Edit: Author's Note

I've had some reviewers asking for underage sex and incest. There is definitely not going to be any underage sex in this fic, and I wasn't planning on any incest either.

"Courage is not having the strength to go on, it is going on when you don't have the strength."

- Theodore Roosevelt

"Bravery is not the absence of fear. Bravery is feeling the fear, the doubt, the insecurity, and deciding that something else is more important .

- Mark Manson

Astra's mother left, to go and pick out some potential wands. She wanted to make sure her children only tried wands that were worthy of a Malfoy.

Her father had gone to the bookshop. Astra had wanted to go to the bookshop, but her father had said that he didn't want to restock the home library right before she left for school, and her mother pointed out that there would be plenty of books in the school library.

Astra and Draco, her twin brother, stood near each other. Starbeam, Astra's cat, sat beside her. Two witches were pinning their robes up to the right length.

A boy they had never seen before was brought in, and stood near them, as Madam Malkin started fitting him.

Draco looked at the boy. "Hello," he said. "Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes," the boy said.

"Our father's next door, buying us books, and mother's up the street looking at wands. Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one, and my sister and I will smuggle it in somehow.

"Have you got your own broom?"

"No," the boy answered.

"Play Quidditch at all?" Draco asked.

"No."

"I do - father says it's a crime if I'm not picked for my house, and I must say, I agree.

"Astra here's not too into Quidditch, but she'll be the top student in our class."

Astra smiled at Draco.

"Know what house you want to be in yet?"

"No."

"We're hoping to be in Slytherin, and we probably will be. All our family have been. Imagine being sorted into Hufflepuff, I think we'd leave."

Draco looked at Astra, and pointed at the window. "Hey, look at that man!"

"That's Hagrid," said the boy. "He works at Hogwarts."

"Oh. We'd heard of him," Draco said. "He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"

"He's the gamekeeper."

"Yes, exactly. We heard he's a sort of savage - lives in a hut on the school grounds, and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."

"I think he's brilliant," the boy said.

"Do you?" Draco said, with a sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead."

Astra gasped, and cringed, and Starbeam rubbed up against her. The witch fitting Astra kicked Starbeam to the side, and Starbeam meowed and jumped away, as Astra trembled.

"Hey," Draco snapped. "How dare you kick a pet belonging to a Malfoy. Our father will hear about this."

"I'm sorry," the witch said, as Starbeam came back and rubbed up against Astra.

Astra had wondered about what it would be like to lose a loved one, after that time she thought she was going to be killed. Draco had said that she couldn't have been killed by the monster because she was a Malfoy.

Their father used to say that Malfoy's made monsters afraid, but she did not believe that anymore. If it were true, she didn't think she would have gotten attacked in the first place. Also, their father had said that he would protect them until they were big enough to make the monsters afraid, but she didn't think she was big enough to scare monsters and he had not protected her.

A moment of silence passed, and Draco turned back to the boy. "They were our kind, weren't they?" he asked.

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."

Madam Malkin looked at the boy. "That's you done, my dear," she said.

"Let's go say hello," Draco said. He looked at his sister, who picked up Starbeam and stood up. They left their compartment, on the train, with Gregory and Vincent. They walked over to the compartment where they herd he was, and entered.

Draco was surprised to see the boy from the robe shop, and with a red-haired boy. "Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

"Yes," the boy said, looking at Vincent and Gregory.

"Oh," Draco said, "this is Crabb and Goyle," he said. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. My sister here is Astra Malfoy."

The red haired boy sniggered.

"Think our name's funny, do you?" Draco snapped. "No need to ask who you are. Our father told us all Weasley have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."

He turned back to Potter. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. We can help you there."

He held out his hand, to shake Potter's, but Potter didn't take it.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," Potter said.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," Draco said, trying to hide his embarrassment. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."

Both Potter and Weasley stood up.

"Say that again," Weasley said.

Draco quickly got in front of Astra, although he was closer to Potter and Weasley now. "Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" he sneered.

"Unless you get out now," Potter said.

"But we don't like leaving. We've eaten all our food, and you still seem to have some."

Gregory reached toward a chocolate frog card, and then let out a horrible yell. Draco backed away, gently pushing Astra away, alongside Vincent. Astra crouched down, releasing Starbeam, and whispered something to her. Starbeam rushed up to Gregory, jumped up and caught the rat.

"Scabbers," Ron yelled, jumping to the floor, and grabbing Starbeam, while Starbeam released the unharmed rat.

Draco shoved Ron off of Starbeam, and Starbeam rushed up to Astra.

Astra was on the floor, trembling. Draco crouched down, in front of her, placing a comforting hand on her and trying to block her from Ron and Harry's view.

He was glad that Vincent and Gregory had run out, so they didn't see Astra like this. At the same time, he also thought it was a bit rude of them to run out right after Astra gave up her cat to help Gregory.

A girl with bushy brown hair walked in. She looked at Astra, and then around at the sweets on the floor, and Ron picked up his rat. "What has been going on?" she asked.

"I think he's been knocked out," said Weaslry. "No - I don't believe it - he's gone back to sleep." He paused, and then pointed to Astra, "and I don't know what's wrong with her, or her cat."

"Her cat was just trying to help our friend, who your rat was attacking," Draco snapped. Right after he said that he regretted it, but only because he knew that his angry tone was not good for Astra when she was like this.

Weasley looked at Hermione, "His friend tried to take our candy, so Scabbers bit him, and then her cat tried to attack him."

"Pull him off and set him on the floor," Draco said, in a gentler tone.

Astra wasn't shaking so much anymore, and she sat up. Draco gently grabbed Astra, who was still shaking a little, and led her out.

Draco knew that Astra could process very little of what was going on around her while freaking out. He also figured that she was embarrassed that two people (not including her brother, of course) had seen her freaking out, so he decided not to mention that a third person had walked in.

Astra felt like a fool. She had been very nervous, and she knew that she needed Starbeam to keep her calm, but she thought stopping that rat was more important, and that she would be alright without Starbeam right next to her for a little bit. If that boy hadn't tried to attack Starbeam, she might have been.