Chapter 6

3 years later…

Astoria opened her eyes and saw the familiar green glow created by the hangings surrounding her bed. A weird sense of déjà vu overcame her, when she realized this was her last day of teaching. On this same day about four years ago, Astoria had left Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to face the world outside of its walls. Now she was leaving Durmstrang Institute, and she was going off into a world of new things once again.

Following Cecelia's death, Astoria had thrown herself into her schoolwork and essentially blocked the outside world from her mind. She never bothered anyone, and her classmates and teachers even seemed to pity her after her best friend's death. Through all of Astoria's grief, Professor Riley was still constantly present in her life, and she continued to help her excel in Charms. Even though Addison Riley was a teacher, she continued to be Astoria's only confidant.

When graduation came around, Astoria graduated at the top of her class. She had overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, and Professor Riley couldn't help but be proud of her. It seemed to some that Astoria would have a bright future ahead of her, but with no money, and no family to speak of, it appeared, to Astoria, as if there was no hope. That was until she was approached by Headmaster Packard about a job.

Astoria had already packed up her things and she was ready to leave Durmstrang and board the ship to nowhere. Outside of school there was nothing waiting for Astoria, but she had to keep moving forward, no matter what. She was eating breakfast on the day of departure when the Headmaster approached her.

"Miss Greengrass, I have a proposition for you," He stated bluntly; the Headmaster was not someone who was indirect about important things.

"What can I do for you, sir?" Astoria asked politely and somewhat curiously.

"It seems that Professor Riley has decided that it is time for her to move on to bigger and better things." Astoria stared at him in disbelief; Addison had never mentioned anything to Astoria about leaving. "I know you understand that this leaves us without a Charms Professor for next year." He had a rather vexed expression on his face. "I would like to extend to you the opportunity of being a Professor on my staff next year. Professor Riley personally recommended you, and since you graduated at the top of your class, you seem to be a logical choice for the position."

Astoria sat in stunned silence for a moment. "I would love to be a Professor next year, headmaster!" she replied enthusiastically. Packard gave an apathetic nod.

"Very well. Your things will be moved from your current room to a private room in the professor's section of the castle. I'm assuming that you will be staying here for the summer; that is perfectly fine. I am here all summer, but you will have to fend for yourself when it comes to meals. You are free to come and go as you please. Other than that, all I expect is that all of your lesson plans be prepared for next year. Enjoy the rest of your breakfast." He gave her a slight nod and went back up to the head table. Astoria stared at her breakfast for a moment, and then broke out into laughter. She didn't really know why the situation was funny; she was just so relieved!

As the other students stared at her, she continued to laugh and look up toward the ceiling. "Someone up there must really like me," she mumbled to herself before leaving the hall to go and find her room.

Ever since that day, Astoria had been staying at Durmstrang as a professor. It was essentially just like being a student, except she taught everyday instead of learning. Many of her fellow classmates were very surprised, to say the least, when they saw that she was the new Charms professor. For that reason, it was somewhat hard to earn their respect, but when Astoria unleashed her more Slytherin persona, the students weren't disrespectful for very long. She let them know that she was not to be disrespected, and she was not afraid to hand out detentions if students stepped out of line.

She was quite comfortable in her position at Durmstrang, but she could not help but think that there was more out there in the world for her to see. She often ventured outside of the castle, and went to various villages that were within walking distance of the carriages. These villages were not really anything special, and Astoria longed to see the world outside of the little snow globe that she currently lived in.

In her second year of teaching, once again, someone was looking out for her. Well, not just someone, Addison Riley.

It was lunch time at Durmstrang Institute, and everyone was in the dining hall enjoying their meal. Astoria loved sitting at the Head Table with the rest of the professors because she could see all of the students; people watching was one of her favorite pastimes. She picked up her turkey sandwich as the owls flew in to deliver the mail to the students and staff. Astoria smiled at the happy faces of the students as they received letters and packages from home.

Astoria normally did not receive post, but today a familiar owl was flying toward her. She smiled as Addison Riley's owl, Cracker, dropped a letter into her lap. Addison was the only person who sent her mail and it was not very often. The few times Astoria did receive an odd letter from her, it was only because of a special occasion or holiday. Astoria picked up the letter and opened the envelope slowly. The first thing she noticed was what looked like an add for a job that had been cut out from the Daily Prophet. She glanced at the add, but decided to read Addison's letter first.


Dear Astoria,

I hope that all has been well at Durmstrang, and that nothing significant has occurred since my last letter! I know that the school year is drawing to a close, and I have been thinking about you a lot lately. I was reading the Daily Prophet the other day when I came across an add for a job to tutor a young boy, and I immediately thought of you. You did so well in school, in all areas, and I'm pretty sure would do well with this opportunity.

I already sent out your resume to the gentleman and I have already heard back from him. I know that this might be somewhat of a shock, and I really don't mean to impose, but I know that you have got to be getting sick of Durmstrang now. You would be living at the house and helping the boy prepare for going to school, most likely Hogwarts, in the next few years. It's a somewhat of a long-term commitment - the next six years at least – but I think you will enjoy it.

On the Monday after Durmstrang has finished school, someone will be at the bottom of the mountain waiting for you. They will take you to your new job. I know this a new experience for you, but I know that you will be and extremely apt tutor. If you strongly object to this, I understand, but I really think you should give it a try. You have such great natural skill when it comes to teaching, and there is no reason for you to be apprehensive. I am always just a Floo or an owl away, whenever you need me.

All my love,
Addison

Astoria stared at the letter before letting it fall to the table slowly. A rollercoaster of emotions flashed through Astoria in a matter of seconds. She felt happiness, nervousness, anger, fear, surprise, joy, and gratitude all in the same moment.

She honestly did not know what to feel.

Through her mixture of emotions, Astoria decided that she was excited and anxious for this new job. Truthfully, she was getting tired of life at Durmstrang, and she was quite ready to take a step forward in her life. She smiled internally as she slowly got up from the breakfast table. She exited the dining hall and made her way to the Headmaster's office, prepared to meet her future head-on.

So here she was, ready to leave somewhere sheltered and head off to a new place, once again. Her packed trunk was levitating beside her as she made her way down to the carriages that would take her away from Durmstrang. To Astoria, leaving Durmstrang was not as hard as leaving Hogwarts; Durmstrang was hardly a place with happy memories, much less a home. She did not even look back to glance at the place that held so much heartache for her, opting to keep going forward.

Astoria glanced out of the carriage and gazed at the green foliage that covered the mountainside. She remembered how enchanting the view had seemed on her first ride up to the castle, yet, in her mind, the spectacle below her did not seem as beautiful as it had once been. It was as if Durmstrang had poisoned landscape, and all her memories from the castle seemed to leak out onto the mountainside. Astoria realized that every part of her life, from her time at Durmstrang onward, would be tainted by the time that she had spent within the castle.

She slowly ran her hand through her limp black locks and stepped out of the carriage as it reached the dock at the bottom of the mountainside. Looking around, Astoria could not see anyone waiting for her. Addison had told her that someone would be here when she had arrived, yet here she was all alone. She was going to go and sit down when she heard a squeaky voice call out from behind her.

"Miss Greengrass!" She looked around and saw no one.

"Miss Astoria Greengrass! Oh, Pokey is waiting such a long time for Miss." Her head immediately snapped downward where she was met with a pair of round, green eyes. "Come now, Miss. We really must be going. Master is waiting for Pokey, oh yes." It was a house elf! Someone had sent a house elf to fetch her from Durmstrang; that was rather odd, at least in Astoria's opinion. She glanced down at the big, green eyes once again.

"Well, all right. Let's go," She said. Pokey smiled at Astoria and took her big hand in his little one.

"Hold on tight to your bags, Miss. You and Pokey will be at Master's house soon." She grasped her bag tightly as she felt the constricting sensation of Apparition. They reappeared in front of one of the biggest houses Astoria had ever seen; it even rivaled Orwell Manor.

"Master says to Pokey that Pokey is supposed to take Miss to the front of the manor," Pokey said as he started walking up a pathway that led through the grounds and up to the huge double doors at the front of the mansion. Astoria levitated her trunk beside her as she followed the house elf, all the while glancing around at her surroundings. The landscape was beautiful, not to mention very expansive. She knew that there was a garden somewhere, and made a mental note to go and look for it as soon as she got settled.

Deep inside, Astoria had a feeling that she had been here before. She could not quite put her finger on who lived here, but Astoria had a feeling she had known him or his family at some point. She was curious as to whom she was working for, but she wasn't really worried. She knew Addison would not send her anywhere dangerous, and that Addison most likely omitted the information about her employer to increase suspense. Astoria silently shook her head; only Addison would do something so sneaky and unnecessary.

When they reached the front doors, Pokey opened them and led Astoria inside the massive house. It was a bit bigger than Orwell Manor, but not much. The biggest difference between this home and Astoria's aunt's house was that this house was much less menacing. The interior was well lit, and many pictures were smiling at her from the walls. Pokey was in front of Astoria, and he motioned for her to follow him. The small house elf brought her into a large sitting area and had her sit down in an armchair.

"Master is on his way, Miss." Pokey left Astoria alone in the sitting room. She sat quietly in the chair while wringing her hands nervously. She grew even more anxious when she heard voices from outside the room.

"Why do I need a tutor? Why can't you just teach me, Dad?" she heard what sounded like a young boy ask.

"I'm not here often enough to teach you. I have to work, you know that, Scorpius. Your tutor is in the parlor waiting, and I know you will like her. So just behave, please." The man's voice sounded familiar to Astoria, though she could not exactly put her finger on where she had heard him before. Slowly, the door opened and a small blonde boy stepped through the door; he had a very prominent scowl on his face. Astoria knew that he wasn't excited about having a tutor, but she smiled brightly at him as he slowly walked over to where she was seated. He looked uneasy, but he seemed to be calming down a bit.

"Hello. What is your name young man?" She asked him even though she had heard his father say his name only seconds ago.

"Scorpius," he replied very coldly. She could tell he was still annoyed with his father.

"That is not an acceptable tone to take with your teacher, Scorpius," a deep voice said from the door. Astoria turned to greet her new employer with a kind smile, but as soon as she saw him leaning against the door frame, her smile faded from her lips.

When Astoria saw Draco Malfoy standing at the door, she did not know whether to thank Addison profusely or never speak to her again.

A/N: I just realized that part of this chapter was really hard to read... I edited it. So, here's the better version :]