The green of Scotland could truly never be matched by any other sight. The last time Aster had been aboard the Hogwarts Express was a year ago except, back then, she was alone with her twin. This time, she was surrounded by so many people in a crowded cart. To her right was Blaise who just looked down at his book. Across from her sat Theo and Pansy. The rest of Slytherin house talked amongst themselves, ready to finish their last year of studies.
Aster hated it. She hated all this noise. There wasn't enough air to breathe, and the rumbling of the train's motions made her sick.
It frustrated her that her friends had nothing worthy of note to discuss. She wanted to shove cotton into her ears if only for a moment of silence.
Ever since Fleur and Bill's wedding, Aster was determined to bury herself in her studies. Truthfully, there was nothing else for Hogwarts to teach her with the exception of whatever might be in the Restricted Section. Aster opted to find the patience to follow in Io's footsteps and become an Animagus. Thanks to the Ministry of Magic ultimately falling prey to Lord Voldemort, there was no need to officially register as one though Uncle Altair made it a point to write to the American Ministry to avoid any future issues.
Aster always wondered what she would be as an Animagus. Io's form was so obvious - a black cat. No one would have expected anything else because it suited her so well. Her personality and habits suited a cat, and the ominous nature surrounding black cats in particular just made sense. When Aster had finally completed the process just before it was time to return to school, she had at last seen herself in a form that also suited her quite nicely.
An arctic fox, fur as white as snow, greeted her in the mirror. There was a childlike excitement at the thought of standing side-by-side with Io when this was all over. Well… hopefully when it was over.
She was so excited to write to Hermione about the process, but the happy tone of her writings was quickly overshadowed by news of what the trio had discovered about one of the Horcruxes they found, something about needing to infiltrate the Ministry of Magic. Aster could do nothing but wish her luck though words could only do so much in the end.
"How was your summer, Aster?" Theo suddenly called her. "I heard you stayed in London."
Aster didn't want to answer. She didn't want to talk because it would inevitably lead to questions about Io. Aside from the brief discussion with Hermione, she still didn't want to talk about it. After all, how much could any of them understand? It wasn't until now that she was fully aware that some of the members of her house might side with the Dark Lord. They had their pride, sure, but their loyalty was never once a topic any of them touched.
Pansy with her pride, something that Aster only ever attributed to a Slytherin trait, and Theo with his ignorance, knowing fully well that his father was a suspected Death Eater - for all she knew, the Nott family was part of her story, of her parents' story.
"I believe it was an uneventful summer for all of us." Blaise spoke up to Aster's surprise.
Theo sat back, laughing quietly. "I wouldn't say so…"
Somehow, only one person had asked about Io. Everyone must have caught onto Aster's mood and knew that it was a tender topic. It was probably for the best.
Theo could tell something was different about her. Though she avoided making eye contact with anyone, she could feel his eyes studying her expressions. It wasn't in an intimidating way. In fact, it looked like he was concerned. That soft spot he had for her must have festered in the past month or so because Aster could tell he was actively holding himself back from pursuing the matter further.
The conversations slowly died as the train came to an abrupt stop. The squeaking of the brakes was loud, silencing any voice that tried to speak over it. Black smoke fogged the air just outside the window, and it was an ominous sight.
"What's going on?" Aster stood. Blaise took her hand to bring her back next to him, but she shrugged him off.
No one in the Slytherin cart wanted to investigate, but she knew better. Ignoring the stares of her friends, she walked to the door that separated them from the next cart where the voices also ceased.
"He isn't here." Neville Longbottom stood proudly as two Death Eaters stared him down.
They were tall, cloaked in black, just as Io described from the night of Dumbledore's death. Judging by the way they were looking at each seat, carefully searching, they must have been looking for someone, and there was only one person anyone they could think of who would be of interest. One of the men had a devious grin, slowly raising his wand threateningly.
"Don't you dare."
Aster appeared behind Neville, slowly pushing him to the side. Her wand was already up, eye-level with the Death Eaters before her. She approached with heavy steps as the rest of the Gryffindor cart stared.
"He said Harry isn't here," she spoke sternly. "Now, leave."
Since her duel with Pansy last year, no one had ever seen Aster like this. And even then, that was fun to her. This time, it was different. Aster looked terrifyingly intimidating. Her eyes were dark, and her chin was tucked down as she stared. Her hair which she normally pushed out of her face, fell over her cheeks, narrowing her gaze.
"I said, leave!"
The Gryffindors around her flinched at the pitch of her command, hoarse and aggitated.
The Death Eaters stepped back, not daring to look away as they exited the train. A collective sigh of relief washed over the train as the air cleared.
Neville and Ginny looked at her with wide eyes.
Aster cleared her throat, regaining her composure. "Well done, Neville."
There was an empty seat next to Ginny. Aster wanted to stay here but knew that her friends would find it suspicious that she didn't return.
Instead, much to her surprise yet again, Blaise sat down next to Neville who turned red in the face. Not once during their years at Hogwarts had Blaise ever interacted with any of Gryffindor house except when necessary, and now, here he was, sitting at a table full of them away from his friends.
"I need to ask you about some of the things we're going to study in Herbology, Longbottom."
Neville stayed quiet for a moment. It was the first time he'd ever actually heard Blaise's voice, and here he was asking about a subject he was particularly fond of.
Ginny motioned to the space next to her with a soft smile.
"Thanks," Aster muttered, taking a seat.
The rest of the journey to Hogwarts commenced without another incident. It wasn't until Aster stepped off the train with Blaise that an entirely different issue started. Pansy looked at them suspiciously noticing the friendly demeanor between them and their new friends. She didn't try very hard to hide her disdain or her surprise for that matter.
Blaise took Aster's shoulder and guided her forward, letting Pansy and Theo trail a few steps behind them. She could hear Pansy whispering to Gregory Goyle about what she saw.
Theo caught up to the two. "Where were you guys?"
"On the train," Blaise retorted.
"You know what I meant. You just disappeared…"
"One cart away is not 'disappearing', Theo." Aster kept her eyes up.
Theo scoffed, pulling Aster back to face him. "I don't know what your deal is, Aster. You've been acting cold all day, and if I have to deal with Pansy trying to figure you out for the rest of term, I might strangle myself. Seriously, what the hell is going on with you?"
This must have been the most Theo has ever said - at least in weight. Where he would normally jest and prod, he sounded genuinely concerned and possibly hurt that Aster and Blaise would purposely shut him out.
Aster gave Theo's shoulder a small squeeze. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just not feeling well."
She looked at Blaise who casually nodded to her like he knew she was lying. At this point in their friendship, she felt no need to ask him what he knew. He'd say something eventually even if it was in less than a few words.
Theo seemed to have taken the apology as a reasonable response because that was the last bit of conversation shared between them on the way up to the castle.
The only good thing about this year was that Aster got her own room thanks to the persuasive ways of Professor McGonagall. Uncle Altair had already settled into his new position as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor only to find soon after that there was no need for the class. Thankfully, Professor McGonagall had increased responsibilities as Deputy Headmistress under the new Headmaster, so he took over as the Transfiguration professor.
That being said, the new Headmaster was someone they all knew too well. Headmaster Snape took over quietly, and his position was only announced via a particularly obnoxious article in the Daily Prophet. Slytherin House thought it was wonderful news since the last Slytherin alum in that role was Phineas Nigellus Black. Aster held in her discontent, masquerading as another student who represented her house with pride.
Aster sat down on her bed. It creaked slightly, and that was just about the only sound to disrupt the silence.
She opened up the red notebook, but the only message in there was the last one she sent. No uncle, no sister, no friend - it was just her in this room. Where she used to think that alone time would be good if only to explore her thoughts away from all the noise, this was a new form of torture. Being alone with her thoughts wasn't solace.
A knock at the door tore her away from the quiet hellspace.
"Hey," the door swung open. It was Blaise, now dressed casually in a black t-shirt and jeans.
"Hi," she sat up. "You're lucky we're allowed more privileges this year. The prefects would have thrown a fit that you're in the girl's dorm."
He rolled his eyes. "Pansy doesn't give a shit, and they haven't gotten around to replacing Draco as far as I know. I just wanted to see how you're feeling."
Aster narrowed her eyes. He knew something. "That's thoughtful of you, but I'm fine."
"Y'know you're easy to read to me." Blaise sat down next to her.
"Good to know I'm so predictable…"
"Are you going to be okay tonight?"
"Meaning?"
"The sky is looking pretty dark." Blaise looked towards the window. "And you skipped dinner. Figured we could go down to the Great Hall since -"
"- I'm fine, Blaise. Really." Aster stood up. "I think I'm going to go for a walk."
Hogwarts felt colder now even though summer still had some weeks left. None of the portraits moved, and it made her feel uneasy. They weren't entirely still, but they did their best to stay in their place probably to avoid the many Death Eaters who were roaming the halls.
She only barely made it out of the common room when she caught the sound of Pansy talking to another girl.
"- with the Weasley girl… I mean, honestly."
"Isn't she your friend?"
"We'll see. I thought we were on the same page until today. And with Blaise, too…"
Aster stayed behind a wall, just close enough to hear Pansy clearly.
"Imagine if Draco was here. He would have thrown a fit. Next thing you know, Aster will be dating some Mudblood. It'd be even more tragic if it was someone like Granger. What an embarrassment to our house."
Aster slid down to the floor, hearing quite enough of the gossip. If Io were here, she would've enouraged her to do something just like as she had when Pansy made that insensitive comment that led to their duel. It seemed like the fire in Aster's spirit went out, and she had no energy left to fight. Right now, she could only feel defeat.
She and Pansy were friends after all even after all the tension. To think, such a small act was enough to disrupt everything. Clearly she misjudged Pansy's character.
It was funny hearing Pansy bring Draco up again as if it really mattered. Everyone had a small hunch that Pansy always liked him more than a friend, and the fact that he wasn't just gone - he was with Io - made the feeling so much more bitter.
Aster walked back to her room. When her stomach started twisting, she immediately regretted not taking Blaise up on his offer to get something to eat.
She laid back down on her bed, groaning from the pain in her stomach. But as luck would have it, there was a napkin on her desk, a sandwich sitting neatly on top. Leave it to Blaise to become her caretaker in Io's absence.
Aster ate her late dinner as she stared at the green sheets on the bed. Once there were only crumbs left, there was one thing left to do.
The vials of Draught of Dreamless Sleep clanked together in her bag. Just one sip, and it would be a quiet night away from the nightmares. She picked one up and studied it.
Maybe, just for tonight, she'd like to see the green viper.