Shortly after Astra had gone to bed, her mother slowly opened the door and popped her head in. "Astra, you awake?" she asked.
Astra sat up. "Yeah," she said.
"Lumos maxima," her mother said, lighting up the room. She walked in, along with an unfamiliar house-elf, and shut the door.
"Astra, this is Kreacher," her mother introduced. "He's the Black family house-elf. Kreacher, this is Astra."
"Hi," Astra said, holding her hand out for a shake.
Kreacher hesitated, and then shook it.
"It's nice to meet you," she said, a bit confused, "but what brings you here?"
"Master treats Kreacher like vermin. He has a bunch of house-guest who don't acknowledge Krecher's existence, except for the mudblood who Kreacher shouldn't talk to."
Astra cringed, and cuddled up with Starbeam.
Kreacher continued. "Due to a lack of options, I decided to come and visit my master's cousin."
"Who is your master?" Astra asked.
"Mister Sirius Black," he answered
Astra gasped.
"I know that you've met him, but it's about time you learn the truth. Sirius Black is a self-centered asshole," her mother explained.
Astra cringed, again.
Her mother sat beside her, and gave her a hug. "Meda told me about Sirius, and how he was framed. He may not be that bad, and I've been wondering if he might actually not be the bad guy I remember, but that was hard to imagine. Kreacher came and told me that he is just as bad as ever, and I don't want you having untrue delusions about him."
"Meda? Kreacher thought Meda wasn't part of the family anymore, because she married a mudblood."
"She wasn't, but that changed," her mother explained. "A lot has happened since then."
"Kreacher wonders if this is because Miss Astra Malfoy is a werewolf. Master Sirius Black told everyone."
"She is not a werewolf," her mother scolded. "She has lycanthropy."
"Kreacher is sorry, Miss Malfoy," he said, with a bow.
"Dora heard about your lycanthropy from him. It seems he doesn't respect you at all."
"Kreacher wonders how Master Sirius Black even found out."
"My friend, Harry Potter, told me I could trust Sirius and asked my permission to write to him about it."
There was a moment of silence. "May Kreacher stay here a few days?" he asked.
"I'm alright with that," her mother said. "I'm not sure if my husband will be, although he probably would be if you earned your keep," her mother said. "I should warn you, my husband and son see house-elves as things to boss around, and not as people. To a lesser extent, I used to also be this way. I'm surprised you came to me."
"Miss Narcissa Black was never mean to Kreacher, like Master Sirius Black is, and Kreacher did not have any good options."
"Well, I guess that makes sense," her mother said. "I should also warn you, my daughter will probably try to start teaching you how to read, while you're here."
"Kreacher already knows how to read," Kreacher said. "Master Regulus Black taught Kreacher, but he and Kreacher were not allowed to tell anyone that he could read because Mr. Orion Black and Mrs. Walburga Black were embarrassed that I could read."
The next day, Kreacher, at Astra's insistence, wrote an apology letter to Miss Granger. Astra wrote a letter to Sirius. They put their letter in the same envelope.
A few days later, Narcissia Malfoy's owl came back with replies for both of them.
Asra gave Kreacher his, and then read hers. She looked upset, and Starbeam rubbed against her. She marched into her room, followed by Starbeam.
Narcissa hesitated, and then walked into her daughter's room. She found Astra, writing at her desk, with Starbeam curled up in her lap. She looked over Astra's shoulder, at what she was writing.
Dear Snuffles,
You said that you learn more about a person by how he treats his inferiors than by how he treats his equals. That means it doesn't matter that Kreacher is mean to you too because you're the one who is the boss.
I don't think I can be your friend anymore.
Sincerely,
Astra
Narcissa placed a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder, and Astra turned around and hugged her. She sobbed into her mother's chest.
A few days later, Narcissa owl came back with a letter. Narcissa opened it.
Dear Astra,
You're right. Thank you for pointing that out. I can be kind of an idiot sometimes.
If Kreacher would come home, I'd like to work on repairing our relationship. If he's willing to come home, I'll be nicer to him.
Astra, I'd really hope you can still be my friend.
Sincerely,
Snuffles
P.S. You may tell Heather about me.
That evening, Narcissia, Astra, Starbeam, Kreacher, and Draco went over to the Tonks for dinner.
At one point, Narcissia pulled Ardromeda into the kitcher to speak to her privately. She told her about what happened with Sirius, and showed her the letter.
"Did you not give this to her?" Andromeda asked.
"No. I don't want her to be friends with that man anymore."
"You're really not being fair. Sirius has suffered a lot."
"So has my daughter."
"I understand."
"No, you don't. You could never understand."
"You're right, I can't, and you can't understand Sirius."
"Astra's suffering has made her almost too nice and empathetic, and she's a little girl. Sirius is an adult."
"Sirius did not have a loving and attentive mother to help him. He didn't even have a special pet. Also, it's probably hard to mature in Azkaban, so I would expect him to act more like a teenager then an adult."
Astra was confused, in her room that evening, when her mother handed her the clearly open envelope.
"I read your letter," her mother said. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I'm just so nervous about Sirius."
Astra was surprised that her mother hadn't forbidden her from communicating with Sirius at all.