A/N: A big thanks to Vanillastar for the review! If you are ever curious about what Astrid looks like or some of her outfits throughout the story, check out my profile and you'll see some links. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the new addition!
It's been a few weeks since Astrid had been at Hogsmeade with Neville, and tonight was Slughorn's Christmas party for his "Slug Club". A lot had happened in the past few weeks; Draco had become more reclusive and had even ditched Crabbe and Goyle; Katie Bell had been cursed from a necklace and was now in St. Mungo's; but last and certainly most important to Astrid was that she was now dating Michael Corner. It was a rather relaxed relationship; they both just felt that they needed someone to be close to in these dark times. Michael was a nice guy even though Ron was "creeped out" by him. Michael was a bit "dark" in his appearance and demeanor, but Astrid had gotten know him well enough and she personally find it was sort of sexy.
Unfortunately, Astrid's new relationship with Michael had somewhat caused her and Neville to drift apart; Astrid found that whenever she was free she'd spend that time with Michael instead of Neville. It made Astrid feel bad when she would see Neville alone, but she figured it would only be a matter of time before Neville built up the courage to confess his feelings to whoever his mystery girl was.
"Astrid, what are you wearing tonight?" Hermione asked as she nervously combed out her tangled locks.
"I was stuck between the blue dress and the green one…but I've decided on the blue since it brings out my eyes." Astrid replied before grabbing the strapless blue dress and quickly changing into it. Next Astrid picked out a pair of dangly earrings her father David had bought her last Christmas and her mother's old ring; it had been passed down through her family for generations. Next Astrid cast a quick hair smoothing spell then pinned her hair in a way so that half of it was hanging down her back in long curls. Astrid then put on some make up, giving her eyes a slight shimmery and smoky look, and then she put on some ruby red lipstick. Once Astrid had finished and slipped on her silver heels, she told Hermione she would wait for her in the common room.
"Astrid, you look so pretty!" Ginny bubbled excitedly the second the saw Astrid come down the stairs.
"Thanks Gin, you look beautiful as well." Ginny was wearing a simple, yet perfect green frock and had her hair in a beautiful braid. The pair of cousins sat on the couch and talked for another few minutes before Hermione joined them, dressed in her light pink halter dress; like always, Hermione was drop dead gorgeous…it was a pity she was going with the oaf Cormac McLaggen. Once the girls had finished complimenting each other, they finally made it to the party where Astrid met Michael outside.
"You look great, Astrid." Michael spoke as he smiled down at the redhead.
"Thank you Michael, you look pretty handsome yourself." Astrid said blushing; Michael was wearing a pair of dark dressing robes and looked rather dashing. Michael offered Astrid his arm and they entered the party together. It was a nice party and was beautifully decorated with gold material covering the castle walls; swing music was playing from an old bewitched gramophone in one corner.
There were a few people dancing, so Michael whisked Astrid to the dance floor where they danced for a few songs before we stopped to get refreshments. Astrid went over to a corner where Hermione was hiding from Cormac and waited while Michael went to talk to some other Ravenclaw boy before grabbing two cups of pumpkin juice. It was then that Astrid recognized Neville as one of the waiters walking around with a tray of hors d'oeuvres.
"Neville!" Astrid called out and he turned around to face her. Neville could feel his heart stop momentarily as he first laid eyes on Astrid. This girl standing a mere fifteen feet away from his had to be a goddess. If he didn't already know who she was he would swear he was looking at Aphrodite. But this wasn't the goddess of love, this was his best friend…and she was dating Michael Corner. Neville quickly placed the thought out of his mind and focused on Astrid. She looked absolutely ravishing in her strapless, dark blue dress. Astrid was perfect; the way her eyes lit up the room and stole the air from his lungs, and her lips…they were bloody perfect, pouty and supple. Oh how Neville wished he could just march right up to her, throw his arms around her and snog her senseless. However Neville was abruptly brought out of his thoughts when he noticed that Astrid was suddenly right in front of him, looking straight up at him with her beautiful blue eyes. "You look so handsome and sharp, Neville!"
"You look absolutely beautiful Astrid, honestly." Neville set down his tray at a nearby table and leaned down to pull Astrid into a warm embrace. Without realizing what the other was doing, they each drew in a deep breath of each other's scent. Astrid smiled at Neville's very earthy smell that was mingling with a bit of an aftershave scent; likewise, Neville was delighted with Astrid's cinnamon smell…it reminded him of Christmas morning.
"How've you been Neville?" Astrid asked once they pulled back from the embrace. "I feel like I never see you anyone."
"I've been fine, studying a lot. I spend most of my time in the greenhouses. What about you?"
"Yeah, I've been great…speaking of greenhouses though, I've been having trouble with that Herbology assignment we have to do over the break… do you think you could find some time to help me with it?"
"Of course, how about tomorrow after dinner in the common room?" Neville suggested.
"Sounds great," Astrid confirmed and right on cue, Michael walked right up to Astrid and Neville with a pumpkin juice in each hand.
"Hello Neville," Michael greeted as he handed Astrid one of the drinks. "How are you?"
"I'm fine thanks. You?"
"I'm good, so what were you two talking about?"
"Not much really…Neville's going to help me with that Herbology assignment I told you about." Astrid answered.
"I'd help her, but I'm afraid I'm quite hopeless at Herbology." Michael laughed, "Hey Astrid, do you-" Michael was cut off by a commotion that came through the door. It was Filch storming in with Draco Malfoy who was held tightly in Filch's grubby hands.
"Get your filthy hands off me you bloody squib!" Malfoy growled out nastily.
"What's the meaning of this?" Slughorn asked as Filch brought the Slytherin into the center of the room where Slughorn had been conversing with Ginny.
"Found him lurking about outside in the corridor….sneaking around, up to no good-"
"Alright, I was gate crashing!" Malfoy admitted.
"I'll escort the boy out and make sure he returns to his dormitory." Professor Snape drawled out as he walked up to the scene.
"Thank you, Severus…" Slughorn nodded at Severus and waited as the two quickly made their way out of the party. "Alright, everyone back to the party then." Slughorn spoke waving his arms in a casual manner.
"What a git." Michael spoke to Astrid and Neville.
"Yeah, he's been rather odd this year hasn't he? Probably up to something…" Neville surmised.
"Oh come on Neville, don't start talking like Harry now!" Astrid laughed.
"He has a point you know…Malfoy has been acting very suspicious this year, he's even ditched Crabbe and Goyle." Michael agreed with Neville.
"Oh no, not you too Michael?" Astrid groaned out jokingly. "I swear, don't you boys have anything better to do that speculate about Malfoy?"
"No…not really." Michael said with his face dead pan. "I'm only joking love, don't worry." Michael laughed and kissed Astrid on her cheek.
"So Fanged Geranium teeth are only regenerative if they've been properly watered and fertilized, correct?" Astrid asked Neville as she finished up jotting down some final details to her assignment.
"Right, but if it gets too much sun, it won't regenerate the teeth even if it's been watered and fertilized."
"Okay…" Neville watched as Astrid bit her bottom lip while writing quickly on the parchment. "I think that's it…yeah, I'm done and now I won't have any work to do over the holiday. Thanks Neville I don't know what I'd do without you."
"It's no problem; I enjoy helping you because it means we get to hang out together." Neville smiled at the redhead as she rolled up her parchment and placed it into her book bag along with her quill and inkwell. Astrid closed her bag and set it back onto the ground by her armchair before sitting back in the plush seat.
"So, how's it going with this mystery girl?" Astrid asked. Neville didn't quite know how to answer her question; should he be honest? Neville wanted nothing more than to tell Astrid exactly how he felt about her…that she was the "mystery girl", but he knew that she liked Michael…plus Michael was a nice bloke and Neville didn't have the nerve to muck that up.
So who else could he tell Astrid that he liked? Well, he didn't truly fancy anyone else, although he knew of one girl who had been showing interest in him recently. Hannah Abbott had been flirting with him all year in Herbology class and now that he thought about it, she wasn't too bad looking…actually she was quite pretty, though nothing compared to Astrid. Maybe he should make a move with Hannah? That might get Astrid's attention; maybe make her jealous…Yeah, that's what he would do! It wasn't the best idea, but at least he wouldn't be alone anymore.
"About that…well, I think someone fancies me." Neville said slowly.
"Really?" Astrid's shocked tone sent a sharp pang through Neville's chest. "Who is it?"
"Hannah Abbott…she's been flirting with me all year. I think I'm going to ask her out."
"Oh…well, I'm sure she'd say yes. She would be stupid to say no." Astrid spoke as her eyes drifted away from Neville onto a random spot on the burgundy carpet of the common room. "I didn't know you fancied her."
"Well, I don't really fancy her much; I mean she's pretty and really nice…"
"But I thought you fancied her? Wait, is she the girl you told me about in the Three Broomsticks?"
"Not exactly…"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, she seems to be involved with someone else. I've sort of given up on her, I guess."
"Oh…"
"It's fine though, Hannah's nice enough." Astrid nodded and looked back at Neville; for some reason she didn't feel comfortable with talking about him being romantically interested in other girls.
"I'm really tired Neville, I'm gonna go to bed." Astrid said getting up from her arm chair. Neville also stood and they hugged before heading to their own dormitories to both fall into a fitful slumber.