Book 1: Astoria Greengrass and the Muggle-Born Slytherin

Song rec: "Daughter" by Pearl Jam

The four girls all signed the recording contract for a different reason on a Hogsmeade trip during Easter holiday. The other three girls badly needed the money, but Astoria scribbled her name with reluctance and resentment towards her parents. Afterwards, Mr Davis helped the girls start "thinking on LP terms," as he called it. Yet the tension between the four was growing. The contract said that a deadline for the first album would be in early July. It really was quite enough time to work, even with school, since the girls had many songs written and on demonstration tapes, but for Rhiannon, it was hard to take their manager's input. They met their manager, Mr Leonard Mongaby, when they signed the contract. Mr Mongaby was very matter-of-fact. The girls were signed to a major record label, and he was in charge of making sure the label was complimented by the addition of Pariah. Astoria, Hestia, and Rhiannon had fifteen songs completed by May. Mr Davis rejected three that had been close to them.

After the initial gossip, their popularity dropped all the way back to base level. It might have been advantageous, since all four of the girls wanted their work to be secretive until the formal release of their music. The first single, by Rhiannon's request, would be "The Pariah." Mr Mongaby tried to explain to her that many bands were remembered by their first single, and Rhiannon responded that that was why she wanted "The Pariah" first. He clarified that "The Pariah" was not exactly a song people would run to the shops to buy, and Rhiannon still insisted that that was the point. As such, Mr Mongaby scheduled the album's release to be before the single's, which insulted Rhiannon deeply.

Astoria didn't particularly like the sound of being "remembered" for that first single, but she wasn't going to say anything that would start another argument with Rhiannon. None of the girls were on the best of terms with each other since being thrown into this band, and it was showing. Philippe even asked Astoria what had happened to them since they signed the contract, as they were acting distant. She told him that she did not know, but inside, she felt that the work was putting too much stress on their friendship. She told herself that everything would get better over time, even though that was becoming difficult to believe. The twins were always criticising each other; Flora and Rhiannon both wanted to manage rehearsal times, and Hestia told Astoria to quit "acting like a baby" on more than one occasion. Astoria was so offended by the comments that she considered walking out. It was her parents' investment, not hers.

Once the month of May was coming to a close, the lesson in Astronomy was on the constellation Virgo, and Astoria had it drawn in South Quadrant 3 on her chart. She found this lesson to be one of the boring ones, since she was already knowledgeable about the constellation. Professor Sinistra finished her lesson early, so Astoria rested her head on her arms and closed her eyes. Tracey Davis was in her own world and disrupted Astoria's rest unknowingly.

"My dad said you'll probably finish recording soon," she said.

"Mm…? Yeah," said Astoria. "Yes, er, May… No, June something-or-other…"

"That's great! Do you have a name for your album yet?"

"Yeah, Fed Lines."

"Oh! Do you know how long it'll take to finish it?"

"No, I don't know how many songs are going on the album."

"Sounds like you're busy," Malfoy chimed in.

"I am," said Astoria.

"I noticed your Mudblood isn't too happy with you lately."

"Don't say that word!" Astoria spat.

"Well, you two are fighting, right? It's probably the Mudbl—"

"Malfoy, don't even bother talking to me."

Tracey chuckled, "You tell him!"

"I'm not offending you personally," Malfoy said stubbornly.

"You are, though! Learn something for once," Astoria said. "How would you feel if I always insulted your friends?"

"I wouldn't overreact like you!"

"Well, then, they must not be very good friends to you."

He stared blankly at her. He didn't get it. All year, she had been trying to tell him not to say things like that, and he just did not get it. The day that something Astoria said would finally get through to him would be the day she got a bad grade in Astronomy. It was very frustrating.

On the last day in May, the girls had another disagreement in none other than Rhiannon's new favourite class. About halfway through class, Rhiannon interrupted the others to whisper to them they would be practising that evening and should go grab their things after class. It was like she couldn't even wait till the lecture was over to prod them along. Flora made the mistake of correcting Rhiannon's bossy attitude about rehearsal by saying, "You should be thankful Astoria's parents were willing to get us in."

"Willing, huh?" Rhiannon said. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Flora bit her tongue and pretended to be very interested in unpacking her books.

"Astoria? What's that supposed to mean? This stupid contract your parents put us under — were 'willing' to put us under? You mean it wasn't Mr Davis's idea?" Rhiannon hissed. "You're telling me Malfoy was telling the truth about them elbowing the whole bloody label?"

"You know, Rhiannon, my parents negotiated that whole contract for your sake because they know I have no friends," Astoria finally snapped. "You should be happy we have this much creative control."

"It's not about creative control, Astoria, it's the whole deal! Are you telling me it's all fake? That your parents feel sorry for me? That we're actually a shite band but the label's been bribed?" Rhiannon shouted, gathering everyone's attention.

"Bribed? They both think very highly of you — I told them about you, that you're my best friend, and…"

"Oh, that's a shame," Rhiannon said, her tone muffled by her arms wrapped round her face. "I'm surprised they have enough mollycoddling left in them to try n' bother with me."

"Miss Clarke, stop arguing and pay atten—" Professor Moody started.

"It must be nice to have parents who drop money all over you — to have a dad who don't abandon you, and a mother who treats you right! They actually take care of you, they love you? They love their own child — what a bloody concept! Ain't it great, Astoria? Well, keep it to yourself!" Rhiannon squealed at Astoria over the professor's voice.

Rhiannon's round face was completely pink, and her eyes were glinting with tears. Every student in the class was staring at her. Even Professor Moody was speechless as he looked at her with both of his eyes unusually fixed. Rhiannon hurried out of the room with a look of the strongest humiliation on her face; she didn't even take her spiral notebook. All was quiet in the classroom except the slight squeaking noise of some vile-looking Dark object that was teetering on its stand. Astoria expected to have myriads of points taken from Slytherin in either her or Rhiannon's name. She expected to be kicked out of class, or to be sent to bring Rhiannon back to class. In a worse-case scenario, she'd have to see the headmaster. But the professor was noticeably halted; he was staring at the open door.

"Class dismissed," he said tonelessly.

He took a long drink from his hip flask as though its true contents were alcohol. The students hurried out of the door before his mouth became free to yell at them. They were whispering about Astoria whilst still within earshot, but it didn't even hurt as much as Rhiannon running away from her did. Astoria put her books away and started to put Rhiannon's things back in her bag. She cursed in her head; she missed her chance to escape with the rest of the class and felt the need to apologise.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your class like that, Professor. I wasn't expecting a fight like that, really, I just—"

"I heard the conversation, Miss Greengrass. I know. Settle down."

"I'm awfully sorry…"

"Sometimes, Astoria," the professor said, sitting down in his chair with some effort, "people lose it."

Astoria was getting a sick feeling making eye contact with his magical eye, unnervingly still focused as it rarely was. She hoisted Rhiannon's bag around her free shoulder and tried to leave.

"No you don't," he said, and her hard blinking started to burn.

"There are things you couldn't imagine about her upbringing, Astoria. It's no fault of your own, but she isn't going to think the same way as you about life. She probably never will. So before you go storming out of here, it's imperative you understand that she doesn't mean everything she says when she's in pain," said Professor Moody.

Astoria shook her head. The professor was right, but it was so out of character for him to be this attentive to the drama of Slytherin third-years. He couldn't act like he knew Rhiannon's personal life when he had come to Hogwarts at the same time as Astoria. Rhiannon came from an abusive home, but she kept the story of her house limited to dark, offhanded comments and self-deprecation.

"Why would she tell you instead of coming to me, then?" Astoria said resentfully.

"What, me of all people?" the professor said, taking some insult.

Astoria regretted her tone and her way of thinking. After all, if she had a problem deep enough, she would rather go to an adult like Professor Sinistra than try to explain it to Rhiannon. However, Professor Moody simply didn't strike Astoria as someone who served the school community. He spent his time cantankerously teaching defensive magic and asking for more spice on the food like his wife used to cook it.

"You look after your friend for me, Greengrass," Professor Moody demanded, his voice dreary, freed from its growl.

Astoria turned warily. Professor Moody's magical eye was rolling once more, and he was drinking from the last of his hip flask.

"Well, get out of here. Class is over," he said, his grumbling rasp returned.

Astoria thought that Professor Moody must have had firewhiskey in his flask that made his throat sore most of the time. A lozenge would not even fix it, what with all that he drank. She left the room and went to look for Rhiannon. She knew she didn't have a very good chance of finding her in such a large castle, but there were places she certainly could look. Astoria thought she would try the lavatories, as she had seen girls crying in there between classes from heartbreaks and work overload. The lavatory closest to Astoria was nearly empty. A group of sixth- or seventh-year Gryffindor girls were fixing their hair.

"Excuse me," said Astoria. The girls shot their eyes rudely upon her.

"Did you see a girl crying anywhere? She was in D.A.D.A. only about ten minutes ago…"

"Slytherin?" asked a girl with a blonde braid.

"Yes."

"I saw her go down the stairs."

"Thank you."

The second floor was mostly empty — there were still around fifteen minutes of final period left. A solitary Ravenclaw who was due for a shave was rebelliously strolling around.

"Have you seen a girl crying? She came down the staircase a bit ago," Astoria asked.

"Yes, she went in there," he pointed at a large oak door. "It's out of order… perfect place for a good sob, hm? The ghost in there sure thinks so; you can hear her in the corridors."

"Thank you…"

Astoria opened the heavy door. The whole lavatory was dusty and had thick cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. None of the candles were lit. Astoria heard sobs from two voices — one shrill, the other very deep.

"Rhiannon?"

The shrill sob ceased suddenly, and Astoria saw a female spectre, appearing no older than fourteen, emerge from a stall. She had large pigtails, heavy fringe, and several blotches on her face. Her glasses were slipping on the tip of her nose, though they did not fall off. She was loud, but she carried a light presence when compared to the ghost at Quennell Park.

"Come to say you're sorry, have you?" the ghost wailed. "Well, she's just crying her heart out in there!"

"Stop it, Myrtle. She didn't do an-anything," came Rhiannon's shaky voice.

"Oooh, my mistake…" Myrtle whispered, and floated through the door to another stall. Astoria followed her and pushed the partly open door. Rhiannon was leaning against the side, her cheeks red and shiny. Myrtle hovered over her protectively. Rhiannon had taken off her black robe and was using it to dry her face. She suddenly swung her arms around Astoria's neck.

"I didn't mean it!"

She was crying again, almost out of breath.

"It's okay, Rhiannon. I'm sorry, too. Really, Rhiannon, it's okay!"

But Rhiannon's crying was uncontrollable.

"Rhiannon, everything's fine!" Astoria said, freeing herself from her friend's grasp. "Are you upset about the band? Did somebody else do something?"

Rhiannon shoved herself out of the stall and ran to the sinks. Then she did something that really made Astoria frightened. Rhiannon took off one of her shoes — Astoria saw this frenzied look in her eyes through the reflection in one of the mirrors — and began slamming the shoe right into the glass. Rhiannon was yelling — yelling nonsense. The shards from the mirror were falling into the heavily cracked sink beneath it. Astoria wanted to stop her friend, to hold her down, but was far too scared to move. Had Rhiannon lost it?

"Oh dear…" Myrtle said. "Oh dear…not that one…" She floated into another stall and began wailing; the additional noise piled atop Astoria's mental strain.

"Can't even — go to — school! Can't even—! 'Mudbloods' they say! Damn the Mudbloods! Kill — them — all!" Rhiannon howled, intent on cracking the mirror to bits. The shoe had flung out of Rhiannon's hand, but she continued to hit the mirror with her fist, wounding it and flicking blood into the sink.

"Rhiannon!" Astoria screamed. She ran over and seized her friend by the arms, even if it meant getting on the wrong end of the girl's punches. "Calm down, come now, calm down!"

Rhiannon became a child, shaking and whimpering. Astoria couldn't bear to think that she had done something so terrible to bring Rhiannon to this state.

"Astoria?" Rhiannon said quietly.

"W-what?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Rhi…"

"No. I'm sorry because, y'know all them kids… They say you're a 'blood-traitor' and all that, I mean… if you think you're in my band because you have to be… if you think you're my friend because you have to be, 'cos, 'cos no one else'll… they call me dirt and call you a pig in the Mud, I mean… I just don't want to bother you anymore."

"I'm staying in the band and I'm staying your friend! I don't care what they call me. You're my best friend and they can't change that, okay?" Astoria began to cry as well.

Rhiannon's trauma went far deeper than she could comprehend. This whole outburst had come from a very bad placed in the past.

"I don't have any short-sleeved shirts no more," Rhiannon wept.

"…What?" Astoria murmured.

"I sold me short-sleeved shirts… I sold them to the neighbours' kids when I was twelve. 'Ten shirts for five pounds, great buy,' I said."

"Er… why did you sell them?" Astoria asked uncomfortably. The subject seemed so random after a fit as big as this one.

"I don't want people to see."

"Wait, see what? Rhiannon, don't cry… what is it?"

Astoria was very confused. Short sleeves? Something was on her arms, obviously, but what could have happened? Rhiannon sat down on top of her black robes and patted the floor. Astoria sat down with her.

"When I first came to this school, everything was fine," Rhiannon said. "I knew I was a Muggle-born, but I didn't know people didn't like that at first. I heard comments on the train, though, and decided it'd be best to keep me mouth shut about being Muggle-born. So I went to school, and it was great. Everything was new to me, and I wasn't fearing for my life on the daily. Objects floating in the air, ghosts, flying, talking portraits, magical this, magical that. And I heard that we was getting 'sorted.' So, McGonagall explained it all nice to us. 'Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin,' and all that stuff about Houses and points. Now I don't know anything about these Houses until the Sorting Hat sings. And I was amazed that a singing hat was gonna read my mind and throw me in some House for the next seven years. And I'm Clarke, so I went up pretty soon, y'know, but I didn't get sorted very soon. They stuck the hat on me and I heard that little voice — You heard the little voice, too, yeah! — But… but it said 'Oh my' as soon as it went on my head.

"'Oh my' didn't sound like a good thing to me, and that was the only thing I heard for an whole minute. I thought maybe it wouldn't sort me 'cos I was a Muggle-born, but I saw others like me get Sorted. And it started saying all these fancy words I didn't know at the time, like it was making sure of something. And people are lookin' at me, so I smile and shrug. And I thought, what is this stupid hat doing? I need to get Sorted, right? The little voice said 'You will achieve amazing things, but it will take much to get there. It's your will that drives you, so you can make it,' and all that other stuff. So I'm getting irritated — it only took a few moments for the kids that came before me. And then the voice says, 'There's a first for everything. Good luck,' and then screams 'Slytherin!' So I go over to the table with the green kids and they're all cheering for me. Ain't that funny? The whole lot of Slytherins cheering for me because they didn't know! I thought, what is with this 'good luck' rubbish? And then I see twin boys in red making faces at me. They're hair was the same colour as their uniforms, y'know. Many Gryffindors were making faces at me and I didn't know why. I thought that that was what the 'good luck' bit was about, but I was wrong.

"Then we get assigned to our dormitories… I'm in a room with Olivia Shardlow, Imogen Stretton, Tracey Nettlebed, and Diane Carter. I'm friends with everyone but Tracey N. 'cause she's always rabbiting, you know her."

"You were friends with Diane Carter?" Astoria broke in.

"Ah, yeah. The mini-Parkinson. Friends enough," Rhiannon said and rolled her eyes.

"There'd be the 'Mudblood' slur flying around sometimes, but I guess it didn't bother me because I wasn't being called it. I don't know. And I 'member one occasion Imogen asked me what my bloodline was. I said well, I'm an half-blood. There are plenty of half-bloods in Slytherin. But she wasn't happy with that, she asked just how half-blood I was. I said I had a Muggle father and a witch mum. She looked at me with that 'Oh. I see' look, like I wasn't even half-blood enough for her, 'cause 'half-blood' don't always mean fifty-fifty and whatnot; I guess I coulda been more half-blood for her taste. And then, well…" Rhiannon trailed off. Tears fell from her eyes yet again.

"It was early November," she said. Her story slowed down; it was getting more difficult for her to tell it.

"There's this Gryffindor boy found frozen. Petrified, rather."

"What?"

"He was Petrified and frozen in place. They put him in the Hospital Wing. Professor Sprout said she was gonna make somethin' that would bring him back, but it was scary for all of us because no one knew what was happening."

"How did he get Petrified?" Astoria asked. Rhiannon ignored the question.

"I wrote me name down to stay for Christmas. I didn't want to go back. My dad Geoffrey had just left after nearly shooting me… Jessica blamed me for everything. Then our D.A.D.A. teacher at the time, a stupid man, has Harry and Draco duel in the Great Hall. And Draco used Serpensortia, which was real impressive because, well, a snake just appears and attacks the opponent! But what was even more impressive was that Harry was seriously… talkin' to the snake. No one could tell what he was saying. Personally, well, I thought he had an hairball. That night, everyone was talking about it. They said he was a Parselmouth and the Heir of Slytherin. They said that means he could talk to snakes and was a descendent of the founder. Sounded good to me, had no real significance. Then I think the next day was when that rich Hufflepuff kid got Petrified, too. Now I was worried a lot 'cause the Gryffindor kid was a Muggle-born and so was this toff — er, no offense, Astoria."

"I don't care… so both kids Petrified were Muggle-borns? Why?"

"Well, after that, not much happened till May. Dumbledore actually got kicked out as headmaster for some reason, and then Hermione and a Ravenclaw girl were Petrified. They're both Muggle-borns, too. So now I'm thinkin' I've got to get the hell out of here. My roommates'll find out I'm Muggle-born if I get Petrified. And being Petrified isn't great, either. So except for class, I'm in my dorm. I'm scared. No one knows what's happening. People keep talking about this Secret Chamber… No wait, the Chamber of Secrets, yeah. They say there's some monster under the school sent by Slytherin himself to go kill Muggle-borns. I didn't believe any of that rubbish, but I was scared something awful. Then the Monday before the final exams…" Rhiannon stopped.

Astoria hugged her. "You were Petrified and people found out you were a Muggle-born?" she asked gently.

"No. Oh, God, I wish," Rhiannon blubbered. Astoria's shoulder was wet with her friend's tears.

Rhiannon stood up from the floor and stretched her legs. She went into a stall. Astoria was quiet. If that wasn't what happened, what did? Rhiannon came back out of the stall wearing her grey vest and holding her blouse. Astoria's instinct was to look away at the sight…

Rhiannon's right arm made Professor Moody's furrowed, scarred face look pristine. From the top of her shoulder to her elbow, her arm looked swollen. Massive, bumpy scars covered the entirety of her upper arm; there were two horizontal indentations across it, as though parts of her arm were actually missing.

"I was never Petrified," Rhiannon said. Her head was down; she was looking sideways at the floor. "The monster was real. It wanted Muggle-borns. It was called a basilisk, and if you make eye contact with it, you die instantly. If you look indirectly, like through a reflection, you're Petrified."

So that was the "bit of an issue" with a basilisk Rhiannon said had happened a couple of years ago. She had downplayed it so much that Astoria had nearly forgotten about the whole thing.

"Thank God I heard about them before, yanno? Muggles know about them a little, though they think they ain't real," Rhiannon said, shivering. "It was before lunch, I think, 'cos I was hungry. And I just got out of D.A.D.A. I always ran out of the classroom back then.

"But I tripped running, and my books went everywhere. No one helped me pick them up, because they were all hungry, too. Actually, wait, Montel picked up some stuff with me… but anyway. Montel left, and I was alone in the corridor, just a little bit from this lavatory, actually. It was totally empty. And I heard something moving against the floor. I barely had any time to get scared 'fore I saw a shadow right above me. It was a slender shadow, and I knew. I shut me eyes and screamed loud as I could. And then I felt this burning pain in my arm — it was the most painful thing I ever felt, more painful than anything Geoffrey or Jessica ever did, because it just seared my arm like, like a chemical. I never saw the basilisk when it bit me, I just felt it. I thought it was going to eat me arm because I felt the skin tear. I screamed so loud, but without thinking. It was just so painful. And then I don't know where that thing went, but I was on the cold floor again, and I didn't want to look at my arm 'cause I didn't even know if all of it was still there.

"And I opened my eyes, but everything was really blurry and I felt sick. I remember I saw Flitwick's feet. And he was yelling something, but I don't remember what it was. I 'member he told me not to move at all, though, so I didn't. Then I heard McGonagall's voice. I was real dizzy and then someone was holding me, and I felt this cold water on my arm and the burning went away. But there was still pain there, and I knew I was bleeding pretty bad. And I was trying to say what happened, but I'm not sure if I got to or not because I passed out right after that.

"I woke up in the hospital wing, and the first thing I recall hearing was Snape and McGonagall talking. I look at me arm, but it's covered in this case thing. I thought that if they wanted to cover it up, it's not a good idea to try and look at it. It was so damn scary, Astoria. Every other student in the hospital wing was Petrified, all with their eyes wide open like they'd died. And I was missing part of my arm, apparently. So Snape and McGonagall sat down next to me and McGonagall said, real quiet and polite, 'Miss Clarke, can your parents perform magic?' I said no, and she nodded her head like she knew already. Both her and Snape looked real nervous, and I'd never seen either of them look that way before. I told them what happened, but I think they already knew that, too. They listened anyway, bless them.

"I was in the hospital all week. No one came to visit me except the twins and Montel. And on Friday, McGonagall said the school was gonna close, but then on Monday she said it wouldn't because Dumbledore was back. But there was a girl, it was Ginny, she was taken down… d-down there," Rhiannon pointed to the sink filled with glass from the mirror she crushed.

"Ginny was taken into the sewers?" Astoria asked.

"No, no. Where the monster was. I still don't know exactly what was going on, but the monster really did live underneath the school, it really was trying to kill the Muggle-borns. Harry Potter ended up killing it."

"Heavens…"

"I got out of the hospital on Tuesday, but my arm was really, well, hideous. And people didn't talk to me no more when I went back to the common room. And then I heard Zabini start saying that I was a mistake… and everyone was calling me 'Mudblood' and the whole thing started… The girls in my dorm ignored me. The next week they actually locked me out of the room and pushed a chair up against the door. I had to get Snape to tell them to let me in, and I was so embarrassed.

"But one breakfast that week, Harry Potter came and talked to me. I was sitting alone, and he introduced himself. He asked me if I was the one who was bitten. I said 'yeah.' He said that he was bitten, too, but his arm looked normal. He said that Dumbledore had a phoenix whose tears got rid of the venom and healed the skin. McGonagall must have brought the phoenix to cry where I was bitten. I asked him why his arm was normal, though. He said that he accidentally hit part of the monster's tooth. How sweet, I thought 'cos I knew I had me arm about chewed off. So phoenix tears cured basilisk venom and healed wounds, but I was sad to know that I was stuck with even more ugly marks on my body than what I'd come in with from my parents. The tears couldn't make all that skin grow back without an ugly reminder of what happened. There was too much taken off. I'm lucky to have solid skin right here, thanks to the bird."

Rhiannon quivered.

"That summer was the worst it'd ever been. Jessica said when you get into the 'occult' then you can lose an arm, and maybe you'll learn. She was out a lot drinking. She'd come home real late and beat me unconscious if I wasn't asleep, just like Geoffrey used to do. …I'm sorry about what I said, Astoria. Your parents are so nice, and they got me that contract… It just makes me feel jealous, I guess. My parents never loved me. They didn't want me."

Astoria gave Rhiannon a tighter hug. "You don't have to apologise, Rhi."

Rhiannon nodded and continued.

"By the next year, I was known as 'Slytherin's Blot,' 'Enemy of Slytherin,' 'that Muggle-born Slytherin,' et cetera. I was gettin' into a lot of fights — verbal, magical, and physical. It was tearing me up inside. I wasn't welcome at school. I found that I was the first Muggle-born to ever be Sorted into Slytherin. Other kids thought I might as well just leave. I realised there was nowhere for me to go where I wouldn't be loathed.

"One time Parkinson and her lot were really making a scene in the hall. Saying I don't deserve to be in Slytherin. Saying I don't deserve to be in school. How I'm just a big mistake and that the Sorting Hat's getting too old. How I'm making the common room dirty. I started crying, and our new D.A.D.A. teacher, Professor Lupin, was walking down the hall. He yells at the girls to stop or he'll get the headmaster. He said they should be ashamed of themselves. When I settled down, he gave me a piece of chocolate. It was really a treat because I don't have extra money to buy sweets, you know? I felt a lot better.

"I saw that he had scars all over his face. They looked like really deep scratches, like he'd been hurt by an animal, too. He didn't wear very nice clothes, neither. I heard students make fun of him for his tattered clothes just like they made fun of me, and I didn't feel so alone. I could hide my scars, but he couldn't. And I had a uniform to wear instead of my cheap clothes, but he didn't. And he didn't let it bother him. He told me that when he was in school, he felt like he didn't belong, neither. But he said that he made some good friends who helped him feel more included. I said that's great, but I don't have no friends no more. He asked me if that was really true. And then I realised it wasn't. Hestia and Montel talked to me sometimes, and Flora never minded sitting with me when I was alone. I grasped that 'Whoever's not against us is for us.'

"I never paid much attention in Professor Lupin's class, but I did after that. I got really good marks in D.A.D.A. and felt proud of myself. He'd check on me every so often, ask how I was doing. He never let people bully me in the least when he was around. But at the end of the year, he resigned from his job. I stopped by his office after the last time I had class with him and just stayed there and talked. I couldn't understand why he was resigning. I was very upset. He just said that things weren't going to work out with him being a teacher, but I knew there musta been something else. I really didn't want him to go. I know I was acting babyish, but I started getting teary. I said I really wanted to leave, too, and that I don't belong here anyway, but I don't really belong anywhere. But he sat me down and said that I should never leave anything because I don't 'belong.' He told me that the Sorting Hat put me in Slytherin for a reason. I was strong enough to stay. I could obliterate the blood-purity thing that has controlled that House since the founding of Hogwarts because I was the beginnin' of new times. I couldn't let people drive me out.

"He gave me a bar of chocolate the next day at breakfast before he left, but I didn't eat it then 'cos I felt sick. I later heard the other teachers talking in the hall, saying Professor Lupin was a werewolf. And I got so upset. I thought he was doing fine. He took medicine; you know he was extremely scrupulous about that because nobody noticed a thing. We weren't in any danger at all. I know we weren't…"

Rhiannon hugged her blouse. Her eyes were awfully red.

"He was what I always figured a good parent would be like, y'know? Like your parents listen to you."

Astoria felt that her eyes were probably just as red as Rhiannon's. She could not find a single thing to say. She hugged Rhiannon and led her out of the lavatory, giving Myrtle, who had been listening to the whole thing, a small wave before leaving. Astoria knew that using a Mending Charm on the mirror was wrong. It needed to remain broken. If Mr Filch ever accused Rhiannon of smashing the mirror, Astoria would take the blame.

During the first weekend in June, Astoria, Rhiannon, Hestia, and Flora happily finished recording songs for their album, and it was finally being produced. Astoria was glad; she really disliked recording sessions, and she was happy that Rhiannon had something to look forward to.

Yet Professor Moody apparently recovered from the surprise of Rhiannon's fit in his class, for he decided to give her detention for the remainder of the year for acting up. Even so, she was a much happier girl after confiding her problems to Astoria. It must have been a terrible feeling to hide it all.