Book 1: Astoria Greengrass and the Muggle-Born Slytherin

Song rec: "Candy Corn" by Sponge

There were just four days of school left. Exams were finished and D.A.D.A. was formally cancelled, so all classes were pointless to attend apart from Professor Snape's, whose class went on through hell or high water. Professor Sinistra never made the students come to class after the exams were finished, and for that Astoria was very grateful. She didn't want to approach Professor Sinistra about the visions she had of speaking to her as a clone, and the weird feeling of slipping outside of her body on the night of Cedric's death.

Astoria instead took evening walks outside with Philippe, which she greatly enjoyed as a relief from the tragedy. Yet Rhiannon didn't recover. Instead of finding something to do that would take her mind off of Cedric's death, everything Rhiannon did ended at its midpoint, when she would slip into grief. Astoria, Hestia, and Flora tried to give her open ears to listen and open shoulders to cry on, but after only the first attempt, it became clear that Rhiannon was not ready to talk. Astoria did not have the guts to tell Rhiannon that she, too, had disturbing visions on that night. She was too afraid of what it had meant.

On Wednesday, Rhiannon disappeared after Herbology. Hestia was immensely worried, and she and Astoria decided it would be wise to look for her. The castle was so immense that they were only going to look in the most likely places before telling the headmaster. Astoria's first destination was the second-floor girls' lavatory, where Rhiannon had had a breakdown in May. Rhiannon wasn't there. Even Myrtle the ghost wasn't there. The sight of the broken mirror made Astoria search faster. She met Hestia in a corridor on the third floor. Hestia was going up to the music room on the fifth floor, whilst Astoria was going to search the rest of the third floor, and perhaps even ask Madam Pince if Rhiannon had come into the library. Astoria glanced into every room along her way. She was mildly shocked when she sighted the Bloody Baron, floating in backward somersaults dejectedly in one of the empty rooms.

"Who's there?" he gasped but did not look around.

"Er, Astoria Greengrass, Sir."

"Be on your way, girl," he shooed with a slow arm, lying in the air and facing the ceiling.

"Erm, excuse me, have you seen Rhiannon Clarke anywhere?"

The Baron twisted round to face her, and she avoided looking at his blood-stained cloak. He started howling for no decent reason at all, but Astoria stood firmly in place and waited for an answer.

"Yes," he rasped, "yes, I have seen Rhiannon Clarke but a few moments ago…"

"Would you tell me where she is, please?"

"If she has not moved," he said thoughtfully, "then she must still be in the classroom in which Defence Against the Dark Arts is taught."

"Thank you, Your Lordship."

"Certainly, certainly."

Rhiannon was sitting at the front of the room with her back to the door. Relieved that she had found her, Astoria took a moment to try to figure out what her friend was doing. Nothing. Rhiannon was still.

"Rhiannon?" Astoria called fretfully.

Rhiannon turned and said hello to Astoria in an exceedingly casual manner that did not seem appropriate after all of the fear she had caused her roommates. Astoria made her way to Rhiannon and touched her friend's shoulder in an attempt to bring her back to Earth. Rhiannon did not lose the preoccupied look and put her hand over Astoria's as if trying to see if she was truly present.

"What's the matter with you?" Rhiannon asked concernedly. Astoria was baffled. That was what she should have been asking Rhiannon.

"Hestia and I have been looking everywhere for you!"

Rhiannon looked puzzled. She was starting to make Astoria annoyed.

"What for? You two know I still have like, over an hour of detention, right?"

Astoria felt her mouth open. Not for a minute did she think that Rhiannon was playing a prank on her, what with her recent behaviour. It seemed as though Rhiannon needed to go to the Hospital Wing for a good, long lie-down and perhaps something a bit heavier than a Calming Draught. Astoria started to speak in a way that made her feel like she was addressing a child and feared that it would insult Rhiannon. Yet speaking to her regularly very well could have made Rhiannon further emotionally stressed.

"Rhiannon, we don't have to show up for the last D.A.D.A. classes, and you don't have to show up for detention any longer, okay? Remember, Headmaster Dumbledore said that Professor Moody has gone to the Hospital Wing to get better. So that is where he is now, so I am certain that he would not want you to come here and be inconvenienced when he isn't even here, right? Let's go find Hestia, shall we?"

"I've nowhere else to be," Rhiannon uttered softly. "I don't belong anywhere."

Neither her words nor her expression were reassuring. She was watching the closed door in the back of the room. Astoria sat next to Rhiannon carefully.

"Why, we could go for a walk outside. The weather is lovely. Or we could go to the library; it's just down the hall. We could even head back to the common room, if you like. Or you could play your guitar back in the dormitory, or we could have some tea, or—"

"But I have detention, Astoria. You know that."

Astoria felt intimidated by Rhiannon's behaviour. This was far out of her reach.

"A-All right, then. See you later," Astoria said and left the room to seek the nearest help.

She scurried to the library and had to move out of the way of the door when it swung open. It was Hestia.

"I lost you, too!" Hestia cried. "Have you found her? I couldn't find her anywhere!"

"Yes, I've found her. She's in the D.A.D.A. room."

Hestia made a forceful step to get past Astoria, but Astoria grabbed her by the robe.

"Wait, Hestia, we need to get a teacher first."

"WHAT‽ What for? What's happened‽" Hestia shouted frantically.

"Nothing! She's just… oh, I don't know, in denial from the shock lately or something. She's really having trouble reacting, and I want a teacher to help her, all right? Going there right now won't do her any good."

Hestia was entirely unconvinced, but Astoria moved her grip to Hestia's shoulders and continually repeated, "Going there right now will not do her any good. We need a teacher," until she had led the girl back into the library.

Madam Pince lifted her eyes irritably at the girls and returned to a book she was reading.

"Madam Pince, there's a problem—" Hestia flinched at Astoria's choice of words — "with a student. She is in classroom 3C just down the hall, and I believe we need a teacher."

"What ever is wrong?" Madam Pince asked sincerely.

"I think she's shocked. She can't reason properly... her behaviour is very concerning, and I'm worried about her. She thinks she has to report to Professor Moody for detention."

Just as Madam Pince stood, Professor Sinistra rushed past the library.

"I've got this, Madam," she called in as the very edge of her robes fluttered against the door. Madam Pince was as surprised as the two girls and walked them over to the door.

"Well, let me know if you need any help. I can leave the library unattended for a few minutes without the whole castle falling."

"Thank you, Madam," said Astoria.

The two girls hurried to follow Professor Sinistra, whose black robes swished along the floor into the classroom. To their shock, Rhiannon had already fallen into the Professor's arms and was wailing.

"Rhiannon, did you get hurt‽" Hestia cried, entirely uninformed of the situation.

Rhiannon did not answer and kept her head buried in Professor Sinistra's shoulder.

"No, no," the professor informed quietly. "She hasn't been injured, Hestia. The poor girl's mind's exhausted. It hasn't quite passed yet."

What hasn't passed?

Hestia was quivering, so Astoria stood closer to her. They both watched Rhiannon cry. Professor Sinistra brought a sleeve to her own face, too, then stroked Rhiannon's hair.

"D-Does she need to go to the Hospital Wing?" Hestia questioned.

"No, no, that is the last place she needs to go," the professor instantly answered.

"Shall we take her back to the dormitory?" Astoria offered.

"With those kids in the common room?"

Professor Sinistra lifted an arm from Rhiannon's back and motioned for the girls to sit down. The three waited a long time for Rhiannon to settle. They all made a late arrival at dinner, leaving the empty classroom with the rolling echoes of their footsteps.

On Thursday morning, Astoria woke to see Rhiannon writing a letter. Rhiannon stopped writing and looked up; Astoria had stared at her for too long.

"It's to Professor Lupin," Rhiannon said quietly. "He wrote to me throughout the year and asks how I'm doing sometimes. I gotta tell him I can't write in the summer because I've still got no owl."

Astoria smiled. It was the first sign that Rhiannon was feeling better.

The Hogwarts Express was scheduled to come on the third of July, and Astoria had her three bags packed up the night before.

"I heard old Mad-Eye's out of the Hospital Wing," Hestia told Rhiannon on their way to dinner.

"Good, he's had quite a year," Rhiannon exhaled.

Dinner that night would be extremely painful for Astoria. The Great Hall had many black drapes on its walls, and the headmaster gave a speech about Cedric Diggory. It was very difficult for Astoria to dwell on Cedric, to dwell on death. When they stood and raised their goblets in respect to Cedric, Astoria found her hand shaking.

Professor Dumbledore at long last informed them of the circumstances of Cedric's death — he was murdered by Voledmort, the Dark wizard Astoria was told had died after killing Harry Potter's parents. She didn't know how that was possible and had to sit down before the other students did. They were all whispering nervously, but Rhiannon did not even blink at the mention of Voldemort's name. The headmaster soon explained that the Ministry was trying to conceal the truth that Voldemort had risen from the grave. Draco kept whispering about Professor Dumbledore's insurgence against the Ministry to Crabbe and Goyle, but the latter two did not have the remotest grasp of politics and left him with no one to say his nonsense to.

The headmaster continued his speech by describing that Harry Potter had escaped from You-Know-Who during what should have been the normal Third Task, and that Harry put himself in danger to return Cedric's body to his family. Professor Dumbledore raised his goblet at Harry. Astoria raised her goblet at Harry though a number of the students in her House did not, mostly those surrounding Draco. It was shameful to their House, so Astoria and Rhiannon subconsciously agreed to lift their goblets even higher along with the rest of the Houses. As the headmaster spoke of the approaching dangers and threat that You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters posed, Astoria failed to listen. She had taken in enough this year. Her sheltered life at Quennell Park was drastically different from that at school. She felt like a changed person. She did not want to hear any more of evil wizards, Dark magic, Death Eaters, and slurs. She wanted to go home.

Yet saying goodbye to Philippe the next morning made her want the year to go on longer. The two did not say much upon departure; they couldn't find much to say at all.

"I will write," he said.

His tone made Astoria uncomfortable. He lived in Meuse. She lived in East Sussex. They would stay friends, but neither of them wanted only that. When he kissed her cheek, it was more than a gesture, and his touch lingered on her. Watching him leave with the other Beauxbatons left Astoria even quieter than she already was.

Flora and Hestia had said their goodbyes to their roommates in the Great Hall and seemed dead set on keeping to themselves for the train ride. So Astoria boarded the Hogwarts Express with only Rhiannon. Both of the girls fell asleep in a nearly empty compartment on the ride back to London. Neither had pleasant dreams. They were awakened not far from London when the train rattled more than usual. They stretched their sore arms and legs; Rhiannon was massaging her neck.

"I got a letter from Mr Davis this morning," Rhiannon said. "The company chose 'The Pariah,' 'Useless,' and 'Sweet Nothings' to be released as promotional singles. Our album'll be released next week."

Astoria felt so much better. "Sweet Nothings" was one of the songs for which she wrote the lyrics completely. She even wrote the music for the piano, which she played for most of the song. But she also knew that Rhiannon really did not want "Useless" as a single. The song was not what Rhiannon was trying to be with a band, yet there was nothing she could do about it.

"So," Astoria said. "How are you getting back home?"

"Have to find a taxicab," Rhiannon said. "I'm luckily not too far from the station."

"That's good. How will you, er, pay the driver?"

"I keep some Muggle money with me," she said, putting her hand in her pocket to indicate it was there. "How do you get home by the way? I know it's a silly question, but I don't know."

"A lot of people use Floo powder. My dad and Daphne usually go to Diagon Alley, find a fireplace, and go home from there. It's not a silly question if you've always gone home in an automobile, Rhiannon."

Rhiannon smiled weakly. Within nine months, Rhiannon Clarke and Astoria Greengrass had become the best of friends. Each valued that friendship in a way that could not be put into words. Two completely different worlds separated them, and at the same time, brought them closer together.

"I'll send you a copy of the album, Rhi," said Astoria when the train stopped at King's Cross Station.

"Oh, that's right… I gotta make sure Jessica doesn't find out about my Gringotts account, too," Rhiannon said.

Rhiannon hugged Astoria goodbye a little too tightly and got off the train in a bit of a hurry. Astoria watched her head disappear in the crowd through the window. She was in no hurry to get off the train. Daphne was still waiting outside as the number of Hogwarts students slowly decreased. Astoria made her way to the next compartment to get out where Daphne was, and found something quite shocking. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were on the floor in the very next compartment, unconscious. Draco's cheek and neck were covered in something that looked almost like actively burning charcoal. Crabbe had several circular marks on his face... wherever there weren't little tentacles growing out of it. Goyle was face down. Astoria didn't know what to do. Her father was not at the station yet; Daphne was still standing out there with her arms folded. Astoria nudged Goyle with her foot. He made an unflattering grunting sound, but that was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Are you awake, Greg? The train's stopped."

Goyle didn't make another noise.

"Draco? Draco, it's Astoria. I'm not picking you up off the floor."

None of them moved. Astoria looked out the window again to see if any of the boys' relatives were out there. Two very large men and a large woman were speaking with the pair who were undoubtedly Draco's parents. Astoria rushed to the front to tell the conductor that there were still people on the train. (She had almost stopped herself, thinking of how amusing it would be for the three bullies to wake up in Hogsmeade hours later on an empty train, but pulled through). She then got off the train and approached the boys' parents. There was a good chance they'd be just as horrible.

"Excuse me. Mrs Malfoy? Hello?"

She walked up to the lady she believed to be Draco's mother because she seemed the least threatening of all of them. The woman turned around. Her eyes were unnaturally warm for someone related to Draco. Her perfectly styled hair was two colours, silver-blonde and black. It looked like a genetic condition.

"Oh, hello," said Mrs Malfoy, not even questioning how a random little girl might have known her. "Have you seen Draco? He's usually here by now…"

"Yes, I saw him. I wanted to tell you, er…"

The rest of them were looking at her. Draco's father looked tremendously like him, though his hair was rather long and he didn't wear a stupid grin. Crabbe's and Goyle's fathers almost looked like brothers, and the other woman was nowhere near as pretty as Draco's mother. Astoria didn't know if she was Crabbe's or Goyle's mother; she didn't look friendly regardless.

"I'm not quite sure what happened, but I was getting off the train and I found Draco, Vince, and Greg unconscious on the floor. I can show you where they are."

Draco's mother put her hand to her mouth and scurried to the train. The other lady joined her, followed by Astoria, who directed them to the compartment. Draco's mother gasped at the sight of them, and went to pick Draco up. The other lady was extremely strong, grabbed both Crabbe and Goyle by the arms, and hoisted both of them in the air. Whilst Draco's mother gently woke him, the other woman jostled the heavy boys around until they were awake. Astoria tried very hard not to giggle.

"Potter and his lot hexed us!" Draco griped, grabbing his neck before crying out and finding that the charcoal rash had spread to his hand. His mother tut-tutted and rubbed his arm.

"Get your trunk, Greg," grumbled the scary woman, and Crabbe and Goyle got off the train without daring to whine.

Astoria picked up her three bags and got off the train, too, followed by Draco and his coddling mother. The train whistled and chugged, then started its journey back to Hogwarts. Astoria's father had arrived, and Daphne was glued to his side, looking impatient. Their father was speaking with Draco's father, which even Daphne knew was a waste of breath.

"Oh, you're Estelle's little girl, Astoria!" Draco's mother chirped. "You didn't tell me."

"Yes…"

"How nice to see you, dear. Why, you're so grown I couldn't recognise you! I saw you when you couldn't even hold your head up! I'm Narcissa, and that is my husband Lucius," she said, lifting Astoria's hand from her side and squeezing it.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Mrs Malfoy…" Astoria managed to say, trying not to laugh.

Mrs Malfoy smiled, walked over to her husband, and started speaking with him and Astoria's father. Draco remained still. Beneath the horrendous black marks on his face, he looked as though there was something forbearing on his mind.

"Astoria, come here," he mumbled.

"What?"

"Listen, I don't think it's a good idea to be with the Mudbl— Rhiannon next year…"

Astoria was instantly upset.

"I'm not changing so your mother still thinks I'm great, if that's what you're talking about."

"No, Astoria, really. You heard what Dumbledore said, didn't you?" He lowered his voice. "About the Dark Lord…"

"Yes, I heard," Astoria said. She didn't want to think about You-Know-Who. Leave it to Draco to ruin her plans of clearing her mind.

"I'm just saying. You're putting yourself at risk. People like Clarke are going to be targets. You know that."

Astoria was quiet.

"People like you are also going to be targets," he whispered. "Hey, are you listening to me? Do you understand, Astoria? You associate with people like her."

Being a target was better than being a fake. What did Draco expect, for her to desert Rhiannon? She did not want to think of the consequences of being a "Mudblood-lover," but she knew that she would rather face those than leave her best friend. She had made up her mind to stay a so-called Mudblood-lover a long time ago.

"So I'm a target," she said firmly. "My family's been through this before. Daphne wasn't even born here because of that You-Know-Who wizard."

Draco didn't have a comeback ready. He actually looked… sad? No, of course not. He just looked gloomy whenever he wasn't bullying someone. It must have been more pronounced because of the burning charcoal on his face.

"You've met my son, Draco?" Mr Malfoy self-importantly said to Astoria's father. Mr Malfoy shot Draco a short, commanding look.

"Fine time to meet your father, what with this stuff all over my face," groused Draco bitterly.

Draco walked over to the adults. Astoria walked after him. She hugged her father; she had missed him so much.

"Nice to meet you, sir," Draco said in a low voice.

Mr Malfoy looked utterly disgraced after seeing his son's face up close. The man was further scandalised by the fact that Mr Greengrass acted as though nothing was startling about Draco at all. Astoria's father gripped Draco's clean hand and shook it. She saw Draco hold his fingers in pain after her father let go; this transferred more charcoal onto his once-intact hand.

"Pleasure," her father said insipidly.

"Well," said Mr Malfoy, shooing his son away with a quick hand motion behind his back, "I'm sorry to hear that I will no longer see you at the Ministry, Adam."

"I am sorry to leave."

"What?" Daphne asked.

"I've decided to resign from my job at the Ministry. I was expected to help with another department this year, and things became too hectic. What with Fudge running the place the way he does now, I'd rather stay at home."

Astoria didn't think much of it. It wasn't like he needed the job.

"It's been nice to finally see you again, Adam. Won't you say hello to Estelle for me?" requested Mrs Malfoy, who was somewhat shielding Draco from additional scrutiny with her back.

"I will," said her father. "Good afternoon, Narcissa, Lucius."

He motioned for Astoria and Daphne to follow him. The Malfoys followed them through the wall out of Platform 9 ¾. Astoria forced herself to wave goodbye to Draco, who merely lifted a disfigured hand until his mother nudged his arm to make him hide his appearance.

"Did you hear the headmaster's announcement about what happened to that boy?" the girls' father asked them.

"Yes," they both said.

The world had changed so much for Astoria in only a year. The disturbance from all of the things she had been through lingered. She had seriously been considering going back to being home-schooled. All she had to do was ask, but there was something about seeing herself talk it over with Professor Sinistra in a vivid vision that was keeping her determined as ever. That vision might not have even been real, and it was horribly frightening to have seen her own body acting out her thoughts, but she felt she had to go back to Hogwarts next year. She needed to be at Rhiannon's side. She needed to prove Draco Malfoy wrong. In spite of how downhill the year had gone, Astoria smiled to herself, wondering if Draco knew that his negative comments pushed her to become an even better witch.

Well, Draco didn't know anything.

End, Book 1: Astoria Greengrass and the Muggle-Born Slytherin

Notes: Thank you for reading the first part! I hope you liked it. Reviews are always greatly appreciated. I will also be uploading the second, third, and fourth parts to this same story so the series is all in one place.

I also have a prequel to this story, called Anomie, that is actually best read after The Muggle-Born Slytherin. It deals with Flora and Hestia before Astoria came to school if you are interested (pre-1994). Thanks again!