Chapter 2

Astoria stared listlessly out of the large window of her room in Orwell Manor, thinking on how horrible her day had been thus far. Theodora Orwell, who was apparently her great aunt on her father's side of the family, had come and picked up Astoria from King's cross station.

When she first saw Astoria, she had a subtle look of disgust on her face, and it was very apparent to Astoria that her aunt did not like her one bit. She hardly even murmured a welcome to Astoria before she grabbed her arm and apparated her to the manor. She immediately showed her to her room, and said that someone would come up and alert her when it was time for dinner. It definitely was not a great reception.

She was pretty sure that she had some cousins in this house as well; she had a faint recollection of her parents talking about "those two nitwit daughters of Theodora." This memory did nothing to comfort Astoria's growing fear that her time in this house would be very unpleasant.

Astoria unpacked her few belongings and sat down at the window, gazing out at the expansive grounds at Orwell Manor. The grounds were beautiful and well-kept, but she could not escape the forbidding atmosphere that was surrounding her. There was a knock on the door, and a haughty, high-pitched voice could be heard coming through the door.

"Greengrass, dinner is ready, so hurry up and get downstairs. And please, wear something acceptable! We don't want you coming down looking all scruffy!" demanded a voice that was laced with annoyance.

"All right!" Astoria called back. She heard faint whispers on the other side of the door, and then she eventually heard footfalls going down the hallway away from her door. She quickly pulled a skirt and light blue shirt out of her wardrobe, and took her hair out of the messy bun she had out it up in on the train.

She glanced into the mirror to make sure she looked presentable, and she frowned at her reflection. She normally had curly, black hair that ended just below her shoulders and bright blue eyes that could pierce through any person. At the moment, her usually bouncy curls were reduced to lifeless waves and her eyes were cold and dull. After she could no longer look at her reflection, she made her way down the large staircase and into the dining room.

She slowly opened the door and stepped into the elaborately decorated dining room. There was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and a long, elegant table was placed in the center of the room. There were three women seated at the table. The two younger girls seated at the table, her cousins, were about her age and had long, waist-length raven colored hair. Her aunt had the same hair, but it was cropped to shoulder length. When they heard her enter, all three of their heads snapped to look at her.

"Come and sit down, child, don't dawdle. We have been waiting for you." Her aunt motioned to the seat across from her two cousins. The pair of them gave her a scrutinizing glance as she sat down in the seat across from them. She kept her eyes down on her empty plate, not wanting to meet their piercing stares. The awkward silence within the dining room was disturbed when a line of house elves entered the room with dinner.

The house elves placed a copious amount of delectable foods on the table, and served each of the women seated at the table. Her cousins and aunt began to eat; Astoria noticed how straightly they sat in their chairs, almost as if there was an invisible pole running up their spines. They ate delicately and very slowly, and Astoria felt as if she was in some foreign land where she did not belong. She moved the food around on her plate, but ate nothing; she wasn't very hungry.

"We didn't have the elves put food on your plate just so that you could play with it." Her cousin to the left said scathingly.

"Just sod off, Aurelia. You haven't eaten much more because of that foolish diet you're on." Her other cousin said, glaring at Aurelia.

"Not all of us want to be fat cows like you, Althea." Aurelia replied with malice. They continued bickering, and Astoria watched in amusement; her aunt, however, was not amused.

"Both of you be silent!" Aunt Theodora demanded in a raised voice. Aurelia and Althea immediately fell silent. "I will not have this quarrelling at my table. I have taught you girls better than that! Now off to bed, all three of you." The two girls got up from the table obediently, and Astoria followed suit. Althea trailed behind Aurelia, and stayed behind to talk to Astoria.

"Sorry about her. She has been an absolute prat ever since we found out that you were coming to stay with us. I'm actually quite happy that you are here; I've been so tired of Aurelia and my mother." Althea revealed. Astoria gave a small smile.

"Thanks. I was afraid I would be stuck here with horrid people all summer." Althea laughed and continued to walk Astoria to her room.

"You should probably get used to the unpleasant people thing; Durmstrang is full of them. I'm just glad that I don't have to go back."

"You've already graduated?" Astoria asked in disbelief; her cousin didn't look any older than 16. Althea shook her head and raised her left hand where an enormous diamond ring rested on her fourth finger.

"I haven't graduated, and I'm never going to. I'm getting married as soon as I turn 17 in the fall, and I won't have any time for school." Astoria looked at her cousin in disbelief. "And now you think I'm horribly old-fashioned since everyone finishes school nowadays." Althea said twirling her ring absentmindedly. Astoria shrugged.

"I completely understand. I would probably be in your shoes if my parents hadn't been taken to Azkaban. My sister, Daphne, basically is you. She left me and went to go marry some bloke because it was 'the proper thing to do.' Now I'm here instead of at home, and I have to go to bloody Durmstrang instead of Hogwarts." She said with a heavy sigh. Astoria's shoulders slumped and Althea wrapped her petite arm around her cousin's shoulder.

"It'll be all right. There are some decent people at Durmstrang, and you're strong. I may not have known you for very long, but I can sense it." Althea said reassuringly. They reached the door to Astoria's room, and Althea gave her a brief hug.

"Go in and get some sleep. Before you know it you'll be out of here and off to the ship to go to school." Astoria nodded glumly and walked through her door, and then quickly closed it behind her.

She quickly changed into her dressing gown and threw herself down onto her bed. Astoria wanted to scream until her throat was sore and just let out all of her frustration, but there was something holding her back. It was most likely the fact that she had found a friend in this house that reassured her that everything would be okay; she had not expected to get along with anyone within the manor.

Her happiness at the thought of Althea was quickly squashed when she realized she was on her own after this summer because Althea was to be married. This fact didn't surprise Astoria because it seemed as if everything in her life was going completely and utterly wrong, and she was beginning to get used to it. Her mother was gone, her father was gone, her sister was gone, and Althea was soon to be gone. There seemed to be a pattern forming in Astoria's life, and she didn't like it one bit.