Hi everyone! Thank you so much for your patience with my glacial storytelling! I love when I have a chance to write, but I can't say it's always easy to find the time. I swear I have a map for the whole story, it's just getting the words down. So it will come, I promise!

Please let me know how you're enjoying it in the comments or by sending me a message.

Chapter 4

Astoria was more excited than she could ever remember being. She had a packed trunk, new robes, a wand, and an overactive imagination. What if I don't last a week? I wonder what house I'll be sorted into. What if everyone thinks I'm strange and doesn't want anything to do with me? I wonder if they'll let me learn how to fly. What if I somehow get thrown out? What if I hate it? Think of the library! What if I'm terrible at magic? The thoughts bounced around her head like bludgers. And before Astoria knew it, it was time to get on the Hogwarts Express.

What if I don't last a week? I wonder what house I'll be sorted into. What if everyone thinks I'm strange and doesn't want anything to do with me? I wonder if they'll let me learn how to fly. What if I somehow get thrown out? What if I hate it? Think of the library! What if I'm terrible at magic? The thoughts bounced around her head like bludgers. And before Astoria knew it, it was time to get on the Hogwarts Express.

She was quiet, letting her mother and sister chatter and remark on the muggles as they made their way to King's Cross Station. Her father hadn't come with them. Once on the platform, Astoria was astounded to see how busy and chaotic it was. It reminded her of Diagon Alley, its frenetic energy and pace. Worried wizard parents and their hyperactive children extended to the very end of the platform, all flanking the impressive sight of a cherry red engine and over a dozen club cars. Somehow, her parents found a quieter pocket to stand in. Astoria could see that Daphne had already spotted her friends and was waving excitedly as their parents chastised her.

"Good grief, Daphne, please try to act like a proper witch. You'll be able to meet with your friends soon enough!" Daphne sighed heavily, but gave a penitent "yes Mother" in reply.

"Now - please listen to me, both of you. Daphne, I want you to keep an eye out for your sister. I don't trust this rubbish I hear about a Dementor presence at Hogwarts, even if that wretched Sirius Black is loose. I don't see why he'd have any reason to bother either of you at Hogwarts. And please write us, the both of you, when you have arrived and settled in. We expect an owl as soon as you can manage."

"Yes, Mother," they chimed in unison. Their mother's face wasn't worried, precisely. It was as elegant and poised as it usually was. But there was something around her mother's eyes that made Astoria hug her.

"I'll be fine, Mother," she promised. Astoria felt her mother squeeze lightly in response, but then pried her daughter's arms off of her waist and held them. Looking down at her, she said "I expect you will do your best this year so everything will go smoothly. You reflect the name Greengrass, Astoria. Don't forget that."

Astoria nodded. Her mother put her hand briefly to Astoria's face, and gave a half smile. "Now, time to get on the train. Don't dally."

Once on the train, Daphne disappeared faster than Astoria could say Crumple-Horned Snorkack. She found herself slowly lugging her new trunk to the closest booth. When she slid the door open, her eyes went wide. There, sitting in the booth alone, was a familiar face.

"Tullia?!" Astoria was gaping, she was sure of it. The young girl with the dark hair and the cinnamon eyes looked up, just as shocked.

"Astoria! Oh Astoria, it's you, isn't it?" Tullia jumped out of the seat and hugged Astoria fiercely. "I had hoped and hoped and hoped we would meet again! But my parents told me that even if it did, I wasn't to expect you'd even notice me or recognize me or do anything other than ignore me. I'm so sorry for that day! It's all my fault! Forgive me please?"

Astoria couldn't have got a word in edgewise if she'd tried. Instead, she laughed. "Of course! It wasn't your fault at all. I've been hoping to see you too!" To be perfectly honest, Astoria hadn't thought about her instant friend for some time - it had completely slipped her mind that she'd be starting Hogwarts the same time as her. But suddenly, like the way weather changes instantly, Astoria felt much more confident about the year ahead.

The two of them put Astoria's trunk up on the rack and wasted no time rekindling their friendship. Astoria managed to apologize for her parents' cold response to the incident at the party - "They don't tolerate any kind of embarrassment," she explained - and to her delight, Tullia didn't give it a second thought. They talked of houses, and which ones they thought they might be sorted into (both Ravenclaw), and of flying lessons and Charms and other classes. Once the cart had been by, and the two were sharing a couple of Pumpkin Pasties, Astoria found herself just grinning at Tullia. And Tullia was grinning back.

She suddenly couldn't wait for the year to get started.

Astoria remembered the flurry of letters her sister had sent home after arriving at Hogwarts, though she'd been uninterested at the time. Her mother had proudly read them out to the family before dinners. The Hogwarts Express ride, the lake crossing to the castle, the Sorting Ceremony. At the time, Astoria had barely believed she'd ever get the chance to experience them herself, so she'd been sullen and dismissive of it all. Now she found herself wonderstruck at all of it, with a new friend at her side.

Tullia and Astoria were beside themselves when both were sorted into Ravenclaw. They couldn't stop grinning when their Prefect answered the riddle to enter Ravenclaw tower, ogled the starry ceiling, and giggled delightedly as they flung themselves on their velvet-draped poster beds. Astoria thought it would take forever to fall asleep, what with the excitement thrumming like a high-pitched violin through her body, but she was exhausted from the long day and drifted off almost as soon as her coverlet was over her.

The next morning, she woke to a smile on her face. She decided to take her schedule down with her to breakfast, so she could pore over it excitedly and imagine how each class would fit into her week. She met her sister in the Great Hall, who reminded her that they needed to write a message home. Astoria sharing her sorting news and her excitement to be there. She prudently left out the fact that she'd met and befriended Tullia, remembering her parents' strong reaction from years ago. After finishing her breakfast (and realizing that said new friend was still nowhere to be seen), she was just leaving the hall when she was met by the Ravenclaw Prefect, Marcus Turner.

"I have a message for you, Astoria," he said, handing her a small scroll of paper. "It's from Madame Pomfrey." Astoria thanked her prefect, and read the note.

"Miss Greengrass, at your earliest convenience, please report to the Hospital." Astoria brow creased in disappointment.

Just when I'd managed to forget that I'm not like everyone else, she sighed to herself.

The hospital ward didn't look all that different from St. Mungo's, really. There were cots extending out from the walls of the large room, with one corner full of supply cabinets and wardrobes. Astoria stood near the entrance, trying to prepare herself for the questions, instructions, and restrictions she was sure she'd be receiving.

"Hello?" She called out hesitantly, not wanting to raise her voice for fear of anyone but Madam Pomfrey hearing her.

"Miss Greengrass, is that you?" The voice came from a side room that Astoria hadn't noticed. The paneled door was open, and she suspected it was the matron's office… and maybe even living quarters. As she pondered this, Madam Pomfrey emerged through the doorway.

"It is you, excellent. Please, would you join me in my study? I believe privacy would be best for this conversation." Astoria nodded and followed her into the room she'd just been curious about.

It was a smaller room with a solid wooden desk in its very centre. Along the walls were low bookcases, and the walls above them were blank. No artwork at all hung in this room, which Astoria found odd.

Madam Pomfrey sat down at the desk. She noticed the child's survey of the room and guessed at her conclusion. "We don't keep any paintings in this room. It's likely the most private and secure place in the castle. Confidentiality is an integral part of good medicine, I believe." She didn't smile exactly, but her eyes raised at the corners in a comforting way. Astoria nodded in acknowledgment and gratitude. At the matron's gesture, she sat in the chair facing the desk.

"I understand that you are a patient of Lyra Hiddlestick's. Lyra and I were at school together - both here at Hogwarts and in our Healer training. She is an old friend, and an incredibly skilled witch.."

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey."

"I'm telling you this so that you understand that Lyra and I will be in communication regarding your situation. Professor Dumbledore has already included her in the secret. Lyra will continue to be your main Healer at St. Mungo's, and I will facilitate your medical needs while you are a student here."

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey."

"In order to do so in a manner that will not raise questions, I have been requested to take you on as an intern."

Astoria blinked. "I'm sorry, you want me to work with you?"

Madam Pomfrey seemed to ignore the surprise on the girl's face. "That's correct. Do you have your schedule handy?" Astoria pulled it out of her and pushed it across the desk.

"Let's see… Thursday afternoons. Please report to me instead of Madam Hooch. You'll be excused from your flying lessons."

Astoria's eyes were now nearly bulging out of her sockets in disbelief. "Do you mean this coming Thursday, or ALL Thursdays?"

Madam Pomfrey studied Astoria carefully. "I believe I recall that you were sorted into Ravenclaw yesterday. Do you think it is a wise idea for a young girl, who experiences unpredictable turns of unconsciousness, to fly more than five feet in the air?"

She wasn't ever going to fly. She wasn't even going to learn. Astoria was trying to process this news in a polite, acceptable way, but she was finding that to be particularly challenging.

"I… don't think it would be wise, no." She felt like crying.

Suddenly, Madam Pomfrey gave her a sad but comforting smile. "I am sorry, Astoria. I can't begin to imagine challenges you face, and will continue to face, as a student here at Hogwarts. But I want you to know that I feel it is my duty as a Healer to help you be as knowledgeable and as prepared for what may befall you as is possible." She picked up her wand, tapped the schedule lightly, and gave it back to Astoria. As she stared at the new entry of "Healing Arts" forlornly, Madam Pomfrey had pulled out a blank parchment and set it in front of her. With another tap of her wand, ink bloomed in a grid on the blank space.

"Now, this is your first assignment that we'll discuss further in our time together. Please complete the date and time for the solstices and equinoxes of this academic year. You will be instructed on how to do this in your first Astronomy lesson."

Astoria couldn't help it, she whimpered. "You're assigning me homework!?"

Madam Pomfrey gave a half-smile that looked to Astoria as though she took a strange kind of glee in the response.

"As your schedule states, it is a formal class. Homework is part of the package, I'm afraid. Now, until I see you next, I recommend you concentrate on how excited you are about your future internship. I imagine it will inspire some questions from your fellow students, and you best be prepared to answer them." Astoria was sure now that the smile on her face was one of amusement. She wasn't quite sure what to make of a professor being cheeky.

"Happy classes, Astoria. I'll see you next Thursday."