Chapter 3

The summer had been one of the best Astoria could remember, despite the circumstances in which it was spent. Althea and Astoria spent most of their time walking about the grounds and discussing anything and everything they could because Althea was trying to get in as much girl time as possible before she got married and Astoria wanted to get to know her cousin before she was whisked away, just like her sister. Aurelia completely avoided her cousin and her sister all summer long, and she spent most of her time out of the house shopping or hanging out with her friends.

It was currently August 31, and Astoria would be leaving for the ship that would take her to Durmstrang tomorrow. She way laying on the bank of the pond beside Althea, soaking up as much sun as she could before she was shipped up north where it was always cold and overcast. Astoria sighed loudly and Althea looked at her sympathetically.

"You aren't very thrilled to be going, are you?" she asked facing Astoria who shook her head sadly and sat upright.

"Not at all." Astoria roughly plucked a few blades of grass up out of the ground and began to slowly rip them apart.

"I'm so sorry I won't be there for you, and I'm sorry I have nothing to say to comfort you; it's just as bad as you think it is." Astoria laughed bitterly and threw the blades of grass at Althea. Althea smiled sadly and wiped the grass from her blouse.

"Headmaster Packard is absolutely vile, and he pretty much hates anything that has to do with the other wizarding schools, especially Hogwarts. The students are not much better, though there are a very select few who are decent human beings. I don't know how it will be now that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is gone, but it probably won't change much." Althea said grimly.

"Thanks for the comforting words. I feel oh so much better now." Astoria said falling backward to lie on the grass again.

"Sarcasm is not becoming of a lady, you know." Althea replied with fake arrogance, sticking her nose in the air and adopting her mother's voice.

"Then you are the most unladylike person I know." Astoria grinned at the slightly affronted look one her cousin's face. Althea stuck her tongue out and Astoria and lay back down.

"I'm going to miss you, you know." She stated staring up at the sky. Astoria turned to face her cousin.

"I'll miss you, too. You'll be okay though. Big, strong Skylar Banks will be there to take care of you." Astoria said wiggling her eyebrows at her cousin suggestively. Althea punched her in the arm and Astoria yelped in pain.

"I was being serious."

"So was I." Astoria said with a smirk on her face.

"You are so snarky." Althea stated haughtily.

"I am no- wait, is that even a word?" Astoria asked standing up from the grass. Althea shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, anyway. I should go finish packing, you coming?" Althea nodded and followed Astoria up to her room to help her pack up for the next part of her journey.

The next morning…

Astoria woke up early, not that she had even gotten much sleep the night before. She quickly changed into her breakfast-suitable clothes and made her way down to the dining room. Astoria heard raised voices when she was on the stairwell so she decided to stay put; it was Althea and her mother.

"Mother that's not fair!" Astoria could hear the sadness and pleading in her cousins voice.

"I will not allow it. The Headmaster generously agreed to let her stay. I will not have her in my house any longer." She heard Althea let out an angry scream.

"You cannot do this, it's my wedding! I can't have it without her; she's my cousin, not to mention my best friend!" Althea cried. There was no doubt in Astoria's mind that she was crying.

"You should have made better friends; you should have been more like your sister instead of associating with people like Miss Greengrass. I want nothing else to do with that scum, and she has taken advantage of our hospitality enough. Headmaster Packard is allowing her to stay at Durmstrang year-round until she graduates, as long as she does what she is told. She is neither my problem nor my burden." Theodora said dismissively. Astoria gasped and felt tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. She leaned against the wall and sank to the floor. She knew her aunt was wretched, but this was so unexpected it knocked the breath from her lungs.

"Her name is Astoria, mother! And you can't do that to her, she's family! Whether you like it or not, she's the best friend I have. I never would want to be friends with any of those cows at Durmstrang, especially anyone Aurelia hangs out with." Astoria heard a loud 'smack' coming from the room below.

"My word is final. Go up to your room, I can't stand the sight of you right now." Astoria heard Althea let a sob and then she heard footsteps slowly coming up the stairs. Althea caught sight of her cousin and sat next to her against the wall, and Astoria noticed the red handprint on the side of Althea's face. Astoria wrapped her arms around her best friend as she cried. At some point, Aurelia had walked past them on her way to breakfast, and she flashed them both a smug grin.

"I can't believe my mother. I just can't wait to get out of here." Althea said resting her head on Astoria's shoulder.

"She's kicking me out, and not letting me come to the wedding. Am I right?" Astoria asked bluntly, tears welling up in her eyes. Althea nodded and her arms tightened around Astoria. They sat there on the floor in silence until Theodora called for them; neither of them wanted to ruin their last moments together with the sad truth that they probably would not see each other again for a long time, if they ever saw each other again.

"Miss Greengrass come along, it's time to leave. Blinky will bring your things along, and do not dawdle! We cannot afford for you to be late." Aunt Theodora yelled up the staircase. Astoria turned to Althea and they embraced tightly.

"I will write to you about the wedding and send pictures and everything, I promise." Althea said stepping back from Astoria, who just nodded; she could not manage to form any words. Althea smiled comfortingly at her cousin. "Everything will be all right. Remember, this is not goodbye. I will see you again. Just remember: be safe, be wise, and be strong, just like I know you are." She said confidently, wiping the tears from Astoria's cheeks. Astoria kissed her best friend on the cheek before turning to walk down the stairs and leave with her aunt to go and start all over again at Durmstrang.

Astoria could not believe how massive the ship actually was. She had seen pictures of muggle ships, and even humongous ships from hundreds of years ago, but they were nothing compared to this ship. If she had to guess, she would say that the Slytherin dungeons could have easily fit into the ship 100 times; including the common room and everything. She couldn't wrap her brain around it; it was colossal.

"Stop gaping for goodness sake, child. Let's hurry up and get you settled." Her aunt said leading her towards the ship by the arm. They stopped at an opening near the bottom of the ship, and her aunt stopped there. "Well, here you are. You are to stay on the lower levels because I have not paid an excessive amount of money just for you to go to school. Unlike Hogwarts, everything at Durmstrang has to do with money. It's just like real life. Get used to it." Theodora turned and left without saying one kind word to her niece.

Astoria took a deep breath and pushed her trunk onto the ship. She walked down some of the corridors, and saw that there were many rooms that contained couches and seating areas. They all looked the same, and no one seemed to really be on the train yet, so Astoria picked a spot and collapsed onto an old, worn out couch. She left her trunk on the floor next to the couch, and she lay down. Almost immediately, she fell fast asleep.

Sometime later, a young girl began to shake Astoria, trying to wake her up. "Hey, hello. Wake up. We're at the carriages." Astoria slowly opened her eyes, trying to blink the sleepiness from them. There was a girl with straight brown hair and dark green eyes standing above her. "Come on newbie, get on up. We have to leave."

Astoria sat up slowly. "We're here?" The girl nodded. "What do I do with my stuff?"

"Just leave it here. It always ends up back at school, though I don't know who takes it." The girl said shrugging. "My names Cecilia Donnelly, just in case you were wondering." Cecelia said with a modest smile. "Well, come on, get on your cloak and let's move. I don't think you want to hike all the way up the mountain in this weather." Cecelia said leading Astoria out of the ship.

"The mountain?" Astoria asked. But her question was immediately answered when she stepped foot into the cold air outside of the ship, for in front of her was a massive snow covered mountain. Cecelia led her to one of the carriages; they were nothing like Hogwarts' carriages because they were fully enclosed, and they were not pulled by thestrals. There was a line of these carriages going up the side of the mountain as if they were on an invisible cable. Astoria was completely in awe.

The two girls stepped into the carriage and the door closed behind them. Astoria eagerly pressed her face to the glass and gazed at the mountain scenery that was passing below her. The trees were so infinitesimal, and the snow was everywhere! At Hogwarts one wouldn't see snow until almost Christmas, so Astoria was very excited. She glanced over to Cecelia and saw her gazing out of the window unenthusiastically.

"Have you already become bored with the view? I don't think I would ever tire of seeing this sight!" Astoria said energetically.

"It's not the view of the mountains that I dislike; it's the thought of what awaits me when I arrive at school." Cecelia said dismally, returning her gaze outside of the carriage.

Astoria glanced back out of the window just in time to see the castle on the mountainside. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of it. The castle was at least twice the size of Hogwarts, but it was ten times more threatening. Dark and sinister vibes poured out from the castle in massive waves that washed over Astoria the moment she set eyes on the enormous castle. She was immediately chilled to the innermost part of her being; there was nothing good that would come from stepping into that castle. It astonished her that the feeling of making a new friend could not vanish the coldness from her body; for the first time in her life, Astoria Greengrass was actually frightened.

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