Disclaimer: Despite my best burglary attempts, Willy Wonka remains safely within the Burton compound and isn't mine.

AN: Okay, quick note: I decided to post a chapter two and skip adding more to chapter one because, let's face it, a cliffhanger is a better way to end a chapter, right? Also, if my character seems "Mary-Sue-ish", it's not my intention. I have no thought of making her beautiful or perfect in any (or every) way, so please don't toss this fic aside because you read the first chapter and thought "Mary Sue." Anyway, here's chapter two!

Chapter 2: The Beginning:

Silence filled the Bucket house as everyone tried to absorb this new information. Willy Wonka had a wife? How could that have happened? No one had been allowed into the factory for over 15 years, and the woman sitting at the head of the oval-shaped audience gathering couldn't be more than 23-years-old! By their count, she'd have to have been a child younger than Charlie when she went in and didn't come out!

"How is that possible?" Grandpa George blurted out. "No one's been in there for over 15 years, ever since he closed the factory to everyone."

"Yes, I remember that day very well," Grandpa Joe said, his facial expression turning sad. "That was the day I lost the best job I'd ever had in my life."

Astra nodded. "I remember that day, too, though only vaguely," she softly replied, clutching her tea in her hands. "I was only eight-years-old or so at the time, so I only remember a lot of sad people being interviewed on the news on television."

"So, would you mind explaining how a young woman like yourself married the greatest chocolatier in the world?" pressed Mrs. Bucket, who refilled Astra's cooling, empty mug. "It's rather a big puzzle, to be sure."

The young woman laughed. "Well, it's a rather long story, and you should know that I didn't meet Mr. Wonka until I was 18."

"Just start at the beginning and work from there, dear," said Grandma Josephine, her round kind face donning an encouraging smile.

Astra smiled back. "Well, I'm afraid the story is so long that it will take more than one day to tell it," she said, taking a sip of tea. "Willy doesn't know I'm here, and if I'm gone for too long, he's likely to send the Oompa Loompas after me." She wrinkled her nose. "My own personal Oompa Loompa, Shirley, hates it when she has to find me. I don't like being constantly followed, so I tell her to leave me alone for hours at a time. Then she has to track me down whenever Willy needs to talk to me about something. In a huge factory, it's not much fun for tiny people, and it annoys them sometimes."

Charlie laughed at the image of a frustrated Oompa Loompa. "You have your own Oompa Loompa?" he asked, still giggling as he remembered the tiny people.

"I really wish that you'd explain the Oompa Loompas to the rest of us," Mr. Bucket said to his son. "I'd really like to know who, or what, you're talking about."

The boy looked at the newly revealed Mrs. Wonka. "Is it alright to tell them?" he asked. "I didn't want to tell anyone about Mr. Wonka's secrets, not even about the Oompa Loompas."

She smiled back at him. "Go ahead," she said, waving a hand at him. "You have my permission."

So Charlie told about the tiny people from Loompaland and about how Willy Wonka had saved them and brought them to his factory to work. He described their height, their singing abilities, and their amazing acrobatics that were so fun to watch…as long as they weren't making fun of a person.

Astra laughed at that last part. "Well, they do love to joke and entertain," she said, setting aside her cup. "It's all they had to do while they were living in the trees of their native land."

"So, now that we know about the Oompa Loompas, would you mind beginning your story?" pressed Mrs. Bucket. "It sounds fascinating."

"As long as I'm home before dark," cautioned Astra, brown eyes looked a bit uneasy. "Willy wouldn't like it if he ever found out. He's been alone for so long that he doesn't need many people around him, but he's afraid that if I ever leave the factory for too long, I won't come back to him." She gave a sad smile. "It does get lonely in the factory, despite being surrounded by Oompa Loompas."

The Buckets nodded and leaned forward, eager for the story to begin.

"Well, it all started 30 years ago, when Willy was a young boy…" Astra began.

An eight-year-old Willy Wonka did his best to avoid the stares and snickers that followed him as he walked down the middle school's main hallway. Since he had enormous headgear due to his braces, Willy was the constant source of amusement for the entire school. No one dared to try anything, like beat him up or stuff him in a trashcan, since his father was the dentist to practically every kid in the county. They were scared to try, since they certainly didn't want Dr. Wonka getting revenge by treating them for cavities they didn't have or stuffing them in unwanted headgear like Willy's!

One particular boy, Barry, pointed and laughed at him. "Look at the weirdo in the headgear!" he chortled. "Do you catch many bugs with that thing? Get any radio reception?"

The other kids laughed until a sixteen-year-old teacher's aid came down the hall and pushed his way through the crowd. Everyone shut up and looked nervous. Robert Johnson may have been just a teacher's aid sent over from the local high school, but everyone respected the tall teen. That was why no one wanted to try and taunt people when he was around, since he was known for getting back at bullies who tormented other kids.

Rob raised a cinnamon-colored eyebrow, making it almost disappear under hair that was the same color. "Any problems here?" he asked, his voice soft but firm. Everyone shook their heads, and the crowd that had gathered dispersed as though by magic. Rob's blue eyes looked down at Willy. "You okay?"

Willy simply looked up at Rob and smiled around his braces. "Thanks, Mr. Johnson," he said, his pronunciation slightly off because of the hooks in his mouth.

"No problem, Willy," the teen replied, smiling back at him. "And please call me Rob; I'm not really that much like a teacher!"

"Okay, Rob," Willy said, smiling even wider as he went off to class.

"Wow, no wonder Mr. Wonka doesn't like people," Charlie said as Mrs. Bucket handed him a plate full of carrot sticks and ranch dip to snack on.

Astra nodded. "After that, my father became a friend and protector to Willy," she said, smiling. "They were very good friends. Dad became a tutor and friend to Willy, and they stayed friends until Dad graduated and went to college. When Dad went to school, Willy was on his own after his father unexpectedly left him, and was allowed to live at my grandparents' house for a while." Astra sighed. "My father did his best to get Willy to meet new people, but Willy was only ten when my father graduated and left," she said, taking a carrot stick and nibbling on it. "When my father came back for summer vacation after his freshman year, Willy was gone, leaving behind a note saying that he was going off to be a chocolatier."

"So Willy was about Charlie's age when he went off into the world?" gasped Mrs. Bucket. "That poor man!"

Surprisingly, Astra only chuckled. "Well, it made him the remarkable man that he is today," she said, finishing off the carrot stick she'd been eating. "Really, he was allowed to discover things about himself that he'd never have known if he'd simply stayed at home."

The Buckets didn't look so sure, but Charlie looked interested in her words. Once the snack was polished off by everyone, Astra opened her mouth to continue the story, but a small knock on the front door startled them. Mr. Bucket stood up and opened the door, puzzled when he didn't see anyone. A small cough drew his gaze downwards and he gasped.

There stood a tiny person, a rather impatient look on its face. He wasn't able to tell whether it was female or male, but Mr. Bucket could tell that it was anxious to get inside, since it was glancing behind him.

"Shirley!" gasped Astra. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

Shirley merely waved her hands around in a rather complex piece of communication. Astra paid close attention, wincing or sighing at various points in the message. The Buckets tried to figure out (or at least follow) the conversation, but remained clueless. They watched in fascination as Astra replied in kind and stood up from her chair, straightening out her coat and dress.

"I'm sorry, but it appears Willy is looking for me," she apologized, heading for the door. "I'll come back in a day or two so as not to make him suspicious about my disappearing for a few hours."

The Buckets didn't get the chance to protest as Astra disappeared out the door, Shirley following close behind her in the fading light of evening. Charlie ran to the door and watched as the two forms, one of normal height and the other at knee-height, faded from view in the darkness.

"Well I hope she comes back soon," Grandma Josephine declared to the whole house. "I'm not sure if I can wait that long for the rest of the story!"

The others nodded in agreement. That night, as they gathered around the dinner table for their evening meal, everyone couldn't help but think about the mysterious young woman they had just met and the strange and isolated life she led in the Wonka Factory. She remained on their minds even as the lights were turned out and sleep claimed them.

AN: There's chapter two! I hope you liked it. Please review, thanks!