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Chapter 3

Three days later, Hermione arrived and was shown to the same room as Asta. Unlike Asta, she had chosen to keep her name. Both girls hugged when they saw each other and did not let go for five minutes. Hermione had the same class schedule as she did, except she chose singing instead of piano, and creative writing where Asta had been placed in Art. She had also chosen to learn how to ride. Both of them were still being kept out of the rest of classes, apart from their options and Vampyre History. Crookshanks had contentedly taken up residence on Hermione's bed while she and Asta unpacked her things.

"So, what's it like here?"

"Not bad. I'm still getting used to everything and everyone. Lessons are great, both the private ones and the three general. Vampyre History is so much more interesting than History of Magic. I'm enjoying learning how to play the piano and am growing used to horses. I'm mucking out and generally caring for a mare named Star. She's a beautiful dark brown with a white patch on her forehead in the shape of a star. The other fledglings are friendly enough, but right now we're all still sounding each other out. They're really surprised by my mark, I think."

"It may take them some time to get used to us being different. How quickly are you progressing with other studies?"

"My English isn't so bad, but Charlotte wants me to read more books, to broaden my horizons so to speak. I've already read The Color Purple and I'm currently reading the Book Thief. I have a list of what she wants me to read, but it's just a suggested one. So long as I read several of them, she doesn't mind if I branch off and read a few I've picked alone. Theresa is teaching me history, British and Worldwide, and I have a reading list for that too. Harper is teaching me math and economics, while Ivanna is teaching me basic science and helping me figure out technology more in depth than my phone and the TV's in the rec room."

"That sounds brilliant!" Hermione said, placing a few of her books on one of the shelves, and ending the packing. She looked around. "This room is nice, but it's…"

"A bit bare? Has no character?"

"Exactly."

"We can decorate. Morgana told me that. Athena is your mentor, yeah?"

"Yeah," Hermione nodded.

"Ask her if you want, but Morgana said I can even get decorators in. And people to redo the bathroom. And it's not if I'm short on money."

"I saved up some through work if you want me to go halves?"

Morgana snorted. "Not a chance. I want to spend some of the money I cheated Weasley out of. Think of it as a form of unseen gloating."

Hermione grinned and grabbed her laptop. She and Asta sat down on Asta's bed with her laptop and began to plan. It would take a while, but they would be sorted soon enough.

Weeks passed by and they concentrated on catching up to their peers Education wise. Their determination had their teachers impressed. The adult Vampyres could see the two unusual fledglings were getting less sleep than they should be however, and knew there was something troubling both of them. Most nights, one of the two woke up screaming, which woke the other, ready to fight. Both were still traumatised from the war, and it showed in their everyday lives too. Someone would approach them from behind and they would tense, ready for a fight, only to relax, seeing they were in no danger. They also seemed to be far more comfortable with women than with men, always keeping them at arm's length, and being very weary around them. It was with that in mind that Morgana and Athena pulled the two aside to talk to them.

"Your studies are progressing wonderfully, but something is wrong, is it not?" Morgana began. The four of them were in her office.

"Everything's great. Life here's the best I've experienced," Asta answered. Hermione nodded in agreement. The other fledglings had gotten over their odd marks now, and were openly talking with them like they would anyone else.

"We can see you're integrating into life here. Slowly, but you are. However, we can also see something is wrong, something is holding you back. Something from your human lives. We have seen your reservations, your guarded looks. Especially around men."

Both Hermione and Asta shifted uncomfortably, and then looked at each other in shock, and then understanding. Asta felt tears well up at the fact that she had completely missed the signs in her best friend. The girl that was the closest thing she had to a sister. She saw Hermione beginning to cry as well.

"Oh Asta, I'm so sorry I never noticed!"

Asta grabbed her in a hug. "Me too Mya. I thought it was just the aftermath of the war. When?"

"My boss… in the Ministry… The guy I was secretary for. You?" She said quietly, finding it surprisingly easy to admit this to Asta, her best friend who, it turned out, had a similar experience. She was going to kill whoever touched her!

"V-Vernon."

"Your Uncle? I'll kill him!" Her voice was still low, but apparently not low enough.

"Do you want to press charges? Either of you?" This was Athena. Both Priestesses were looking equal parts concerned and mortified.

"I never want to see them again," Asta said. "Him, or my aunt and cousin."

"It wouldn't do me much good," Hermione said. "The Ministry wouldn't do anything. He's a Pureblood. I'm just a Mudblood that's now a creature. It's actually legal."

"I should have seen this," Morgana shook her head, looking tired. "I should have helped you both from the start. You both need and deserve a chance to heal from what has been done to you."

"I just want to forget," Asta mumbled.

Morgana came round the desk and kneeled in front of her. She took hold of Asta's hands. "I know you do, but if you leave it to fester, the memories will not go away. They will haunt you for the rest of your life. You need to be able to cope and heal, and shutting up and keeping quiet, trying to cope alone will not help. Aine is a trained psychologist. I ask that you give her a chance. Have several sessions with her. If you do not believe them to be helping, you can quit, but give her a chance. Both of you."

Asta took in a deep breath and nodded. "Ok. I'll try."

"Me too. Will they be one on one?" Hermione asked.

"They will, but I am sure talking to each other will also help," Athena said. "You can relate to one another, and both of you know that neither will tell anyone else if you do not want them to. Then there is us. Our doors are always open should you wish to talk to us. That is our job as your mentors of course."

They both nodded, clinging to each other. They had each been trying to cope alone, so used to not asking for help, not realising they could. But now they had it, and hopefully, hopefully, things would get better.

The decorators worked quickly over a weekend to sort out their room and bathroom, while they temporarily bunked in an empty one. When it was done their room was absolutely stunning. The walls were cream with silver and gold Celtic designs forming a boarder at the top of the walls. Gold pillows and throws with silver designs made the window bench even more comfortable. The wardrobes, chest of draws and desks and the chairs were all cream, and elegantly hand carved, just like the new bookshelves. Their beds were now Manhattan beds with cream leather covering the frames and comfortable memory foam mattresses. On the walls were canvas scenes of the night, including one of the Northern Lights over a lake and mountains. The bathroom had warm cream and brown tiling and a large bath and shower along with other amenities. Light wood doors closed the bathroom cabinets, and a large mirror stood above the sink. In the bedroom, a cat bed hung off the radiator and a scratching post, with multiple places for him to snooze and jump to as well, stood near the window, ready for Crookshanks to enjoy. His litter tray was to the side of the bedroom door, and would be diligently cleaned out, while a food and water bowl was nearer his bed. Their room had been turned into something that was entirely their own. Books were placed on the shelves and their clothes were put in the new wardrobes. So far, the storage space built into the beds went unneeded. Asta and Hermione shared a satisfied smile. They were making their new home their own and embracing their new lives as best they could.

"Tell me about Hogwarts. What was it like?" Aine asked Asta, surprising her.

"I thought we were going to talk about… about the Dursley's."

"We will. I want to get to know a bit about your past in general first," Aine told her. "It will help me understand more about you, what else forms you as a person. One of the logical places to start is your schooling, you spent so much time there, after all. Ten months of a year for six years. I want to know about the building, the people, the classes, and how you felt there. What were your experiences? How did it shape you? We'll take it a bit at a time of course, just like everything else, moving at a pace that suits you."

"Well, Hogwarts is a castle, like this, but bigger and older. Students travel there every first of September from Platform Nine and Three Quarters in Kings Cross. They take the Hogwarts Express, which is a scarlet steam engine. First years leave the train with all the others at Hogsmede station, and take the boats across the lake. The first time I saw the castle, it was absolutely beautiful. It never changed really. I've never seen anything quite like it. It was the first home I knew. Even if that home wasn't really the best. I met Hermione on the train. We quickly became friends."

"Were students separated like they are here for housing? Girls in one wing, boys in another?"

"Hogwarts has a house system. Gryffindor for the brave and bold, Slytherin for the cunning and ambitious, Hufflepuff for the loyal and hardworking and Ravenclaw for the intelligent and studious. A magical hat looks into your mind on your first night of your first year and sorts you. Hermione and I went to Gryffindor, though the Sorting Hat wanted me to go to Slytherin. Each house had their own common rooms and dorms. Gryffindor's was in one of the highest towers, and each year group had two dormitories, one for the girls, and one for the boys. We had classes with our housemates, and shared each class with one other house each time. Slytherin and Gryffindor have a centuries old rivalry between them."

"Why didn't you want to go to Slytherin? The characteristics don't sound too bad." Aine said.

"To be honest, my judgement had been warped by the time I got to the sorting. I was young and naive, trying desperately to fit in. I'd been told by two people I wanted to please, to be friends with, that it was the house where all dark wizards came from, such as Voldemort. Yeah, a lot do, but I really shouldn't have let it influence me. It didn't help that the only boy I'd met who wanted to go into Slytherin was an arrogant bastard who reminded me of my cousin, Dudley."

"What was your favourite class?"

"Either charms or my third year defence against the dark arts class. We had the best teacher that year. Remus Lupin. He was a friend of my parents, but he had to resign when it leaked out to the public that he was a werewolf. Parents wouldn't want such a 'dangerous beast,'" she sneered, "around their children."

"What's the wizarding view on Vampyres?"

"Both types, or just us?"

"Let's stick with us for now."

"We have more rights than the others, but not by much. Employment is available, but scarce, and we can't be hunted down and killed in cold blood legally, but we're sneered at, and torture is allowed."

Aine's eyes flashed at that, before she composed herself. "It sounds very bigoted. What was your place, your niche for yourself, in that world? Where would you say you fit?"

And it went on, with Asta telling Aine bits and pieces about her life, not really going into the heavy stuff, but it felt surprisingly good to talk about it all with someone new. She felt a little bit lighter, and could see what the older Vampyre was doing, building up a level of trust. If she could trust her with the little things now, surely she could trust her with bigger things later when she was more comfortable? Asta felt surprisingly optimistic when she left the full Vampyre's office.

Her birthday came quickly, and Asta woke to presents on the foot of her bed. The newly turned eighteen year old smiled at the three gifts and looked up at her friend, who was still asleep. She got up and walked into the bathroom to begin getting ready. When she came out, she saw Hermione had just woken up. "Hey," she said, smiling.

"Asta! Happy Birthday!" Hermione stood up and hugged her.

"Thanks Hermione."

"Open your presents!"

Asta smiled and sat down, Hermione sitting next to her. She opened the first one and found a book. Alice in Wonderland. "It was one of my all-time favourites as a child. I'm sure you'll love it," Hermione told her.

"It's wonderful, thank you," Asta smiled, hugging her, before gently placing it to one side and grabbing the next present. She opened it to find a dark wooden box. Opening it, music began to play, a melodic little tune. The craftsmanship and the music were both stunningly beautiful. She smiled. There was even room to place some jewellery. "Oh thank you Hermione!"

"I saw it and thought it was something you might like. The next one was very hard to get."

Curious, Asta reached for the final present. She opened it to see another book, a small, battered grimoire. She opened it, and saw the traditional Vampyre greeting. She gasped. "It's a book of rituals and sacred days, written by Una, Vampyre High Priestess and Daughter of Boudicca."

"It was lost!"

"The wizards had it. They tried to use it to work Vampyre magic. After years of failure, they gave up. It passed from owner to owner, gathering dust. Magic kept it in tact. I placed a spell so it reads like present day English, instead of Celtic Welsh/Gaelic. Morgana and Athena both know about it, but no one else. I found it in Borgin and Burkes. It took me weeks to track."

"Mya… you went back there… for me?"

"I wanted to give you something good for your birthday. Your first in a new life. A better life. This struck me as just the thing."

"Oh thank you," Asta said, tearing up and hugging her friend tightly. She would have to think of something wonderful for Hermione's birthday.

A/N: Please review!