Chapter 1. Blind Spots
It was a clear night sky in the Yorkshire dales, stars twinkled down upon a small village tucked away into the countryside. A young witch watched from her attic window as she tapped her quill against her parchment exasperatedly. She sighed, wrapping a slender finger around a long wavy lock of hair and twisting it around her finger. Her eyes were vacant as she stared out into the silver dotted sky. The sound of a door closing on the ground floor grabbed the young witch's attention, and then the unmistakeable sound of two male voices piqued her interest. She dropped the quill to her desk and rose from her wooden chair. As lightly as she could she tiptoed over to her own door, cracking it open just a smidge to listen in.
"I don't trust that slimey fuck Albus." The witch recognised as the rough voice of her father. "You shouldn't either."
"I trust Severus with my life." The second voice replied, this man sounded older, wiser.
"For all we know he helped that lad get one over on me and provided him the ingredients for the Polyjuice potion, ever thought of that?" Her father asked raising his voice.
"It's crossed my mind, but I know Severus, I know what he's capable of, Alastor, he can be trusted. Besides I doubt Severus will have any interest in the goings on of your daughter."
"I asked you to find somewhere for her to be safe, Hogwarts was not the top of my list of safe places Albus, especially since you have not one but two death eaters on the grounds," Alastor raised his voice with a huff. Astrid furrowed her brows as she listened in on the conversation, creaking her door open just a little bit more.
"How can you guarantee her safety after the fuck of a year we just had, me imprisoned on school grounds, a student dead?" asked with a sigh, after years of hunting death eaters, and sometimes being the hunted, Alastor Moody had become over-cautious, almost paranoid, especially when it came to the safety of his only child, that was why he sent her to Beauxbatons Academy and not the famed school of Hogwarts.
He believed his daughter was safer on a different continent, he had put many a witch and wizard away during the first wizarding war and didn't want his reputation to affect Astrid's school life. Of course, after she had graduated, she didn't stay in France, Astrid moved in with her grandparents, Alastors parents. Both magical people like themselves, but they were gentle, kind, moral folk, not Aurors. Since the Dark Lords return Alastor had taken Astrid from their home and hopped safe house to safe house, not even daring to leave her with other Order of the Phoenix members.
"I know you love your daughter greatly but you are holding her back, she is a young woman now, a talented brilliant capable young woman, not a girl, I have a position waiting for her at the school, you should let her take it," Albus informed the man. Astrid's brows knitted together curiously, she had heard so much about Hogwarts from her father, good and bad. A position at the school would be…. Interesting, and a far cry different to her current situation, she could feel the warmth of independence as she thought about the possibility of standing on her own two feet as a staff member at Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry. Alastor nodded at the elder wizard to go on. "I devised it's time for Professor Binns to finally relieve his position to a younger professor,"
"Professor Binns has haunted that classroom for twenty years, the man refused to quit even when he died, do you think he's just going to just give up the position?" Alastor asked, with a hint of chuckle masked by worry. He had told Astrid of the ghost that teaches at Hogwarts school, it wasn't news to her, in fact her interest deepened.
"Let's just say I convinced him we should bring a younger perspective in, breathe some… life into the class," Dumbledore chuckled lightly, "Perhaps the children will stop falling asleep at their desks with Astrids tutorship? Hogwarts is the safest place for her, and perhaps she will finally, as they say, find her wings and flourish" Albus concluded.
"If you told me that a year ago, I would have believed you Albus, but I was attacked, imprisoned and impersonated by a death eater on school grounds. Crouch could have killed Potter anytime he wanted, he could have killed you," Alastor said roughly, rubbing his chin furiously. "I'd rather send her to the Black residence,"
"And have her do what Alastor? She has twiddled her thumbs for four years, whilst the book she is writing piques my interest, it will not be published not whilst Voldemort is still alive," Albus said. Astrid gulped hard hearing that name, of course everything Dumbledore was saying was true, she had twiddled her thumbs for four years since her Beauxbatton graduation, she took care of her aging grandparents and began writing a book on the first wizarding war, how Voldemort was defeated and of the feats of her father that helped win it. She was no where near done even after four years, but still, if she did finish it the book could never be published with the Dark Lord walking the earth, it would be suicide.
"You think me an over-protective father Albus? We are at war, the Order is reinstated, you know what happened to order members and their families in the past, I cannot risk her, she is all I have Albus." Astrid's father groaned softly, swilling his beverage around his mug as he looked into it pensively.
"I've taken precautions since Voldemorts return Alastor, I'm sorry for the ordeal you went through with Crouch, but it will not happen again, Astrid will be safe, you have my word not just as headmaster but as your friend Alastor," Dumbledore spoke softly, earning a sigh from retired Auror.
"I'll leave it to Astrid to decide, she's already been listening in on this conversation, so let's hear from the girl, shall we?" Alastor mused, he banged his walking stick on the low cottage ceiling and shouted the girl's name, beckoning her. Astrid cursed under her breathe, how did he know? He always knew.
Astrid apparated into the room with almost no hesitation. She came across a cosy sight, her father leaning against the kitchen worktop, brew in hand, and an old cloaked man with a very impressive beard sat at her kitchen table with his hands politely folded into his lap.
"Father," She greeted with a curt nod and a small smile. "And let me hazard a guess… Albus Dumbledore?" Astrid asked, holding out her right hand with a welcoming smile. Dumbledore nodded smally, taking the girls small soft hand in his wrinkled one and shaking it lightly.
"The last time I saw you Astrid, you were no taller than this table, what a lovely young woman you've grown to be… your father must be extremely proud," The older wizard hummed with a small smile, his eyes flashing to Alastor briefly.
"Forgive me, I don't remember meeting you sir, but I've heard plentiful things about you from my father," Astrid replied curtly.
"Since you've been eaves-dropping, I presume you've already got an opinion on the matter? Are you going to Hogwarts or staying with me?" Alastor asked, he made it sound like an ultimatum, like his daughter was choosing between life and death. The man raised his brow as he took a swig of whatever god-awful drink was in his porcelain mug.
"Hmmm…The position is teaching History of Magic I presume?" Astrid asked, she tried to suppress her giddiness, it was her favourite subject at Beauxbatons, and her area of expertise, she thought of herself as quite the history buff. She didn't want to seem too interested, not wishing to hurt her father's feelings and go against his wishes. Albus simply nodded at her question.
"I never pictured myself as a teacher…" Astrid mused, pacing the small kitchen, pretending to mull over the idea of being a professor in her area of expertise, had her father not been there she would have jumped at the opportunity. "But I was always fond of tutoring at Beauxbatons, plus I can write my book from anywhere. Will it be safe, at Hogwarts?"
"Of course, I would never commence the school year if it wasn't. You have my word," Albus assured the young lady. Alastor groaned as he took a swig of his drink eyeing between his daughter and the man he most respected.
"Then I accept, if that's alright with you father?" Astrid smiled, glancing over to the disheartened man.
"It's not, but you're an adult, and I…" Alastor struggled to get the next few words out as if it pained him to do so, "I trust your judgement, and I can't legally stop you," Alastor roughly said.
"With that I will inform the governors of our new professor, and begin the readying your chambers, welcome to Hogwarts" Albus smiled, shaking Astrids hand once more as he stood from his perch and apparated out of the small cottage.
"I know my decision has upset you father." Astrid pondered her next words carefully as she lay a delicate hand on her father's arm. "But I'm an adult, I have been for some time, I want to start acting like one, this is good, it's a job, its independence, it's-" Astrids words were quickly cut short when her father butted in.
"It's you walking into a vipers nest Astrid," Alastor hissed, flinging his mug across the room, the porcelain debris littering the floor.
"Albus has promised Hogwarts is safe, and I can do more for the Order there than just reading books and researching, I can help the Potter boy, I can finally offer something in this war. I love you, but hopping house to house, living under the radar, it can't be my life forever," Astrid pleaded, she had felt like dead weight for years, whilst she was technically a member of the order, she wasn't allowed to go to the meetings, nor take part in Order activity, she was their walking textbook, only asked upon when wanting information on a certain subject.
"Do you know who skulks those hallways? Whose children will be sat in your classes? You will need to be so careful Astrid, even Dumbledore has blind spots, do not get yourself caught in one," Astrid nodded slowly.
"I promise to stay out of harm's way father," Astrid finally gulped, a half promise, easy to get around, what did one constitute as 'harm' anyway she pondered.
"I trust you," Alastor eventually sighed, pulling his daughter in for a tight embrace.
"I guess I'll start packing," Astrid hummed, spinning on her heels.
"Astrid, wait," her father called after her. Astrid perked up, whirling back around to see her old man lowering himself into the chair Dumbledore had left vacant just minutes ago. "I have a task for you, whilst you are at Hogwarts, since you're going to be there anyway… and only if you are up to it…" Alastor started as he scratched his head. He pondered for a second whether to even go ahead but he did.
"There's somebody I need you to watch, someone at Hogwarts, watch them closely, observe but don't engage, I need to know who they're talking to, what they're talking about, I want to know how many times a day he takes a shit, I want everything on this man," Alastor said lowly. As soon as he asked it, he wished he could retract the request, he felt as if he was signing his daughter's death certificate. "Do not engage him, this man cannot be trusted," Alastor warned again, staring daggers into his daughter, she needed to understand the seriousness of what he was asking. "His name is Severus Snape,"