Astra woke up with a stomach ache, and her thighs kind of hurt too. It was strange. She got up, went into the bathroom, and sat on the toilet. She looked down at her underwear, noticed the blood, and cringed.

Starbeam rubbed against her legs. Astra reached down, picked her up, and held her against her chest.

Astra knew this was going to happen one day. Her mother had warned her. Astra had been very worried, because she had had trouble with the sight of blood ever since the attack. Her mother had reassured her that this would not be as bad as blood from an injury, and she was right about that. It still made Astra cringed though.

Astra remembered her mother telling her what to do if this happened while she was away at school, but her mind drew a blank to what that was. This was not the only reason she wanted her mother.

Harry and Ron came down into the common room, where they saw Hermione. Heather soon came into view, rushing up to Hermione. She tried to whisper something into Hermione's ear, and Hermione crouched down so she could.

Afterwards, Hermione looked at Harry and Ron. "We'll meet you two in the great hall, later," she said, before turning away from them.

"What's going on?" Ron asked, as Hermione and Heather headed back up the stairs.

"I don't know," Harry said.

Harry and Ron went down to the great hall, and started eating. Minutes later, Heather showed up, and sat down across from Harry and Ron.

"Where's Hermione and Astra?" Harry asked.

"Hermione just had to help Astra with something."

"What?," Ron asked.

"You wouldn't be interested."

"Yes we would."

"Girl stuff."

"Hey, Hermione's a girl!" Ron exclaimed. He looked toward Harry. "We should ask her to the ball."

"But you can't both go to the ball with her, and it would be kind of mean to ask her to choose," Heather said.

"You can ask her, Ron," Harry said. "I have someone else I was meaning to ask, and me going with Hermione after what Rita Skeeter said in the paper is probably a bad idea."

Heather knew what it was, but she had never had it before, and didn't really know what to do for it, and the bathroom was crowded, so she left a while ago and now it was just Astra, Starbeam, and Hermione.

"Thanks for helping me," Astra said.

"No problem," Hermione said. "I like feeling like a big sister. You know, this really isn't a big deal."

"I know it shouldn't be, but it feels like it. It's just, I hate seeing blood, this whole thing feels like a curse, and I want my Mummy."

Hermione gently took one of Astra's hands in hers. "I know this is scary, but it happens to all girls, and they all get used to it eventually. At least it gives you the option to have children when you grow up. I'm not sure if I'll want children or not, but it's nice to have the option."

"I'll never have that option. I couldn't find any information on weather or not lycanthropy can be passed down to someone's descendants, but I am not going to risk it."

"Oh, well it seems more likely that it can't. Even if it can, is it really that big a deal when you have wolfsbane potion?"

"Well, it's really just having been attacked that's a big deal, so I guess no."

"See."

"It wasn't until after the attack, when Mummy tried so hard to help me, that I started getting the desire to have children one day. I never could though. I'm a Malfoy, and I'm not a pureblood anymore. I used to be so proud of being a Malfoy, now I wish I was part of a family line that didn't have to be pureblood." Astra paused. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said that in front of you."

Hermione paused. "Have you talked to your mother about that?"

Astra shook her head.

"Well, maybe you should. It's Saturday. You have plenty of time."

"She already feels really bad for me."

"That doesn't justify you feeling even worse."

"You're right."

"But first, we should probably head down to breakfast."

"I'm not hungry. I can always go and get food from the kitchens later."

"Good idea."

"Sorry I made you late for breakfast."

"It's alright."

Hermione showed at, sat down beside Heather, and started putting some food on her plate.

"Would you like to go to the ball with me, Hermione?" Ron asked, casually.

Hermione was taken back. "Yes," she said, after several seconds of silence.

Astra wrote her mother a letter, and sent it to her. She got a reply back, hours later, asking her to meet her outside the potions classroom and four pm. Astra got there a little early.

Professor Snape showed up, and unlocked the door. "You're mother really wants to talk to you in private, for some reason, so I told her she could use my classroom."

Astra's mother showed up, and smiled softly at Astra.

Astra smiled, held her arms out, and they hugged.

Afterwards, they noticed that Professor Snape was standing there, awkwardly, holding out a key.

Her mother took it. "Thank you Severus," she said.

Professor Snape left.

Astra, her mother, and Starbeam walked inside the classroom, and shut the door. Astra sat down, with her cat in her lap. Her mother pulled a chair across from her, and sat down.

"You are a Malfoy, and you always will be, no matter what. Nobody knows you have lycanthropy. Interestingly, in todays society, having lycanthropy is still considered shameful by most people, even though it shouldn't be, but most people find nothing wrong with someone being half-blood or even muggle-born. That should mean there's nothing wrong with having lycanthropy either, and one day it probably will, or at least it would if everyone with lycanthropy drank wolfsbane potions, or at least locked themselves up."

"Does it bother you, that I'm not a pureblood anymore."

"No. Not anymore."

"Does it bother Daddy?"

Her mother sighed. "I don't want to lie to you. Yes."

Astra did not think it was right to be mad at her father, who had saved her life, and had made sure she got wolfsbane potion, but she was. She thought of all the times that her mother would be comforting her, or attempting to comfort her, and her father would come by and look at her in disgust.

Astra looked down at Starbeam, who was cuddled up win he lap, rubbing against her chest, while Astra held her.

Astra's mother gently placed her hands on Astra's arms, and looked into Astra's eyes. "I love you Astra."

Astra looked at her mother. "I love you too Mummy," Astra said. Her eyes soon turned down. " Does Draco care?"

"I think he does, but not as much as he used to. He and Daddy both still love you, you know."

She knew that Draco still loved her, but she was not sure if her father still did. She had suspected he hadn't for a long time.

Astra looked up at her mother again. They both had black hair. For many years, they had both had blond hair, the vast majority of the time, to match her father and brother. That had been her mothers choice, which Astra just followed. Since the attack, Astra's hair was black all the time because she could not change her appearance anymore, and her mother had insisted on keeping her hair black all the time as well.

Astra started to cry.

Her mother sat down, beside her, and wrapped her arms around her, and that made Astra feel better.

Shortly after her mother left, Astra was walking down the hall. Viktor Krum approached, looked around, and then pointed to Astra. "Does Hermioniney have any plans for the yule ball?"

"Yes, why?"

He looked down, sadly. "I want a date who will treat me like she treats Harry, like I'm not famous."

"Oh, well sorry, but there must be other girls who don't care about fame and are old enough."

Astra was surprised that Viktor Krum would be interested in Hermione, because she was a muggle-born and he was from a school that did not allow muggle-borns. She wondered if he did not care, or if he did not know.