Chapter Thirty Eight
The Sisters of the Eastern Star
0o0
December arrived, bringing with it a swirl of wet sleet and cutting winds. On Monday morning, Astoria dithered at breakfast, positively dreading Care of Magical Creatures class. Not only was the weather terribly inclement but Hagrid had not yet abandoned his ambitious project with the skrewts.
"I'm not sure if they hibernate or not," said Hagrid when Astoria had at last dragged herself, be-scarfed and thickly cloaked, across the grounds to the pumpkin patch. "We'll just try and settle 'em down in these boxes and see if it'll take."
Hagrid gestured toward several crates on the lawn that he had equipped with pillows and blankets. Draco, who had been noticeably subdued since Saturday, gave an audible scoff.
This scoff turned out to be well merited, as the skrewts did not hibernate and had absolutely no interest in being nailed into boxes.
"Don' panic, now, don' panic!" hollered Hagrid as the skrewts began to riot. A bit of smoldering wood shoot past Astoria's head when one of the skrewts blasted off in an attempt to escape the box into which it had just been imprisoned by Parvati Patil.
Theodore tugged on Astoria's arm and pulled her toward Hagrid's cabin, where most of the class was actively fleeing in search of cover.
"Ridiculous!" Draco sneered as Astoria and Theodore stumbled into the cabin. "How that man hasn't been sacked-"
Astoria stared past Draco out of Hagrid's window, watching the scene of destruction unfold outside, wondering if maybe she ought to have stayed to help.
"Between him and Moody, nobody is safe," sniffed Pansy, who seemed particularly ardent in her desire to agree with Malfoy about everything since the weekend.
Astoria glanced at Draco, curious to see if he would renew his recent habit of responding to this sort of commentary warmly, but something outside the window seemed to have distracted him. Astoria edged closer, sincerely hoping that Harry Potter was not on fire.
"Isn't that Rita Skeeter?" asked Draco keenly, his eyes fixed on a blonde woman, who appeared to have crossed the grounds in order to talk to Hagrid. "Goyle, isn't that her?"
"That's her," said Theodore, who could see over all of their heads. "She was at the First Task."
"Dumbledore banned her from the grounds, you know," murmured Draco. "What's she doing here, talking to Hagrid?"
"Dumbledore banned her?" asked Theodore, curious despite himself.
"Yeah," Draco drawled. "After the article she wrote about Potter. Can't have anyone bad mouthing the boy-who-lived, can he? Now she's only allowed to watch the tasks."
"Dumbledore can't stop her from writing about Potter, though," said Pansy disingenuously.
"What is she going to write about him, if she can't even interview him?" Astoria snapped, wishing Pansy would go sit with Flora.
"She can interview Hagrid," said Draco, raising his eyebrows and motioning out the window smoothly. His gaze sparkled malevolently. "How much do you want to bet that great oaf wouldn't even realize he was giving away secrets while he was doing it?"
Astoria shifted uncomfortably because she hadn't thought of this. Now that Draco said it however, it seemed like exactly the sort of thing Rita Skeeter, with her false news articles and unctuous personality, would do.
Pansy laughed triumphantly at Draco's cleverness but Draco continued to stare out the window thoughtfully and his eyes did not leave Rita Skeeter until her fluttering magenta cloak had disappeared down the path.
0o0
The next day was full of dreadful surprises repackaged as gifts for Astoria, and when she reached the great hall for breakfast, she found it surprisingly busy for a Tuesday morning. Giving Pansy, who was simpering showily between Emilie and Cassandra Rowle, a wide berth, Astoria made a beeline for Tracey and Theodore.
Thinking that Pansy's loud and enthusiastic mood could mean nothing good, Astoria set about ignoring her as thoroughly as possible, but this was not to be had.
"Just look at her," drawled Tracey lazily, watching as Pansy reached across the table and retrieved the oatmeal for Cassandra. "It's amazing that someone who loves sucking-up so much could still be so obvious about it, after all these years."
Astoria snorted, not wishing to discuss Pansy at all, if she could help it. Astoria had still not quite come to terms with whatever discomfort she had felt outside the Beauxbatons cabin that weekend, and something about Pansy's laughter seemed capable of reigniting that same sense of dreadful ill-ease.
"I'm Cassandra Rowle," declared Tracey in a high-pitched voice that was as fanciful as it was mocking. "I think that I'm so dreadfully important."
"She's related to Draco," offered Astoria, by way of rueful explanation. "What more can you expect?"
"Is she?" remarked Tracey curiously.
"Mhmm," said Astoria. "I'm sure that's why Pansy's so keen on proving herself."
"Oh please," Tracey snorted, surprising Astoria slightly. "No, Pansy's playing waitress because she wants to get in to Cassandra's little club. This is 'ladies who lunch' drama."
"What are you talking about?" asked Astoria, trying to recollect if she had heard any talk of this mentioned on Saturday. "What club?"
"That sorority! What's it called?" Tracey snapped her fingers and looked toward Theodore for help. Theodore continued to read his paper intently, evidently wishing to refrain from discussing ladies' clubs over his eggs. "The 'Wicked Sisters of the East', or something?"
"The Sisters of the Eastern Star?" Astoria guessed, smirking at Tracey's wording.
"You've heard of them?" asked Tracey, looking genuinely surprised.
"Yeah," said Astoria. "It's not just a French thing, there's a chapter here too. As far as societies go, they're pretty ancient."
The Sisters of the Eastern star was an exclusive sorority that pandered mainly toward the daughters of old pureblood families and focused heavily on good social graces and finding decent pure-blooded matches for its members. Belladonna had been a Sister in her youth, but as far as Astoria was concerned, it was the place where the more enthusiastic students of Tippy Tipman's childhood etiquette classes went when they died.
Theodore made a snide sound behind his paper.
"That's the only thing Pansy would talk about all weekend, at least," said Tracey wryly. "Make no mistake, she's going in for the kill. What is so funny, Theo?"
"Nothing," said Theodore, chortling merrily. "Only she'll be right at home, if they take her."
"You've heard of them as well?" asked Tracey, sounding almost a little annoyed. "How is that even possible?"
"It's an old family thing," said Astoria quickly, not wanting for Tracey to feel foolish. "Lots of people are members."
"What's an old family thing?" drawled Malfoy at once, reaching over Astoria to extract an apple from the fruit bowl.
"What, are those like your trigger words?" demanded Theodore sneeringly, frowning at Draco. "Anytime someone talks about old families, you just appear?"
"The Sisters of the Eastern Star," Astoria supplied, wondering why Draco was not continuing down the table toward Maudlin.
"Oh," said Draco, sounding almost bored. "I suppose you'll be joining?"
"Careful not to even think about the Sacred Twenty-Eight while you're showering," continued Theodore snappishly, "or else you might summon Draco."
"Who's joining?" asked Astoria in earnest, smacking Theodore on the arm to silence him and looking about to see if perhaps Flora was at hand. It was a long second before Astoria realized that Draco must have meant herself.
Theodore started to chuckle behind his paper again, this time even more enthusiastically.
"Oh stop it, Theodore!" said Tracey. As a second generation pure-blood, Tracey was occasionally more in awe of elitist and ancient things than she should be and it appeared as though this was no exception. "You should, Astoria! There's probably all kinds of great connections that come with it, plus it would drive Pansy mad."
Astoria smiled indulgently at this mention of Pansy's discomfort but shook her head adamantly. "No. All they do is plan parties and gossip. You'd have to be mad to join on purpose."
"They wouldn't have you anyway," said Theodore skeptically, folding up his paper at last with an oddly natty little flourish, refusing to look at her.
"What are you talking about, Nott?" sneered Draco pompously. "Her mother was a Lestrange, of course they'd have her. It's all about lineage."
"Lineage and good-breeding," Theodore countered.
"Are you insinuating that I'm ill-bred?" asked Astoria merrily, shooing Theodore's Daily Prophet away from the marmalade and laughing.
"I'm saying that you're kind of keen on crime and not caring what anyone thinks of you," said Theodore firmly, picking up his fork almost twitchily. "Even if you did get in, you'd be miserable at the meetings and the rest of the girls would probably hate you."
"Theo!" cried Tracey.
"Don't bother Davis," said Draco snidely, "he's just afraid of losing Astoria to anyone with social tact who can be seen in public during the daytime."
Theodore glared at Draco hatefully, an uncharacteristic red blush working its way up out of his collar and towards his ears.
"I don't want to join anyway," Astoria reiterated, wishing to end the whole discussion before it turned nasty. "They say a pledge before they take their tea. It's creepy."
"They have a pledge?" asked Tracey eagerly. "What is it?"
"Sincerity, Simplicity, Sympathy and Serenity!" Astoria recited in a high voice, breaking off with a cackle.
"Bloody hell," groused Theodore under his breath, shaking his head as though no sentence had ever offended him more.
"Was your aunt a member?" asked Tracey, obviously intrigued despite Astoria's scorn.
"The woman has been married four times," said Astoria darkly. "Of course she was. She practically lives on the Eastern Star."
"Why do they call it that?" wondered Tracey, her brow wrinkling.
"Something to do with Venus's representation of womanhood or something?" said Astoria, brushing the matter off with a wave of her hand.
"So, is it easy to join?" asked Tracey, her eyes wandering toward Cassandra and Pansy a little jealously.
"Not for you, it wouldn't be," said Draco snidely. "They only take legacies."
"What does that mean?" asked Tracey, pointedly ignoring the insult that his tone implied.
"Someone in your family has to have been a member in order for you to join," said Astoria quickly, before Draco could expound more rudely. "Otherwise, you need to have legacy members nominate you."
"Which never happens," said Draco snidely.
"It happens sometimes," said Astoria lightly, not quite wanting to crush Tracey's spirit or cause her to feel left out. "I'm surprised they're taking anyone, honestly. I suppose it's because of the tournament?"
"Cassandra thinks there's going to be an event of some kind," said Draco disinterestedly, inspecting the bread bin.
"Ooh," said Tracey enthusiastically, "that would explain why dress robes were on our school lists! Hey, Pansy!"
Pansy and Cassandra had gotten up from the table. Tracey enthusiastically beckoned toward them, eager to hear out any theory that might mature into a chance for her to wear a dress in public.
"What?" asked Pansy flatly, stopping at the end of the table. "Morning, Draco!"
Draco continued to pick at the bread and ignored Pansy, an act that struck Astoria as being nearly as queer as his enthusiastic interest for her had been two days previously.
"I'll see you on Saturday, Pansy," said Cassandra, preparing to return to the Ravenclaw table. "Don't forget to fill out your form before the meeting. Oh," Cassandra paused, glancing at Astoria witheringly. "I received your intent papers this morning, but you should bring a formal application letter. Lord knows you'll need it."
For the second time that morning, Astoria glanced up and down the table, trying to understand who Cassandra was speaking to.
"Sorry?" said Astoria.
"Not as sorry as I am, I suppose," remarked Cassandra witheringly.
"Why have you got intent papers?" asked Astoria, questioning her statement stupidly.
"Because I'm chapter president, obviously," said Cassandra coldly. "The meeting is in the portrait room. Don't be late."
Astoria blinked, thoroughly taken aback. Out of the corner of her eye, Astoria could see Theodore staring at her accusingly.
"I never sent intent papers," Astoria insisted, trying to ignore Theodore's mounting annoyance.
"I know that," said Cassandra very slowly, speaking as though she found Astoria to be especially dim. "Your aunt sent them by morning post."
"Oh," said Astoria slowly, a dreadful understanding beginning to blossom in her chest. Astoria watched Cassandra cross the hall, feeling as though she had been grabbed from behind. "Very bad."
As though to capitalize on Astoria's moment of disarmament in the way that only Belladonna could, a large barn owl clutching a letter on Astoria's aunt's trademark red parchment came to a skittering landing in the nearby oatmeal, sending a shower of dried oats all over everybody.
"Very, very bad," Astoria amended sardonically, taking the letter from the bird's talons.
"No, it's not!" said Tracey brightly. "You'll be able to tell me all about the dreadful secrets they confess during their meeting on Saturday!"
"Did she say Saturday?" Astoria echoed, thinking wildly of the meeting she was supposed to be having with Ragnuk and the twins that weekend instead. "Well, I can't make it! I'm busy on Saturday!"
"Why?" asked Draco nosily, his eyes flashing accusingly. "There isn't a Hogsmeade visit and you don't have any homework."
"How could you possibly know if she has homework, Malfoy?" demanded Theodore irritably. "Are you reading her itinerary now, too?"
"Because it's a week until break, Nott," Draco replied indignantly, blushing a little himself and narrowing his eyes. "None of the teachers are handing out weekend projects." There was a tense pause, in which Draco and Theodore continued to stare at each other. "What do you mean, 'am I reading her itinerary'?" Draco snapped.
The bell rang. Astoria brought a hand to her forehead, feeling a little overwhelmed. She opened Belladonna's letter amidst the rustling of standing students.
Three copper pins slid out of the envelope, bounced off of the table, and landed near her feet. Astoria ducked under the table to collect them, wondering why on earth her aunt would have sent unprotected jewelry.
"What are those hideous things?" asked Tracey, peering at the bits of metal in Astoria's hands.
Astoria, recognizing what she was holding, hastily shoved the brooches into her bag. "Etiquette pins," Astoria muttered. "You're supposed to wear pins from subjects you've studied to club meetings."
"Oh," said Tracey, who had never known the misery of one of Tippy Tipmans rigid classes on femininity, and did not seem to understand the sense of dread that even the sight of these tiny bits of metal had the power to cause Astoria. "You mean you get a badge for dancing and tea pouring and things?"
"Yeah," Astoria lamented, paling as yet another terrible thought occurred to her. "Only I took archery and fencing, so if the Eastern Star lot decide to take me, I'll have a to wear a lapel covered with tiny bronze weapons!"
Draco and Theodore were still snapping at each other. Astoria pushed out of her seat and strode around them in the direction of her first period Transfiguration class. To her surprise, Tracey followed.
"Don't you have Ancient Runes?" asked Astoria irritably, wanting to walk by herself, as she was eager to read Belladonna's letter in private. Perhaps Belladonna had sent the pins and the form in as mere suggestions? Astoria doubted this however, and she wanted to know exactly what level of eagerness she was dealing with on her aunt's part.
"Mhmm," said Tracey, falling into step with Astoria anyway, contrary to the fact that Astoria was walking in the opposite direction of the Room of Runes. "So, what do you have happening on Saturday?"
"Nothing," said Astoria a little too quickly, not wanting to discuss the goblins or her illicit intent to sneak into Hogsmeade. "I'll be meeting with Cassandra now, I expect."
"Listen, do you think you'll actually get in? To this Eastern Star thing, I mean?"
"Dunno," said Astoria miserably. "Probably. A lot of the women in my family were members..."
"Well," said Tracey slowly, her tone taking on a determinedly offhand note, "if you do, will you see if they need extra hands? Volunteers for events, maybe?"
"What are you talking about Tracey?" snapped Astoria harshly, distracted. "It doesn't work like that. Why on earth would you want to volunteer time with a bunch of silly girls, anyway?"
Despite her bravado, Tracey recoiled and Astoria felt bad almost at once.
It was one thing to despise the idea of a fussy sorority in Astoria's position, as she was capable of complaining about them with dignity. Astoria could recognize that it was another matter entirely for Tracey, who the Sisters of the Eastern Star would never look twice at.
"I mean, sure," Astoria tried awkwardly, knowing the damage had already been done. "I can ask..."
"My class is this way," said Tracey, peeling off for a secret passageway, walking a little too speedily to inspire confidence.
Astoria continued onward, taking a seat at the very back of the Transfiguration classroom so that she could brood unnoticed.
If Belladonna was determined, there was little Astoria could do. Short of actual subterfuge, Astoria doubted whether she could to put an end to the matter now. It really wasn't Astoria's fault that Tracey was interested in a shallow club that would never admit her, Astoria mused guiltily. If she could have traded places with Tracey, she certainly would have, no questions asked... Still, the flinching look on Tracey's face continued to dog Astoria all throughout the lesson.
When at last, the bell finally rang, Astoria's books had long been packed. She had barely managed to throw the strap of her bag over her shoulder however, when Professor Mcgonagall rapped her wand on her desk and called for order again.
Astoria sat back down, faintly puzzled as to what Professor Mcgonagall would have held off mentioning until the very end of class, as this was not her usual style of handing out notices.
"I have something to say to you all," said Mcgonagall, pushing her glasses up high on the bridge of her nose before shooting Harry and Ron a furious look in the front row. "The Yule Ball is approaching- a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests."
Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil seemed to have become overcome by giggles. Lavender had one hand pressed over her mouth and was tapping Parvati's knee beneath the table, as though urging Parvati to listen for her while she smothered herself.
"Dress robes will be worn," Mcgonagall went on primly, ignoring the sudden outbreak of whispering. "The ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day and close at midnight in the Great Hall."
Astoria sank back against her seat, knowing that she should be as giddy at the prospect of a school dance as Lavender and Parvati were, but finding herself queerly devoid of excitement anyway.
It was not as though Astoria was necessarily opposed to the idea of a dance, but it struck her as particularly bad timing for one. Between the goblin menace that had yet to be resolved, the Sisters of the Eastern Star, (who must surely be organizing some aspect of the ball, if they were taking members) and something about the challenging way that Draco had stared Astoria in the eye with Pansy on his lap that weekend, everything combined to make Astoria feel more tense than anticipatory. Already she could only see it as a scenario in which, by trying to please many, she would manage to appease no one.
The churlish winter weather outside turned into an icy rain throughout the morning, coming down in cruel looking sheets outside the hallway windows. Astoria's afternoon Charms class had been canceled, because Professor Flitwick had been called upon to help Filch clean and enchant the suits of armor in the hallways, thereby readying them for Christmas decorations worthy of visiting guests. After lunch, Astoria found herself lingering by the fourth floor widows, trying to decide what to do with herself. She weighed her regular haunts mentally, judging each by the likelihood of being able to find solitude, wanting nothing more than to hide by herself for a few hours.
The library struck her as likely to be very cold and the common room cramped. Wishing to put off having to inform the twins (who had not been at lunch) about her inability to go into Hogsmeade with them that weekend and not eager to endure Tracey's enthusiasm about the idea of a school dance, Astoria turned her feet towards the nook near the Divination tower. The only person she ever saw there was Theodore, and this suited her needs nicely.
Unfortunately, the most obvious path from the fourth floor to the Divination Tower cut directly around the North Tower and the Owlery. Astoria was only halfway up a set of very steep and narrowly twisting steps when she recognized a set of familiar voices ahead of her. With no time to retreat and nowhere else to duck into, she was forced to meet the source of the noise head on.
"Of course, she's single more often than not- probably because she refuses to put out," came Maudlin's voice, just seconds before he came around the sharp bend ahead. "Terrible position she puts men in. She's in it for the ring, of course- Astoria!"
Astoria pressed herself back against the stone wall to avoid being stepped on by Maudlin, Alec or Draco, who were too wide between the three of them to walk side by side.
"Maudlin," said Astoria, trying not to let her extreme displeasure at running into him while she was in such a mood for silence appear obvious. "What are you doing up here?"
"The owlery," said Maudlin, jerking his head in the direction from which they had just come.
"Who won't put out?" asked Astoria, trying to shake off her distraction.
"Cassandra, of course," said Maudlin breezily. "Her boyfriend is still in France and she's refusing to let anyone else take her to the Yule Ball, lest her virtue come into question later."
"Why do you care who she goes with?" remarked Astoria, finding this passingly odd.
"Well, she's stolen my date for a start, hasn't she?" explained Maudlin, expressing a touch of self-pity that Astoria could have lived without. "Where are you going?"
A particularly ardent, rain soaked gust of wind rattled the thin panes of glass in one of the ancient arrow slits behind him.
"To study," said Astoria, careful not to offer up a destination.
"Well, you won't get anything done- not with only a week of classes left," said Maudlin dismissively. "We may as well come with you. It's positively heinous outside and I can't stand another minute inside that carriage..."
"Oh, well..." Astoria began, searching for some means of preventing this, but Maudlin had already pivoted in the narrow stone hallway, determined to follow her.
"What?" demanded Maudlin, catching sight of the look on her face at last. "Afraid we'll bore you?"
"She's afraid of bringing you to meet her friend Theodore," said Draco flatly, leaning against the wall behind him and eyeing Astoria carefully. "She's headed off to his hideout."
"Why would she be afraid to introduce me?" demanded Maudlin, his confusion evident. "That's ridiculous."
"Theodore is ridiculous," said Draco flatly, clearly having not entirely recovered from the spat he had had with Theodore at breakfast. "You wouldn't like him anyway, I bet..."
"I'm not afraid to introduce anyone," said Astoria sternly. "Besides, shouldn't Theodore have class? I'm only off because Flitwick's been drafted for janitor duty."
"Herbology was canceled," said Draco, jerking his head toward the mounting and unseasonably wet storm outside.
"They draft your professors for janitor duty?" remarked Alec, looking highly amused by this notion. "How democratic."
"There's a study area on the third floor," offered Draco, not even bothering to address the oddity of a high trained member of the Hogwarts staff being expected to help out with the cleaning. "We should go there instead."
Maudlin seemed more inclined to go with Draco's choice, and Astoria, fearing that by doing otherwise she would somehow be insinuating that she did not wish Maudlin and Theodore to meet, felt compelled to follow. As they headed back down the stairs, Astoria could not help but perceive that Draco appeared to be rather smug about the fact that she had turned to walk with them, perhaps counting it as a tally against Theodore in his head.
The room that Draco had been speaking of was a small lounge on the third floor, situated across from the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, not far from the statue of the Humpbacked Witch that concealed a secret passageway into Honeydukes. The furniture in this space was admittedly sparse but the view from the windows was spectacular, allowing enough light so that, even with the brewing storm outside, a person might be able to work without torches.
"Of course, Luc tried asking Cassandra," Maudlin continued, throwing himself into a wooden chair at the end of a long table, "only she wouldn't have him. Something about his reputation with women."
"Does Luc have a reputation with women?" Astoria wondered, sitting in the window seat and eyeing the cold, semi-frozen brown world below.
"Only with the very worst kind of them," Maudlin admitted, waving this thought away with his hand. "How Cassandra knows that though, is beyond me. I can't think who would have been stupid enough to bring it up in front of her..."
"Emilie, maybe?" Astoria suggested, watching the bare branches of the trees in the Forbidden Forest sway.
"Lord no," Maudlin scoffed. "I can't think who would tell her, either."
Draco scoffed and Astoria's eyes found his reflection in the window glass, sitting next to Maudlin at the table and staring off into space contemplatively.
"In any case, I suppose that means you'll be my date, Astoria," said Maudlin, standing up to open a cabinet on the far side of the room nosily. "Unless you want to blow the whole thing off and go to Dunkirk instead. I'd be more than willing to, at this point."
Draco's gaze lost its distant quality at once and turned onto Maudlin sharply.
Astoria, for her part, hardly knew where to start. "What's in Dunkirk?"
"Carnival," Maudlin shrugged. "We might manage to catch some of it before the end of break. I think it starts in January this year. What do you say, Alec? Draco? Might be more fun."
Draco shrugged, his eyes narrowed tensely on the back of Maudlin's head.
"I would," Alec admitted, "but Karkoroff thinks I haven't been doing my part to show school spirit."
"That because you haven't," Maudlin reminded Alec pointedly, handling a bronze paper weight in the shape of a quill that had been collecting dust on one of the shelves. "Fine, we'll stay for the ball."
"Wouldn't that bother Emilie?" asked Astoria flatly, feeling a little offended that Maudlin would be so quick to assume that Astoria would drop anything else to go with him, when he had not even asked her properly. "You going with another girl, that is?"
"Why would it?" remarked Maudlin carelessly. "She's going with Cassandra and she can't expect me to go alone. I'd look like a prat. You do have something in purple, Astoria? You must."
It was a long standing tradition for a female to wear her escort's house colors to a formal event, but the insinuation that Astoria would be ready at a moment's notice only served to make her feel even more like a second choice.
"Well, I'm glad you think I rate highly enough to spare you the embarrassment of standing alone," Astoria remarked snottily.
Maudlin looked up from a set of mugs he had just discovered and frowned. "What?"
"I don't know why you just assume that I'll go with you," said Astoria pointedly. "Perhaps I have other plans?"
"How can someone else have asked you already?" demanded Maudlin obliviously. "The ball was only announced an hour ago."
"That's my point," said Astoria tightly. "No one has asked me." Astoria put a particularly snide emphasis on the work 'ask' and looked away.
"Oh," said Maudlin, catching on at last. "Don't be difficult, Astoria."
"I'm not," Astoria sniped.
"Fine," said Maudlin, his voice dripping with rushed formality. "Astoria, will you be my date on Christmas?"
Astoria shrugged, knowing that this offer had some merit. It was probably the least likely to result in somehow offending anyone, but Astoria was unwilling to quickly admit to that fact.
Fred and George were probably already expecting her to go with one of her foreign friends and even Theodore seemed unlikely to become overly judgmental. The fact that Maudlin already had a real girlfriend even worked to her benefit, as it might keep Draco from becoming overly nosy about the whole affair.
It was the best of both worlds. Astoria wouldn't have to worry about finding a suitable date and would therefore be able to spend her break in a state of trivial excitement with Tracey. All in all, the faintly business-like nature of Maudlin's arrangement worked to prevent any unforeseeable drama in the weeks leading up to the holidays and this was something that Astoria heartily approved of.
"Seriously?" drawled Maudlin, watching her shrug. "You're going to be like this?"
"Fine," Astoria relented, "but only if you ask Emilie first."
"Good," said Maudlin, looking very pleased with the tidy way his plan had panned out. "Cassandra thinks they're going to do something with the gardens to make them less cold. I suppose we can probably all slip off together once the ball opens, anyway. It doesn't really matter who takes whom, come to think of it."
"I'm not taking anyone," yawned Alec. "The hassle of it all... I'll just take my pick of the better looking wall-flowers once I get there."
Astoria grinned at this, amused.
"You can probably get Parkinson to go with you, can't you Draco?" asked Maudlin, closing the cabinet he had been riffling through.
Astoria quickly turned back toward the window, not wanting the displeasure that she felt at Pansy's inclusion into their group's scheme to be visible.
"I suppose," said Draco. Astoria watched Draco's reflection in the window glass. He balanced a foot on his knee, where it began to bounce irritably. "I could ask her tonight, but maybe I'll just take a leaf out of your book and demand to know if she has robes in my colors. It might save me a half of a conversation."
Astoria's gaze flicked back toward the table.
"Sorry?" asked Maudlin, clearly unprepared for an insult. His eyelashes fluttered with dull surprise as he tried to perceive if this had been a barb directed at him.
Draco leaned back in his chair and raised a lazy eyebrow by way of response, his expression unreadable.
"Well, here's hoping she's better at dressing herself than she is at poker," remarked Alec wryly, allowing the moment to slip by into obscurity, unquestioned.
0o0
Astoria spotted Fred and George in the entrance hall on her way in to dinner and promptly broke away from her companions to meet them, bracing herself to break the bad news about Saturday.
"Astoria!" Fred hissed urgently the moment he spotted her, grabbing her arm at once.
"What?" trilled Astoria, startled by the sharpness of his movements.
Fred made to pull her toward the staircase, staring over Astoria's shoulder at Maudlin, Alec and Draco, who were queuing up for dinner.
"Come with us," whispered George in her ear darkly, attempting to encourage her to move from behind.
Astoria followed Fred mutely up the steps and down the first floor corridor, panic blossoming in her chest. When they reached a bare, deserted stretch of hallway, Fred stopped and dropped her arm in order to rummage about in his robes.
"What's going on?" asked Astoria tensely, her mind running wild with possibilities. "Is everything alright."
"Not really," said Fred heavily, finally finding whatever it was that he had been looking for in his pocket. He pulled out a note and flattened it against his knee. "Have a look at this."
He thrust the note, which had clearly spent some time wadded up into a ball, at Astoria. Flattening it still further, Astoria peered at the text and realized with a chill that it was written in gobbledegook.
"Oh no," Astoria muttered, moving toward the nearest torch in order to see better, straining to understand the symbols in front of her. "Oh no, what is this?"
"We spent the better part of the afternoon translating it," said George apprehensively. "We used a couple of different dictionaries, too. Just in case we were reading it wrong."
"What does it say?" Astoria demanded, the letter made even more unintelligible by her suddenly shaking hands. "I only recognize a few words..."
"What it basically breaks down to is that we are all going to die this year," George qualified bitterly.
Astoria stared at him blankly.
"It doesn't say that," Fred hissed. "Well, I mean, it kind of does- it's definitely a death threat..."
Astoria's gaze switched to Fred, where it quivered in equal displeasure. "Why would Ragnuk be sending you death threats? We haven't broke any rules on our end!"
"Yeah, well, that's the pinch," said George. "It's not from Ragnuk."
"What do you mean? It's in gobbledegook," said Astoria sternly, positive that she was right about this.
"Yeah, because it's from Hodrod," explained Fred. "Ragnuk's rival, remember? The one Bagman owes his money to."
"What's he doing threatening you, then?"Astoria demanded, her voice becoming shrill as she fought to keep up, hoping desperately to spot some kind of mistake in the twin's logic.
"Apparently Flint was right about having to talk to the goblins before taking bets," Fred continued. "Only he didn't mention that we would need to tell all of them.
"Hodrod's gotten wind that we're in the game," said George quietly. "He knows that we're working with Ragnuk and he's not pleased."
"What does he say exactly?" asked Astoria, staring at the spiky lettering on the note and imagining the cruel hand that had penned it.
"He says we shouldn't have gone to Ragnuk, and he's demanding that we compensate him," said George. "He wants us to either take the same bet out against him or pay up directly."
"We can't do that," Astoria insisted miserably. "We don't have enough gold to be dealing with one goblin clan and Ragnuk hasn't paid us yet. That would be suicide!"
"Well, we have to do something!" cried George exasperatedly. "You didn't read the note, Astoria! Hodrod means business- nasty business. He as good as threatened to murder us in our beds."
"Look," said Fred, rummaging about in his pocket again. "He sent the note wrapped up in this-"
Fred pulled out something on gold chain and held it up for inspection. A battered locket hung heavily in the center, glinting in the dull torch light. Fred turned the trinket about so Astoria could see it properly.
Astoria clapped a hand over her mouth and let out a silent wail of horror.
"How creepy is this?" demanded Fred, brandishing the locket at Astoria. "It's in the shape of a heart- as in the organ he'll pull out of our chests if we don't comply."
"We tried to get it open, but it wouldn't budge," added George, staring at the piece of jewelry hatefully.
Astoria shook her head back and forth mutely, feeling her heart slide down past her ribs as a silent scream exploded in her chest. "That's because it needs a key," said Astoria at last, fighting to get a hold of herself and failing miserably.
"Hold on, how do you know that?" demanded Fred tensely. "Is this yours?"
"No," said Astoria hollowly, taking her hand away from her mouth, choking on a dry sob as she did so. "It's my sister's."
0o0
By the next day, the rain had finally turned into a thick white snow. It had been coming down cheerfully all throughout the night and by the mid-afternoon, it sat a foot deep and counting on the suddenly Christmasy grounds.
From where Astoria was perched next to the sinks in the bathroom on the fifth floor however, it might as well have been August. Several members of the Gobstones team had just been in to shower after their meeting, and the air was thick with steam. Tracey, thinking quickly, had rammed her winter cloak in the crack between the old wooden door and the ceramic floor. The effect was pleasantly humid.
"What do you think?" Tracey asked, standing back from the partially fogged-over mirror to inspect the winged eyeliner she had just applied.
"Very sharp," remarked Astoria, thinking this was both metaphorically and literally very apt.
"Killer sharp," agreed Tracey excitedly, wetting her finger with water from the tap to smudge the makeup she had penciled in near her tear ducts. "I might wear it to the ball this way. I think it makes my face look older."
Astoria pulled back slightly to have a more impartial look, rubbing her shoulders sleepily. Astoria had rested very poorly the night before, tossing and turning in order to outrun her own guilt and terror. Astoria's gaze flicked away from Tracey to rest her own reflected image. Astoria was surprised to see how beaten down she looked. The best secret to appearing older was clearly a mix of regret and fatigue, but Astoria did not say so. "Can I have a go with that when you're done?" Astoria asked, prodding the bags under her eyes.
"Yeah," said Tracey, capping the pencil and handing it to her. "Ugh, this holiday is going to be the very stinking best ever! Who are you going to take to the ball? I'm going to convince Blaise to have me."
Astoria laughed, rubbing kohl into the crease above her lashes, noticing as she did so that the pop of color did nothing to make her eyes appear less red or glassy. "Why don't you just ask him?"
"Because he's tricksy," said Tracey, wiping some of the fog from the mirror. "Blaise likes a game. I'm afraid that if I make it too easy, he'll say no."
Astoria cast Tracey a vague look of skepticism without turning her head, trying to coax volume into her otherwise flat eyelashes.
"What about you?" asked Tracey slyly. "I suppose MacLaggen is already tailing you down the halls..."
"I'm going with Maudlin," said Astoria, giving up on trying to make her face appear less washed out, as it seemed to be a losing battle. "He asked me yesterday."
Tracey's face split into a wicked smirk. "Doesn't he have a girlfriend?"
"Yeah," Astoria admitted, moving to sit on the sink again, enjoying the cool surface beneath her thighs as she propped her feet up on the wall, "but she's going with that cow, Cassandra, so Maudlin and I are going as friends."
"Ah," said Tracey, the hint of mischief resolutely clinging to her features. "A friend date. How exciting."
Astoria sniffed and pushed Tracey's makeup bag at her. "It's nothing scandalous. He told me he would ask Emilie first to make sure it was alright."
"Well, how did he ask you?" Tracey pressed. "Did it seem like he was secretly keen on having you no matter what?"
Astoria snorted. "No. He basically informed me that I was going with him so that he wouldn't have to look like a dateless loser."
"Oh," said Tracey, sounding faintly disappointed. "Still, he's a rich seventh year with gorgeous skin, isn't he? You could do worse."
"Undoubtedly," Astoria agreed, smoothing down her skirt. "It should make the whole holiday a breeze." It was all Astoria could do to say this sentence without choking, her thoughts whizzing back to the sight of her sister's necklace glittering in the torch light.
"It's too bad he wasn't more romantic about it, though," Tracey lamented, zipping up her makeup case and lobbing it into her school bag. "That would have made a better story."
"I think you're missing the whole point of a 'friend date', Trace," said Astoria, hopping down off the sink. "He really was rude, though. Even Malfoy made a comment about it."
"Wait," Tracey pulled her bag onto her shoulder and paused, the wicked gleam returning to her eyes, "he asked you in front of Malfoy?"
"Yes," Astoria shrugged. "Why shouldn't he. They go everywhere together these days, don't they?"
Tracey leaned back against the door, positively leering when a thump on the other side of the wooden surface jostled her and the cloak she had used to clog the crack near the floor.
"What's going on?" snapped an annoyed voice on the other side of the door. "Pansy, I think this one is locked..."
"What are you talking about?" rang a second, disparaging voice. "They don't have locks, Flora. Out of the way..."
Rolling her eyes, Tracey kicked her cloak forward so that the door would swing open.
"What's this?" sneered Pansy, staring down at Tracey's wadded up outerwear. "Smoking in the girls room, are we?"
Tracey pulled a face and snatched up her cloak before Pansy could step on it. "I'll see you in Potions, Astoria."
Astoria nodded and made to follow Tracey out into the hallway, when she spotted the eyeliner pencil they had been using sitting in the sink. Either she or Tracey must have dropped it by accident.
Flora entered one of the bathroom stalls and the door fell shut behind her with a bang. "Pansy!" Flora called, her voice echoing off of the stall, "there's no toilet paper!"
Astoria snatched the eyeliner up, attempting to repress an unkind smirk and almost ran headlong into Pansy, who had made no move to find her friend tissues.
"So," said Pansy silkily, "excited about the ball, Astoria?"
Astoria pressed her thumb against the capped eyeliner in her hand tensely. "Sure."
"If we both end up as Eastern Star pledges, we'll be spending an awful lot of time together," Pansy continued, actively blocking Astoria's way to the door.
"I guess," Astoria agreed, privately feeling that Pansy looked very smug and not wishing to find out why.
"Pans!" yelled Flora, clearly beginning to feel the distress of her situation more keenly. "Did you hear me?"
"I think it's good," said Pansy. "It'll give us a chance to catch up with each other. We've fallen apart so much since we were little, you know?"
Astoria blinked, not entirely sure how to respond to this. She and Pansy had never been close as children and, as far as Astoria knew, the desire for things to remain that way was not a one sided emotion.
"Yeah," Astoria shrugged, struggling to remain as neutral and monosyllabic as possible, in order to prevent herself from saying something rude.
"Once we're accepted, we can help each other plan for the ball!" Pansy continued, moving just a fraction to the left in order to prevent Astoria from edging around her. "I'm going with Draco. When you find a date, I'll be willing to help you plan your dress colors, though. I already know what colors I'll be wearing, of course, but I'm sure I'll enjoy your advice just the same."
Pansy's gaze was ablaze with shuttered savageness, making it hard for Astoria to look away.
"Is that so?" asked Astoria stiffly, ceasing all efforts to shift toward the door, instinctually standing up to her full height in order to meet whatever challenge Pansy seemed to be extending head on.
"It'll have to be that way, won't it?" Pansy went on. "You can't bring any of your friends into the club. You don't hang around with legacy children."
Astoria raised her eyebrows, chafing at this subtle attack on what could only be Tracey's lineage.
"I suppose you're right," Astoria conceded innocently, fighting an irrational urge to give Pansy a sharp shove. "In that case, Draco's colors are black and silver, aren't they? I'm going to go on the record right now and suggest black. Everyone knows it's more slimming."
"I'll keep that in mind," said Pansy snidely. Her expression flickered but did not change. When she spoke again, her voice had a clear, 'silly me' quality. "Although in the end, I'm sure I'll just let Draco decide."
"Good idea," said Astoria coldly.
"He asked me to go with him the same day the ball was announced, you know," Pansy continued. "He knows what he likes."
"I'm so glad Draco decided to asked you," Astoria countered, surprising even herself when she replicated Pansy's tone. "Maudlin was the one who suggested the idea during free period yesterday, and I thought it was just the best."
"What about you?" asked Pansy, her congenial smile becoming arctic. "Maudlin must be taking Emilie, but I suppose poor Theodore might still be single."
"Maudlin's taking me," said Astoria cooly. "That's what started the whole conversation. Maudlin wanted to make sure Draco wouldn't have to go alone."
Astoria was not entirely sure what had prompted her to use this exact phrasing, but she knew immediately that her words had had the exact effect that she had been hoping for.
"Maudlin's taking you?" sneered Pansy doubtfully, the gears of her mind clearly working overtime. "That's funny, Emilie never mentioned that."
"I'm sure she'll mention it on Saturday," said Astoria pointedly.
"Of course," Pansy agreed slowly, her eyes flickering strangely.
"PANSY!" bellowed Flora. "Can you hear me?"
"What?" snapped Pansy, storming off toward Flora's stall. "Can't you pee by yourself, Carrow?"
Astoria slipped back out into the hallway, feeling strangely shaky and tense; the resulting effects of a burst of adrenaline that she did not quite remember experiencing.
That conversation had been rude, even for Pansy. What could she possibly mean by claiming to want to re-connect with her, when clearly, Pansy wished Astoria nothing but ill will?
'It'll have to be that way, won't it? You can't bring any of your friends into the club...'
Astoria slowed her rapid, irritable pace to trot as she mulled over Pansy's words, feeling the beginnings of a wider plan starting to form in her mind.
Tracey might not be a legacy, but Astoria was. Her aunt, mother and grandmother before them had all been members of the foolish sorority in question. Young pledges were generally harvested from old families, but there was no rule that said newcomers could not be nominated. Even Malfoy had said so that morning. Surely Belladonna would pitch Tracey's name into the pile, if Astoria herself refused to join unless her aunt complied?
Astoria came to an actual stop at the top of the marble staircase, giving this idea a proper pondering. Tracey was a pureblood, even if her family wasn't an old one and she was in Slytherin. These were two winning traits, by Eastern Star standards. Belladonna might not have enough clout to make it happen by herself, but surely she knew someone else who would be willing to help her.
It would drive Pansy up the wall and Tracey, who secretly wanted to join the ranks of the Sisters of the Eastern Star anyway, would think it was the best Christmas gift Astoria had ever given her. Tracey would be so happy to be included, she wouldn't even care how selfish Astoria's motives had been.
Astoria pivoted and turned about in the direction of the owlery. Even if everything else in her life was spiraling out of control and a pack of goblins wanted her family dead, Astoria could surely still manage to twist such a small social detail in her favor, couldn't she?
0o0
Ladies, please! I feel like if Draco had been a fly on the wall for that one, he probably would have exploded with triumphant smarminess.
I don't know why I love catty girl fights so much. I can't imagine it says anything good about my personality.
So, a few matters to address:
1. It looks like the chapters will probably be staying relatively long. At this point, that will put chapter posting on a twice weekly schedule, unless I happen to have a really productive week. My best guess is that I'll have something new up every three days.
2. I know Theodore and Tracey have been given the back-burner lately. I'll be working to remedy that in the chapters coming up. I felt compelled to take a minute to properly introduce the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students and unfortunately, they were the ones who suffered for it.
3. Two more chapters until the Yule Ball. No real sense yet on whether that will be a two-parter (I do love an event) but I'll be keeping you posted.
As always, reviews make my day and are a genuine pleasure to read!