Book 4: Astoria Greengrass and the Curse of Quennell Park
Song rec: "Slide" by Goo Goo Dolls
18 October 1999
PARIAH TOPS CHARTS WITH PAVOR NOCTURNUS
J.J. McDougal
Pariah, a rock group from Hogwarts, has freshened their catalogue and topped the charts with the release of the album Pavor Nocturnus. Their first new material since the 1997 EP Flare, and their first full-length album since 1996's flop Fylth, Pavor Nocturnus climbed the charts within days of release and now stands at the number one spot.
'I haven't seen copies move like this since The Weird Sisters' first album,' says Stillard Thatch, owner and manager of Goodsounds Music Shop in Diagon Alley. 'Pariah had a signing here the day it was released, and I had people queued up from here to the cauldron shop.'
This success comes after a month-long promotional campaign by Infinite Records. In addition to widespread sales, the album has received positive reviews. Personally, it is my favourite release of the band's to date. Pariah has gone from a band of schoolkid shoegazers with the vocals of chronic gum-chewers to experts in the watercolour blend between dream pop and alternative rock.
The twenty-track Pavor Nocturnus includes the crowd-pleaser 'Ashes' from their Flare EP. Promotional singles for album are the head-banging 'Code of Conduct' and 'Marriage Licence,' and one of those wait-put-that-on-again tracks, 'Gospel of Pisces.'
Pavor Nocturnus is said to be a concept album, encompassing themes of night-time and sleep (or lack thereof). I usually roll my eyes at the notion of concept albums, as they often seem to be a marketing ploy to come across as high-brow. Pavor Nocturnus is a great exception. Pariah manages to remain thematically similar and yet sonically diverse without relying on clichéd lyrics to tie it all together. Their choice to divide the album into four conceptual parts may seem like nothing more than a way to get more fold-out posters into the sleeve, but the idea ended up impressing me. I would not have divided it another way myself.
When you get to be my age, you start noticing that the albums get shorter and you don't like the way the few tracks on there sound anyway. (That's what makes you get hired as a music critic, right?) I was shocked when I realised the money I spent was worth it. Pariah has moved on from their odd combination of frustrated sludge and well-behaved pop of their previous work, and they have used their sonic maturity to explore both the personal and universal experiences of the Second War. So what are you still reading me for? Go listen to it. ■
PAVOR NOCTURNUS
Part One: Civil Dusk
Code of Conduct
Naming Ritual
Marriage Licence
Ashes
Kissing Games
Part Two: Nautical Dusk
L'Heure Bleue
Gospel of Pisces
Seiche
Mare Amicus || The Sea, Our Friend
Protoconch
Part Three: Astronomical Dusk
Moonrise '64
Gawm Girl
Hallowed Ground
Lullaby Glue
Sub Rosa
Part Four: Nightfall
Oneiromancy
Catathrenia
Infantile Amnesia
Juvenile Insomnia
Pinard Concerto
Pariah is:
Rhiannon Clarke – lead guitar, vocals, writing
Astoria Greengrass – lead vocals, piano, organ, harpsichord, writing
Hestia Carrow – bass guitar, vocals, rhythm guitar, writing
Flora Carrow – drums, bells, sampling, writing
Session and touring:
The Diagon Chamber Orchestra
The National Wizarding Choir
Tameka Nexus – handpan, marimba, arrangement
John Davis – producer, sampling, arrangement, mixing
© 1999 Infinite Records
2 November 1999
BACK ON THE SHELVES: WITCH WEEKLY EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH PARIAH
Winifred Horne
After their content disappeared from the shelves during the war, Pariah has responded to the love shown for their reissued back catalogue by making new music. Their third album, Pavor Nocturnus, was released in October to widespread acclaim. It reached #1 on the UK Top Wizarding Albums chart in its first week, and currently stands at #9 there, whilst remaining #1 on the Rock Top 50 chart for a third consecutive week.
Pariah's lineup consists of guitarist Rhiannon Clarke, vocalist and pianist Astoria Greengrass, bassist Hestia Carrow, and drummer Flora Carrow. Pariah stirred up controversy long before Pavor Nocturnus hit the shelves. To date, they remain the only school-age Wizarding band in the U.K. to have produced work marked with the Ministry's explicit content label, with their 1996 album Fylth. Muggle-born guitarist Rhiannon Clarke uses slurs like 'dungl***er,' 'M**blood,' amongst various swears. Though they have toned down the terminology on Pavor Nocturnus, it is not entirely gone, and it carries much heavier themes than their previous work, thus earning itself another explicit content label. Five tracks on the album have been banned from wireless airplay. Vocalist Astoria Greengrass, 17, has reportedly mocked the decision to ban tracks which were not even promotional singles and vowed that she will 'make them even worse in concerts.' Clarke, now 18, considers the explicit content label and airplay bans as signs that the album is good. I would disagree; it is the music, rather than the content label, that has made the album memorable. I sat down with the band for an exclusive interview as part of Witch Weekly's new 'Muggle-Borns in Music' series.
Lyrical content is not all that has awarded Pariah notoriety. Rhiannon Clarke made history in 1992 by becoming the first Muggle-born on record to be Sorted into Slytherin at Hogwarts, enduring, as she said, 'bullies and a basilisk.' Rhiannon proudly shows me her tattoo sleeve, which decorates, but does not cover, the damage she received from basilisk venom during the 1992-1993 attacks upon Muggle-borns at Hogwarts. She is pictured here holding out her arm next to the arm of bandmate Astoria Greengrass, who wears a half-sleeve tattoo over the damage she endured from a blood magic attack by Death Eater Rabastan Lestrange. Both girls have constellations tattooed upon their wrists and are eager to tell me about them.
Rhiannon Clarke: I got this telescope tattoo for Astoria because I thought she was dead for a year. Really, I did.
Astoria Greengrass: I just had to match Rhiannon, so I got a tattoo of Ophiuchus and Serpens for her. It means she's the snake-bearer, because she spent all those years in a House that rejected her.
Astoria holds the honour of being in the First Class of the Order of Merlin for her efforts during the war. There is currently a movement amongst Pariah's fans to get Rhiannon inducted into the Order of Merlin as well. I asked her about her thoughts.
RC: I mean, I'm really honoured. People have been writing to me, saying they'd secretly replay our albums during the war to remind them 'it's not over.' I was completely shocked. It's not something I was expecting, like. There's talk of me being in the Third Class, which I think would be pretty cool. That's like, for my contributions to art. My message about my heritage and the way I grew up, the way I was a Slytherin. They said that could get me into the Third Class because I keep putting that message out there about equality.
As any good reporter would, I next wanted to get the nitty-gritty out of the way.
WH: So I'm sure you know there's been talk about your connections with Death Eaters.
One could not imagine the way these four girls' faces changed upon my bringing up the topic. It is publicly known that Flora and Hestia Carrow are the nieces of late Death Eaters Amycus and Alecto Carrow; however, it is also well-known that they duelled them in the Battle of Hogwarts. Hestia speaks up first.
Hestia Carrow: Well, a large part of the album deals with our experience of that connection.
Flora Carrow: Death Eaters or not, they weren't a loving family. To add being Death Eaters on top of an already abusive environment made for quite a childhood.
HC: We had no friends until Rhiannon and Astoria. We were isolated. It was like, why would we talk to other people and make friends when we have so much to hide? We couldn't bring anyone to the house. We couldn't go to anybody else's house. We were alone all the time.
WH: I see, so there are tracks about that experience with your aunt and uncle.
FC: Well, I guess it's embarrassing how many tracks have bits of that. 'Infantile Amnesia' and 'Juvenile Insomnia' took me a long time to write.
WH: Those latter two tracks fade into each other, is that right? Will you play them that way in concert?
FC: Yes, they are just two halves of the same story. One causes the next. If you read a scary story before bed, you can't sleep — that was the principle. The scary story was real, and I grew up with severe insomnia.
HC: This album was meant to help get our experiences off our chests. Things we couldn't tell people we're now telling thousands. It feels better. We have that honest support.
Hestia's bandmates all smile at her. In the pause, I cannot help but notice Astoria's imposing engagement ring, which has been the subject of many a tabloid article. Astoria became engaged to Draco Malfoy during the past summer. Draco Malfoy is the son of former Death Eater Lucius Malfoy, who defected and provided the Ministry with information in exchange for a light sentence. Draco, who was enlisted as a Death Eater whilst he was still a minor, was not brought on charges, but he was placed at the scene of Albus Dumbledore's death at the hands of Severus Snape. No sooner than I spot the ring, Astoria catches me. 'You mean to ask me about my fiancé,' she says placidly.
WH: It's a subject of curiosity, I'm afraid.
AG: Draco used to say all kinds of things about this band. Well, he used to say all kinds of things in general.
RC: He sure did.
AG: Well, you can't change or fix people. That creates an unhealthy relationship. My fiancé and I grew up with different beliefs. I didn't change him. He changed himself. Being forced to become a Death Eater led him to re-evaluate those beliefs. That war tore us both to pieces. We came out as different people. I'm proud to marry him.
RC: I don't even know if I was surprised or what, but I came back from America to find those two, and Malfoy shook my hand and said he was sorry. Malfoy, if you're reading this article, I want you to tape it to your bedroom wall. See, me and Malfoy have a history, but he'd undo that part of his life, I can tell you that. We're on good terms now because we root for the same Quidditch teams and have the same sweet tooth.
WH: And what about your romantic life, Rhiannon?
Rhiannon gives me a wry look and rubs Hestia's back.
RC: My romantic life would be this lovely girl here. Actually, she's my life in general.
WH: How long have you two been together?
HC: We aren't sure! We got together in our fifth year, but it felt like we'd been sort of involved before that. Then I was stuck at Hogwarts whilst she went to Ilvermorny. I can't tell you how happy I was to see her again. We weren't in contact at all. I had no idea.
RC: I was so glad she still was interested in me. And in the band. She's the one who said the band needed to get back together. I know we had a contract, but she breathed life back into it.
WH: Did you conceive Pavor Nocturnus?
HC: No, that was Astoria, really. Rhi and I probably would have been content to play with our effects pedals for eternity. She was the one who came in and said, hey, let's actually put something together.
AG: Flora and I decided to make it about night and sleep.
FC: I've never slept in my life (laughs). I thought this would be my way to deal with it in a poetic sense. Most things on the album deal with night-time, sleep, dreaming, or permanent sleep — death — in some way.
WH: And is that where the 'dream pop' comes from? It doesn't seem much like pop to me.
RC: I don't know what people want to call some of these tracks. If they say dream pop, that's fine, that's like a soft shoegaze I guess.
WH: And what is that?
RC: When my guitar is loud and real fuzzy-like with lots of effects and Astoria's doing her little angel voice beneath that volume, that's shoegaze. Nice and gentle, that's dream pop. If you do it in a sort of mysterious way and talk about outer space, it becomes space rock. People call fuzz and feedback anything. I don't think any one term will work because we have a lot of classical instruments coming in, too.
WH: Anything in particular that inspired you sonically?
RC: I use mostly Muggle bands for my inspiration, and the early Hobgoblins sound. My Muggle friend P.R. got me into music way young. I'd go to his place to avoid my nasty parents. This year, I got to break the Statute of Secrecy on him. I came back with all of my music for him to listen to. That came first. Then I told him I was a witch. He goes, 'Cool.' God, I love the bloke.
WH: There used to be quite a buzz about your Muggle guitar. As a Muggle-born, how did that feel to have your choice of instrument questioned?
RC: Well the buzz was probably 'cause my guitar literally does buzz! Muggles been doing that a long time, but the Hobgoblins adapted it. You can hear the change like a turning point in history. If you grab any Wizarding album before 1974, the guitars are crystal-clear, acoustic. Now everyone wants to sound like Muggle rock. Well, that's what I grew up on, so I use my Jaguar that way. I fixed it up with magic and Professor Flitwick's help. Now here we are. I been dreaming of this day.
HC: You just said 'dream' again, Rhi.
WH: But pavor nocturni aren't dreams, really, right? They're night terrors.
FC: Night terrors, yeah. You can get them with spell shock or on their own. It happens right before you fall into a real sleep. You jolt awake with horrible imagery and fears.
WH: Is this something you've experienced?
FC: No, I just plain didn't sleep.
AG: I get them. That's how I got the idea, jolting in the middle of the night.
WH: So you get to channel that creatively now. So let's talk about 'Lullaby Glue.' That was one of several songs that earned you a few articles in parenting magazines.
RC: Oh, yeah, they thought Astoria was chanting curses into the track. Where I come from, that's called Satanic Panic. You ever heard of the Beatles?
WH: I have, actually!
RC: Heard of 'Revolution 9?'
WH: I haven't.
RC: Okay, don't. (Laughs). We weren't trying to do that, but the point of the track is that it starts out literally like a lullaby, you know, 'everything's all right, go to sleep.'
AG: Right, and the soundscape dips you into a nightmare. So the voice becomes 'stay asleep,' like that pressure you get on your chest. A sleep paralysis. That's the 'glue' part.
WH: There's a lot of worried mothers out there wondering what you're saying at the end.
AG: Oh, it's not curses. It's really distorted French. I said a lot of things.
WH: Can I ask you what, or will that give too much away?
AG: Well, I say, 'We need you,' repeatedly, and then we overdubbed it with me saying 'tell me I am against nature,' and 'you're not the real thing.' I also just say a lot of single words, like 'stay' and 'sleep,' and 'watch.' The overdubbing is to make it really uncomfortable, and then it just cuts out.
WH: I think you succeeded with the uncomfortable part.
FC: Astoria was about to say 'thank you' right there. (To Astoria) Yeah, I saw you!
WH: I listened to the whole album the other day, and I was completely taken off guard when the album began again once it was done playing. The end takes you back to the beginning, at least on my copy.
RC: Yeah, it's like that on all the copies. We made it that way on purpose. It's an experimental spell. A loop. I'm really glad it worked. You go from a track with almost no words at the end and start over with one where we had to strategise when to breathe!
WH: It was a surprising connection, the way the drum part was. And I thought, 'Did I replay this or is it doing this by itself?' It was quite an interesting detail, to go from a heartbeat to a heart race.
FC: Well, thank you! We had a couple of reasons for doing that. On the back of the album, there's an ouroboros, a snake biting its own tail. It's a symbol of rebirth, a sort of positive connotation of a demonised animal. We also wanted the album to loop back on itself like the phenomenon of a recurring dream. Because when that happens, you ask yourself, 'Why does this keep coming up in my dreams? What's it mean?' And the more you turn over the meaning in your head, the more likely you are to have the dream again.
WH: I admire the ingenuity. I'm sure your listeners will too.
I thanked the witches and concluded my interview shortly thereafter. Pariah will be starting their Pillowfight Tour this Saturday, and the schedule can be found on the following page. I enjoyed uncovering their creative process, and I look forward to seeing them perform live. ■
8 November 1999
KEEP OFF THE GRASS: ASTORIA GREENGRASS GETS RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST FORMER HOUSE MATE
Rita Skeeter
Astoria Greengrass (17), heiress of the prominent Greengrass family and fiancée of former Death Eater Draco Malfoy, has been awarded a restraining order from the Ministry of Magic against her former Slytherin House mate, Pansy Parkinson (20). This has come to light following the opening night of her concert tour with her family-funded band Pariah, during which Parkinson stormed to the front of the Diagon Alley venue and started casting Disarming Charms at Greengrass. Due to the crowd, Parkinson was unable to aim and began Bombarding the people around her as well as the stage. She was shortly thereafter subdued by Greengrass and two other security trolls. Since the noise of the trolls was not unlike the concert itself, the band resumed their performance easily.
Parkinson was detained by the Ministry for two nights whilst the Greengrasses set the 100-yard restraining order in place, complete with a no-contact order. No official statement as to Parkinson's motives has been released, but it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. Pansy Parkinson had been the school sweetheart of Draco Malfoy and now seeks damages due to Greengrass's snatching of the one-way ticket to juicy Malfoy wealth. Heartbroken though she may seem, Pansy Parkinson is engaged herself. Her fiancé is none other than young Death Eater Xander Lofthouse, who is currently serving 20 years in Azkaban for his torture of Muggle-borns detained in the very same prison under You-Know-Who's régime. However, the Lofthouse vaults have been long empty. Parkinson presently supports herself through three pyramid schemes: self-cooking cauldrons, ugly floral robes, and gem-studded handbags the size of a Hippogriff's hindside. If she had used her wits, she could have gone the Greengrass way and made 'music' to play at her Azkaban wedding. Pariah's new album certainly would fit the mood. It's a shame they couldn't all be friends. ■
10 January 2000
PARIAH'S PILLOWFIGHT TOUR A SUCCESS FOR INFINITE'S POST-WAR MARKET
Keaven Ruppert
Rock band Pariah has sold more than 8,000 tickets during their international Pillowfight tour, which began on 6 November last year and will conclude on 15 July after playing at over 30 locations. They are expected to sell out shows across the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang flood plains. They will return to the U.K. in March before leaving for the U.S., where guitarist Rhiannon Clarke exiled during the war. Tickets for their remaining U.K. shows will go on sale next month.
Currently, I have noticed two trends in the post-war market for the music industry. The first trend is the resurgence in sales of 'classic' albums from the pre-war periods (whether that be the '60s or the '80s is up to the generation of the consumer), and the second trend, which Pariah's market falls under, is the rush to grab 'hard' music. Infinite Records has been able to cash in on both needs by reissuing golden oldies and charms-pop whilst pushing out new albums with angry guitars and bleak lyrics.
Reputations of their families aside, the girls of Pariah have given audiences a shtick to remember: they show up to all of their concerts in pyjamas and nightgowns. Pictured in the upper left is vocalist Astoria Greengrass in her getup for their Edinburgh concert, which has stirred the imagination of many. According to reports, she arrived with a pillow under her nightgown, which she threw out to the audience. Some have speculated this was in reference to false rumours of her carrying Voldemort's child. She is said to have performed two songs on the piano with an opaque sleeping mask on. That's a nice trick, but I'm waiting until she trips and falls over. When she finally took the mask off, she revealed her bruiselike eyeliner (bottom left), which was reminiscent of Cannibal Coven's look. Infinite Records might have planned the thematic ties to push out more albums, but it seems like Pariah has the ticket sales under control. They have been known to start war victory chants at their concerts. I just hope they use some of this ticket revenue to give back to the causes they advertise. ■
15 March 2000
PARIAH VOCALIST CASTS "F" CURSE, SALES FOR ALBUM SOAR AGAIN
Rita Skeeter
In a shocking turn of events, the well-mannered Astoria Greengrass (18) of Pariah has responded to a journalist with the 'F'-word. It seemed not so coincidental that their album, Pavor Nocturnus, started climbing the charts again thereafter, so I first thought it must have been a publicity stunt. However, when I spoke with the journalist who received the swear, my long-time collaborator Ramona Nettlebed, she confirmed that it was entirely Greengrass's idea to cuss in response to her question.
'All I asked that girl was for her to comment on the rumours that she had carried the child of You-Know-Who,' Ramona told me. 'And she said, and I quote: 'I didn't f*** V*ldemort. Go home.''
According to numerous sources, the rumours of pregnancy stemmed from an event at Hogwarts during the war in which several Slytherin students had the same dream about Greengrass using a Time-Turner to conceive a child with a young Tom Riddle. Many sources maintain the same thing that Greengrass does: that the dream was inserted into the students' sleeping minds via Legilimency by Death Eater Rabastan Lestrange.
I concede that what may have seemed like a strong possibility at first has since failed to make sense. If You-Know-Who had possession of a Time-Turner, he wouldn't have perma-died. I don't like Greengrass's eyes, but I am certain that she would have saved her loved ones from the Death Eater attacks if she had either a Time-Turner or a nick in You-Know-Who's bedpost. With all due respect to my poor dear Ramona, I believe it is time to let the rumour die. (Though if anybody has any more information, please send it my way). ■
The day of the spring equinox was upon the globe, and Astoria was back at Quennell Park. Daphne and Ernie Macmillan were wed that afternoon. Hopefully, in a year or so, they might get over how "hot" each other was and actually fall in love.
Everything had gone exactly how it should have gone from their engagement to now, and Astoria watched the couple's nice rendition of Quennell's Waltz, which involved a 3-to-8 leading ratio. Daphne wasn't so embarrassed of her prosthetic arm anymore, and Astoria was happy to see her renewed confidence.
Tracey Davis, the witch of honour, and Justin Finch-Fletchley, the best wizard, were extremely active in their mingling duties, and would often share an embarrassing story or two about the couple to people who were polite enough not to ask outright. As with all Equinoxes, the party drew on for the whole day, well beyond the wedding reception, but most guests stayed anyway because everybody loved Quennell Park. Astoria spent many conversations with friends and extended family explaining that she and Daphne "decided" not to have a double wedding, and that her own fiancé, Draco, "had work today." Those explanations worked well for everyone. They hadn't heard Astoria's father tell her not to ruin Daphne's day by bringing Draco Malfoy to the event.
Astoria's mother was slowly coming round to Astoria's engagement. This wasn't because she thought it would be a good social move, but because she was a Legilimens and knew how much Astoria and Draco loved each other. Astoria's father, who was no Legilimens, might always try to make her feel like a criminal. Oh well. Astoria had made up her mind not to sulk at her sister's wedding. She'd get her own someday.
Rhiannon and Hestia were playing darts in the game room whilst Daphne and Ernie were playing a game of croquet with the family out in the gardens. Many of the Macmillans had gone horse riding with Sylvester and Valera, and Asenath was going round flirting with Ernie's pretty friends from Hufflepuff. Astoria left the banquet hall to go sit with Mrs Tonks in the children's playroom. Delphi and Teddy were toddling round Aunt Alizéa's children, throwing bouncy balls all over the place.
"Well, we've done it. They can speak French," Mrs Tonks chuckled as all of the little ones got into a barely-intelligible argument over a particularly glittery red ball.
Mrs Tonks conjured so many identical balls to settle the argument that the children no longer seemed to think it was so covetous and special. Then she reached to grab a ball that Delphi was handing her.
"Ah! C'est pour Maman?" Mrs Tonks asked.
"Oui!" squeaked Delphi, continuing to hand her the ball.
"Merci beaucoup, Delphi!"
Delphi loved the attention and went to get Astoria a ball in order to receive the same praise. Meanwhile, Astoria's little cousins were thrilled as they watched Teddy's hair change colour based on what colour ball he held.
"How are things with your father going?" Mrs Tonks asked.
Astoria tried not to sound so defeated, "I suppose Maman keeps you up to date on everything, then…"
"Oh, she does," Mrs Tonks said, squeezing Astoria's hand. "I was thinking that I haven't been half the support to you that you have been for me."
Astoria was startled.
"Oh, Mrs Tonks, you don't have to worry—"
"I do worry about you, dear. Now, when I got engaged, my situation was far more extreme, and it was also the other side of the coin, but I understand what you're going through."
"Well, thank you, Mrs Tonks, but if you're uncomfortable talking about it, really, we don't have to. I'm fine. Father doesn't like me much anymore, but he would never disown me or stop talking to me the way your parents treated you…" Astoria blubbered.
"Well, I know today has been hard on you. Your sister has endless praise and a banquet full of supporters. You've got the opposite. At first, I wasn't very happy when I first realised who you were interested in, Astoria, but I realised that had far more to do with what's between me and my sister than what's between you and Draco. I just didn't want you to feel alone anymore. I didn't want you to think I wasn't speaking about it because I was upset with you."
The words hit Astoria deeply, and she didn't know what else to say besides "thank you." Astoria was very earnest, but Mrs Tonks smiled wryly.
"You know my sister's a royal bitch, though, right? I hope you're prepared."
"I'm well aware!" Astoria laughed. "I think whenever she acts like she likes me, it's because she secretly hates me, and whenever she acts like she hates me, it's because she secretly likes me."
"Yes, that's Narcissa."
Delphi handed Mrs Tonks two more balls, so that she had to keep three on her lap.
"Mrs Malfoy doesn't talk to me much except to ask about…" Astoria faltered.
Mrs Tonks raised her eyebrows, and her harsh expression was strikingly similar to Bellatrix's normal one.
"I can't imagine what she'd want to ask about me now."
"Well, she just asks how you and Delphi are," Astoria revealed.
"Is that so? She never once asked about Nymphadora. What do you tell her?" Mrs Tonks snorted.
"I tell her the truth, Mrs Tonks."
"Good. She ought to know, really. I bet she's lonely now without all those dinner parties she used to host with elf-made food."
Teddy, hoping to rise to the challenge Delphi set, came to give his Nana a ball, so that she now had a pile of four. It made her feel better.
"I can only assume Draco understands your beliefs," Mrs Tonks said in a way that sounded like a concerned question.
"He believes them now," Astoria said.
"Oh! Well, your parents must be more concerned about saving face, then," Mrs Tonks said. "Forgive me for saying that, but I know your mother. She likes to be popular and have a spotless record because she spent her teen years studying the Dark arts… Oh yes, yes, she did. Your father, now, he wants to impress everybody. You can't please everyone, Astoria. Don't worry about their input."
Then Mrs Tonks jumped up, dropping all the balls.
"Oh, Teddy!" she shouted for joy.
Teddy had made his ears grow as big as an elephant's, laughing as Delphi and the other toddlers tried to grab them. It was his first use of his Metamorphmagus skills besides changing his eyes and hair, and Mrs Tonks scooped him up to go show everybody at the party. Astoria summoned her cousin Aura to watch the children, then picked up Delphi to follow Mrs Tonks. Delphi hated being separated from her mother; it was an easily avoidable tantrum. As long as Mrs Tonks was in the same room, Delphi was well-behaved. Astoria bounced Delphi on her hip whilst Rhiannon and Hestia, the Greengrasses, Ciels, Macmillans, and all of the extended branches poured their admiration onto Teddy for his ability. Astoria loved him too, but she took a solemn moment aside from the group. Teddy would always be admired for his quirk, whereas Delphi's Parseltongue had to be hidden even though there was nothing inherently wrong with it.
Delphi watched the fussing crowd with her hand in her mouth, thankfully having no understanding of the differences between her and Teddy's magical traits. She snuggled on Astoria's shoulder and murmured something in Parseltongue.
"What in the world is Delphi saying, hmmm?" Astoria asked, tickling her.
Delphi got drool all over Astoria's nice gown, and Astoria tried to clean it up as she went. As she had no choice, Astoria left the full room with the hissing, giggling little girl.
"I love you, Delphi," said Astoria.
Delphi squealed and buried her face back into Astoria's already wet shoulder before floating out of her arms. Astoria quickly cast Cushioning Charms on the floor and put her hands on her hips.
"You're supposed to be too big for that, you know. How old are you? Are you two? Is Delphi two?"
"Yes," Delphi giggled.
"Yes, you're a big girl. You shouldn't be floating anymore. Babies float. Look at all the work you make for Astoria."
Delphi flapped her arms without a care.
"You get down from there. I know you can, you silly girl."
"No!"
"Come down, now."
"No!"
"You really like flying, don't you?" Astoria played along.
"No!"
"What? You're just saying 'no' for fun, now, aren't you?"
Delphi scrunched her face and did a somersault in the air. Then she made a big, big sigh.
"See, now you're tired! Come down gently, now. Good girl."
Delphi slowly lowered herself to the magically softened floor and reached up for Astoria again. She was already grumpy. It was naptime, so Astoria met back up with Mrs Tonks. Quennell Park had plenty of accommodations for young families, but Mrs Tonks opted to go home rather than stay at the estate. Astoria, Daphne, and their mother bade her loving goodbyes.
"We should go try to beat Adamina and Sofronia at billiards," Daphne suggested. "Ernie and I just lost to them."
"I'm not as good as them, either," Astoria admitted.
"Well, I have to win at something. It's my wedding day! Let's go!" Daphne said, and Astoria obeyed.
The Greengrass sisters lost to the Kippling sisters by a wide margin, but it had been fun. That evening, there was even more food and dancing. Rhiannon was tenderly teaching Hestia how to waltz whilst Astoria, Flora, and Millicent Bulstrode tried out the "desserts from around the world table" Daphne had asked for.
Astoria was pleased with the skill of the hired classical musicians, and before they were to close the night, she walked up to them. The conductor was a young ginger man by the last name of Pips. He wore a tidy suit with a beard that was too old for his face.
"Excuse me, but do you know Gralewicz's Cupid and Psyche suite?" she asked.
"Oh, yes!" said Maestro Pips. "A very popular choice for weddings. Sorry, but er, we were instructed to pack up in fifteen minutes…"
"I only have one movement I would like to request," Astoria said smoothly.
"Oh, certainly! Here, let me get our sheets… which movement would you like?"
"The fourth movement, please."
Maestro Pips and the band turned their pages, but they didn't do anything to indicate they would play it.
"Er…" he stammered. "Excuse me, but do you mean the final movement, The Second Wedding of Cupid and Psyche? It gets confused for the fourth often — sorry, not that, er, not that I'm implying you were confused — I just wanted you to know. This is the one that goes, 'NA-NA-na-NA…'"
"Yes, I am actually familiar with the whole suite, Mr Pips. I'm looking for The First Wedding of Cupid and Psyche. The one that goes, 'na-NA-na-NA'" Astoria said with a chuckle.
"Oh! Er… yes, that would be the fourth movement then. We, er, we usually aren't asked to play, er, erm, that one at weddings…" said Maestro Pips, thumbing the pages back to the fourth movement uncertainly.
"Ah. No one will know either way, though, right?" Astoria smirked. "After all, there aren't any words. Dancers get quite busy trying to keep their steps in time anyway."
"Er, erm, that they do… Yes, well, certainly we will play that for you. This is one of our favourite suites, after all. I was surprised it wasn't requested earlier… It's extremely popular. I mean, the final movement, that is. I mean, not that this movement is, er — well, anyway…"
Maestro Pips regained his composure, and the band got ready to play. Astoria sat back down against the wall and watched the dance line figure out what to do when the music flowed through the ballroom again. The evening dances highlighted exactly how many happy couples were in Astoria's midst and how much they all liked showing each other off at the fancy event. White-tie attire aside, everyone felt beautiful in the arms of their loved one. It was a highly emotional event, and as a Legilimens, Astoria had to block the ambient noise of everyone's love and focus on the sound of the performance. The movement the band was used to playing was jubilant and fast, telling the story of a wedding celebration not unlike this one. What played now was a passionate whisper of music, though the percussion reverberated through the wood floor and up her ankles.
After the eve's festivities ended, the weekend's festivities did, too. It was a Monday night, and many who had held a room at Quennell Park for the Equinox needed to get back to the real world. Many relatives were returning to France that night. Astoria's roommates decided to go back to Lake Greendragon even though they hadn't had to request the day off like many of the guests had. Astoria helped them and the other guests with their bags and suitcases. She wanted to stay a little longer at Quennell Park to spend time with remaining family before they would leave and her tour dates would resume.
Quennell Park quieted and darkened, and Astoria went upstairs. She shut the oak door to her quarters and opened the curtains to the balcony to see what the cloud cover was like. It wasn't a night for stargazing. She stood in the darkness for a moment, rubbing her sore shoulders. Then she stepped out onto the balcony, turned, and Disapparated.
Draco had more concert candids of Astoria in his drawer than the hungriest of Durmstrang graduates. If one didn't know any better, they'd say he was an obsessed fan. But unlike them, he had been smitten with her long before she wore her night things onstage, and he would be in love with her forever.
Naturally, Draco had been forbidden from coming to Daphne's wedding. It wasn't Daphne and Macmillan whom Draco wanted to see, but he knew that Astoria had spent an evening full of dancing without the partner she wanted, and that her parents' continued shunning of him bothered her deeply. Draco actually felt that he was sneaking his way to Estelle's good side, but it hadn't changed anything yet.
In contrast to Astoria's eventful day, Draco's had been stiflingly still, so much so that the pages of his book seemed to turn too loudly. He'd probably go to sleep soon so that he could force himself to get his proofreading done for Transfiguration Today before noon the next day. He wasn't tired, though. How could he be after a whole day of nothing?
Draco glanced up at the Pariah tour poster he had proudly stuck to his wall and tried to squint at the dates without making the effort to get up. He was pretty sure they had another show at the weekend following next. He had been to most of their domestic shows, and even though he was heavily biased in their favour, he genuinely enjoyed their performances. It made him wish that he had been there to support them all along, but there was nothing to be done about the past. He looked forward to the future, though, because Astoria would be in it. Someday, he'd like to get a different job that offered him more mental floss than correcting spelling errors and fact-checking articles. Someday, they'd have the house at Lake Greendragon to themselves, and anybody that had a problem with that would have to hold their peace.
Draco started when he heard a noise at the window. There was someone out on the terrace. Awful. He drew his wand. Before he could plan his next move, though, he heard a very curious thing.
"Draco? Hello? It's me. Are you awake? Hello?"
Draco drew back the curtains to find Astoria standing there in the dark, holding up her ball gown in one hand, away from the rain-sodden stone.
"Merlin, are you all right, Astoria?" he asked quickly through the glass.
"Yeah. Are you?"
"Yeah! What's this about?" he exclaimed as he unbolted the latch, and then realised he'd better not be too loud. If his parents were asleep, he'd be sorry to wake them, and if they were awake, it'd be even worse for them to find out they had a visitor.
Astoria stepped into his room, careful not to catch her dress on the door and looked round a bit guiltily.
"I apologise for the lack of notice."
"No, Astoria, you're fine," he reassured. "What's wrong? Did something happen with your parents at that ceremony?"
"No, no. Nothing's wrong," Astoria said, fussing a bit with her hair and continuing to look round.
"My parents aren't up here, it's fine."
"Okay."
"Did… did you need something?" he asked, because Astoria wasn't the type to just Apparate to the terrace, especially after calling hours.
Astoria gave him a very puzzling expression and bit the inside of her dimpled cheek.
"Erm."
"I mean, you look troubled," he said.
"Troubled?" she said a little hoarsely. "Erm. Oh, no, I'm sorry. I'm just thinking. I came here to see if, if you would be available."
Draco raised an eyebrow and laughed at her.
"What, I'm not allowed to come to the wedding, but I'm allowed to be on cleanup crew, is that it? Don't you have two house-elves, my dear?"
Astoria made a noise and said, "No, no, it's all tidied back up. I just wanted to spend some time with you if you were, er, still awake. It's been a long weekend."
"Oh," Draco said. "That's fine. Er… I'm not the best host in my pyjamas. Do you want anything to drink from downstairs?"
"No, thank you."
Astoria laced her hands together and played with her painted fingernails a bit. She kept saying that nothing was wrong, but she seemed like she needed to talk about something. It was late. She wouldn't have come here without a pretty decent reason. Draco offered her the chair he had, but it was too small for her ball gown, so when she sat in it, she looked like she had fallen into a cloud. Her hands were gripped tightly in her lap, and she seemed uncomfortable.
"I can make that chair bigger if you stand back up," he offered.
"No, thank you. I'm fine, thank you."
Draco sat across from her and leaned forward, studying her pretty face and slightly furrowed brow.
"Would you like any lounge robes to change into, Astoria? They might be big on you, but it's better than sitting in the dress…"
"Oh," she chirped, "no."
"Well, what did you need to talk about?" he asked.
Whatever it was, it wasn't ready on Astoria's lips. She deliberated for a little bit, and then one of his parents must have dropped something or shut a door, because there was a noise close by that made her flinch.
"Draco, aren't they going to know I'm here?" she whispered.
"No, I doubt they—"
"Yeah, but they'll kill me if they do. Won't you come to Quennell Park? Will they know you're gone?" she implored.
"Er, yeah, I can, if you'd be more comfortable. I mean, no, they won't know. They probably think I've gone to bed. It's, er, getting late…"
"Yeah. Let's go."
"Well, give me a minute so I can change," Draco said, and he stood up to find some real clothes to put on in case he ran into any night-owl Greengrasses.
"You don't h—"
"It's okay. I have something right here," he said.
"You don't have t—"
"It'll only be a minute," he said, and he went to put on trousers and a nice pullover.
Astoria smiled at her feet when he came back out, and for a second, he thought he might be walking into a prank. But he knew Astoria Greengrass well. Astoria Greengrass did not play pranks on people. Yet she definitely was amused. Maybe she was trying to surprise him with something. She led him by the hand to the terrace, which he locked behind him, and she Apparated them both to Quennell Park. With a crack, they arrived on her half-moon balcony, where she had spent many years stargazing. He didn't know why he had expected to Apparate to the front door. Maybe a part of him wished that he had been given permission to be there and say hello to people.
Astoria led him into her bedroom and shut the balcony door very quietly behind them. She walked round him in the dark, and before she so much as raised the flame of the lanterns, she started whipping charms against the wood of her sitting room's door. Draco's pullover suddenly felt like a poor choice for the temperature. He was pointedly not paying attention to what charms they were, admiring the intricacies of her rococo ceiling, trying to think of a sound explanation for this evening's events. And then Astoria whipped her wand behind her, drew the curtains closed, and raised the lights.
"Here, Draco, you can have a seat."
Astoria gestured toward a comfortable chair in the corner of the room, next to a small, basic telescope that was no longer suited to her needs. Draco took the seat offered to him and admired the exquisiteness of the room. The Greengrasses had always had good taste, and even though Astoria lived at Lake Greendragon, she still kept this room. It was decorated with sophisticated wallpaper, an astronomical clock, and a chest of drawers with decorative astronomy pieces and works of sculpture on the top. Her bed looked so soft and welcoming, with thick, plush blankets and hilariously frilly pillows. The bed had a canopy.
"There was a lot of dancing, of course," she said.
Her voice was so easy-going. She was now so bright and free of nerves that they might have been outside in a park on a sunny day, or getting take-out dinner, or in front of other people. Draco, though, had to clear his throat before he spoke.
"This was the last night, too, right?" Draco said. "That really is a lot of dancing. You must be tired."
"Not yet," Astoria said, and she started the beautiful process of undoing her hair.
She first removed the emerald pins and sent them over to her vanity. Then she tilted her head down and pointed her wand at a bouquet of curls in the back. They slackened out into waves over her hence-bare neck. She looked up at him as she ran her hands behind her ears, fluffing her hair out from the tightness of the updo.
How long had he watched her for? He seemed fine, but his mind was far adrift, charting the waves in her skirt fabric. This was a bridesmaid's dress, and she fit so well in it that he could only imagine what her bridal gown would do to him.
Oh.
Without any warning, Astoria stretched her arm behind her back to undo the highest clasp at the back of the dress, and as she struggled with it, her chest swelled just a little, pushing against the fabric…
Oh God.
She got the clasp, and the whole bodice slid down her, exposing a laced, strapless bra that cupped her breasts the way Draco wanted his hands to. Her navel peeked above the line of the dress's skirt, which was still on, still so disagreeably on. Astoria struggled with a shimmy, first trying to get the whole thing over her head, and then trying to step out of it. Draco didn't have any advice for this sort of thing. As long as her body was moving, he was hypnotised. He was actually startled when she started speaking so clearly again, because it had started to feel like a dream.
"Well, I need you to help me out of this," she said cordially. "I don't think I can do this part in a very sexy way. I get points for trying, right?"
"Oh, sorry," Draco said, briefly snapping out of it. "Of course."
He stood to help her, or at least to try.
"Daphne likes complicated gowns. I don't even remember how long it took me to get this on," Astoria remarked.
"I — I can tell," Draco said, holding one of her hands to steady her as she wiggled the skirt down and unravelled some of the extra flowing fabric.
He caught so much fabric in his own hands that he marvelled how she had worn this for hours. Clasp and hook after hook and clasp, Draco wondered why Astoria thought this wasn't sexy. Every time that skirt fought her on its way down, it became an even better friend to him, as it made her shake herself and, wonderfully, her breasts. No longer needing balance, Astoria let go of his hand to get both thumbs under the waist of the dress once it was at her ankles. She had on knickers to match the bra. White. Lacy. Simply flattering. With only his eyes, he traced the hem of them as far as he could see. She still acted so calm. She had to know what she was doing. This was on purpose, wasn't it?
"You can sit back down if you like," she chuckled once free of her burden. "I know we're stuck in here, but you can make yourself at home."
"I can — oh, no, I'm fine," Draco said. "Thank you."
Astoria pranced round in lingerie, cleaning up her gown and stepping away to hang it up. Draco walked round the room slowly, just below a pace, and pretended to find new things as if he hadn't already studied them all over. No, wait, he had started to pace in earnest. He had to stop. He couldn't let her see him nervous. But that was not the only thing betraying him. He saw how blotchy his cheeks were in the standing mirror that she had by her closet and felt he must lower the lights so she wouldn't see his colour. But if he did turn the lights back down, would that intimidate her? Would she get angry? He kept doubting himself, wondering if he had misinterpreted her actions. But why else would she send for him on this occasion, at this hour, and start undressing?
He had no idea how to set the mood in a room that was not his own. His most vivid fantasies had involved highly impractical scenarios of being with her in his old dormitory. He scarcely ever imagined it'd be here, right in Quennell Park. It seemed all too dangerous, but Astoria was unfazed and actually started striking more charms into the walls, and even into the floor. Draco couldn't move his mouth to speak unless spoken to.
"You came here all dressed up for nothing, Draco," she said to him when she turned back round. "I told you. The party's over."
Well! Now the outfit he had on was the only thing hiding him. Of course he had wanted to look nice to come to Quennell Park. He would have been her partner for this celebration if he had been allowed. No. Scratch that. They would have been husband and wife tonight if he had been allowed.
"What should I have worn, Astoria?" he asked her quietly. "Or did it even matter?"
Finally, he caught her breath. He raised his eyebrows but kept his dirty mouth shut. Astoria smirked and walked her cute little bum past him, into the bath. He didn't want to follow her all the way in there… Well, he did, but that would be crass. He now fully accepted that he was here for some delicious reason, but he didn't know if she had quite the same fire in the pit of her stomach tonight that he did.
Draco then heard the bathwater start to run, and for some reason, that was way too much for his nerves. He had no clue what had been so comforting and enthralling about her bed, and why his whole body went into a frenzy at the sound of the bath. She had left the door perfectly open, but was that a genuine invitation? Did she really want him with her in the bath? Did she need a real bath first, and then him? Or was she in there wondering what he was doing out here? Should he wait? Should he go? Why was his brain acting like this was an emergency? He could have used any amount of his old arrogance right about now. Any amount of his usual suavity. Anything.
The exploratory fun they'd had before gave him little indication of her wishes for tonight. He needed to do something innocuous with his hands, so he grabbed a small astronomy something-or-other off of her chest of drawers. Decoration or tool, he didn't know, but it was round and had things to hold onto. He felt like a cat with a ball of string, though, since he relied on it so desperately whilst he waited for any sort of hints from the woman he loved. And then the water shut off.
Astoria came to the door frame of the bathroom. Draco tried not to look like a first-year about to get Sorted as he took in the sight. Her hair was dark and wild over the white silk bathrobe she wore. A belt cinched the waist he yearned to grab. She gave him her crooked smile, the sweetest thing in the world. He fiddled with the astronomy instrument.
"I have a stupid question," she said.
Unbelievable. Unbelievable. There were no stupid questions.
"Do you happen to actually need a bath tonight or in the morning? Because I don't have any man soap," she giggled. "You'll be covered in l'essence de rose."
"I—"
A bath in the morning? In the morning? Man soap? Somehow his head was still trying to convince the rest of his body that she wasn't doing this because of him, or sex, or sex with him, because this was Quennell Park, wasn't it? This was supposed to be real life. But Astoria had asked him a question, something about soap, something about him still being there in the morning…
"Are you all right, Draco?"
"I'm fine," he said, fiddling with the trinket. "Sorry. You're just. You're so beautiful, Astoria. Breathtaking, really. I can't help but admire."
"Oh. Well, thank you," she said, a blush reaching her ears.
He had no idea what had compelled her to do what she did next. Her fingers went under the belt of her robe and loosened it. The robe started falling from her shoulders down, revealing first the gentle curve of her breasts, and then even more of her skin…
And then Draco dropped the astronomy trinket suddenly with a loud noise. Astoria stopped looking at his eyes to follow its journey all over her floor. It rolled away so comedically far that Draco was forced to laugh at himself. He couldn't even see where the damn thing had gone anymore, but he heard it hit the wall all the way under the bed. Then Astoria was laughing right along with him; she held her knuckles over her pretty smile. He bent to try to see under the bed unsuccessfully. He couldn't be sure of either the importance or the price of this object and tried Summoning it, but he hadn't a clue of what it was called. His guesses, though, made Astoria laugh even more, and he really enjoyed the sound.
In facing the wonder of her again, he felt so defeated. Astoria's pale green eyes flickered everywhere, and he let them, because he liked them, and he liked what they did inside his head. She was a Legilimens, but it didn't take Legilimency to gather what captivated his bare mind. The mental exposure was unfamiliar, but never dangerous — not with Astoria. He only wished he could read her mind, too. That way, he'd do everything right tonight. Everything she wanted. He'd just have to ask her aloud…
None of his incorrectly-named Summoning Charms ended up working on the lost object. His face got even hotter when he heard her speak.
"What are you doing, Draco?"
"I really don't know," he admitted with a sigh, meeting Astoria's amused smile.
"Come find out."