we going to go first? What do we need to bring with us? We also need to make sure to clean out our trust vaults when we leave. Once we've cleared all of these up, we can run away. But not before."
"But…"
"Astoria." Harry murmured lovingly. "I know you want to leave. I'd love to leave too. But think about what would happen if we went about this half-cocked. We'd get tracked down in a matter of moments. It would be the most short-lived running away in the history of running away. We'd be found in a few days, if it took them that long. This way, we can arrange to have as long of a period where they just don't know what we are doing. Where we can get as far away as possible before they start searching. Moody has brought this up time and time again, but every seven hours after someone disappears, their trail becomes exponentially harder to follow."
She nodded. "I understand. We will leave before summer, right? I don't think I can take any more time with my family."
Harry nodded. "Of course. We'll be gone before then."
"Good." Astoria leaned in and hugged him.