Winter 1991

Ronald Weasley

Ron stepped out of his guest room, his footsteps echoing slightly in the small area between the rooms. He made his way towards the top of the stairs where he was supposed to meet Tracey and Daphne. The house seemed quiet, quieter than both the burrow and Hogwarts. No torches crackled and there were no signs of any distant footsteps, just the quiet ringing that filled Ron's ears with empty air ever since he had nearly blown himself up.

"You don't look like you've killed a troll," a voice offered behind him. Ron flinched and nearly fell backwards against one of the walls.

Ron's eyes snapped behind him to one of the four doors which leaned open, a girl standing in the doorframe with her arms crossed. She held in her bright _ eyes a look of curiosity. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a neat braid that fell over her left shoulder and she wore a dulled-pink jumper.

"I– what?" Ron stammered.

"A troll," the girl repeated, matter-of-factly. "My sister said you've killed one, but I think she might be lying. Which is it?"

Ron stared at the younger girl with quiet shock. Girl standing in front of him, Daphne's sister, Astoria, was nothing like he could have imagined. They shared a resemblance, but where Daphne held herself almost like her mother, Astoria seemed to mimic Aloris. She looked relaxed, her back not perfectly straight, and she seemed sure of herself in a way that was hard to decipher. And, somehow, Ron frowned, even she had heard what happened on Hallowe'en.

"You saved some Gryffindor girl?" She asked. "You don't look like you could fight a troll."

Ron straightened himself and tried his best to look like what he thought the Hogwarts guardian should. He did his best to mimic the subtle way Sal seemed to hold authority in just the way he stood.

"Well I did," Ron said defensively.

The corners of Astoria's lips curled upwards into a small smirk. "If you say so," she tilted her head as if she was studying him further.

"You're taller than I thought you'd be," she added as if she had just disproved an important hypothesis. "And a lot more ginger."

"I'm a Weasley," Ron said as he scratched the back of his neck. He hated the feeling of being evaluated, which happened far too often for him lately.

"Ronald Weasley," she mouthed carefully as if testing the name. "I'm Astoria Greengrass, although you've probably already put that together. It's not every day you get to meet a princess."

"A princess?"

The smirk faltered from Astoria's face. "Didn't Daphne tell you? Our ancestors were once nobles in Aquitaine. I think that makes me a Princess. Don't you?"

Ron offered her a small nod. He really wasn't sure what made someone a princess or not. He knew there was a royal family of muggles that were somehow a part of the muggle government, he heard his father talk about that but he didn't really know what that meant. He understood it in principle and knew a great deal more from his conversations with Salazar, but he wasn't really sure how the whole royal blood thing worked. Were both Greengrass sisters actually princesses?Posh enough.

"Either way, we should probably get going before Daphne comes and tells me off. I was supposed to lead you down to the back patio the moment you came out." Astoria shrugged slightly and regained her smile. "But be honest, I'm better company than my sister right?"

Ron opened his mouth and shut it again deciding that it was not a great idea to answer that question honestly or dishonestly. He couldn't imagine the looks either Daphne or Astoria would give him. If Astoria was anything like Ginny then her wraith would probably be terrible.

"I think we should probably meet your sister then," Ron offered.

Astoria tilted her head slightly and narrowed her eyes in the same way Daphne often did. "It's smart not to answer, but I think you'll make the right choice eventually. I'm much more fun than Daphne. She's the heir of everything, hasn't she told you? While I'm the spare. It means I get to be a princess while she has to seem responsible so Daddy doesn't put too much pressure on her."

Ron stared at Astoria , she really thinks that way?He wondered if Aloris and Dianna weren't as kind as he first thought. He couldn't imagine Ginny saying anything similar.

Astoria launched herself away from the doorframe and pushed past Ron to reach the top of the stairs. She stood for a moment at the top and let out a long sigh. "Let's see what Daphne has to show us."

Ron followed Astoria through the manor passing both the Floo Hall he had arrived in earlier and a small sitting room that sported a large sapphire-encrusted hearth. He couldn't help but wonder if every pureblood family besides his own lived in such an expensive home or if the Greengrasses were somewhat exceptional. Regardless, he soaked in as much of the decor as he could manage making notes of spindly crystal lights and plush fur-like furniture.

Finally, at what seemed to be the opposite end of the house, there was another large vast hall that was easily double the size of the Hogwarts Great Hall. Columns of marble ran up the long walls and twisted into sculptures of wizards and magical beasts, a dragon's head in particular held a large golden pole from which a small silver flag hung. On the shorter walls, there was the door from which Astoria and Ron had entered, a large thing that would have looked at place in Hogwarts if Hogwarts had decided some time ago to cover everything in a thin sheet of gold, and across to the other end of the room where Ron reckoned a large table ought to have been, was an equally as massive door made entirely of spiralling bits of bronze and shimmering white glass. The glass door hung open slightly, seemingly to impossible hover on its hinges.

"Here we are," Astoria said, pointing. "The ballroom and that patio. Isn't it just dreadful? All the gaudy gold?"

"Dreadful!?" Ron's eyebrows nearly raised off his head. "I think it's bloody brilliant."

Astoria stopped for a second and turned to him, her head tilting. "Does father know you swear? And he lets you be friends with Daphne?"

Ron blushed. He supposed that saying'bloody'was a swear of sorts, although he had never really considered it before. He just stared at Astoria blankly.

She smirked again, "Don't worry," her voice lowered to a whisper. "Sometimes, I like to swear too." With that, she turned sharply on her heel and marched over to the large glass door.

The patio was unlike anything Ron had ever seen before, which was quickly becoming a pattern when it came to Greengrass Estate. It was made entirely of large tiles of the same white glass that the door was made from, water seeming to flow beneath the surface in swirls of glitter and strange magical fish. Ron wasn't sure exactly how that worked or if the fish were magic or real. He couldn't begin to comprehend the kind of advanced charms and transfiguration work that something like that would have required, and he had the strange urge to break through the glass and dip his fingers in the water. The glass patio was railed with a wrought-iron fence that sported more of the same spindly crystals every few feet, even in the brightness of the late afternoon they glowed slightly and cast silvery shadows over everything they touched.

Daphne and Tracey leaned against a section of the fencing looking out over the yard beyond, a yard which stretched a few dozen metres with well-kept grass before rising in large bushy hedges that hid everything but the tops of trees and the whistle of birdsongs.

Daphne turned to face them, and her eyes gosh.

"You're late," she said sternly. "It's not very polite to leave the host waiting in her own home, Weasley."

Ron felt his cheeks turn a little red. It wasn't really his fault, was it? Her father had come to talk to him after all. He offered her a small apologetic smile and listened to Astoria scoff beside him.

"It's alright," Astoria defended, "he was telling me all about what happened with the troll."

"What…" Daphne's glare deepened.

Ron's eyes the fuck!?

"No, I wasn't, I just told you that it was true."

"Oh yes," Astoria agreed. "And all about how brave you were, and how you saved that poor little Gryffindor. It was quite a heroic tale."

Daphne's gaze shifted from Ron to Astoria and the girl burst into a fit of laughter. "Honestly, Daphne, who cares if we're late? It's not like you have anything planned."

"I have quite a lot planned actually," Daphne said. "And it doesn't involve you, Tori. Please, go back to your room or do something else."

"Something else?" Astoria scrunched her nose. "But I want to spend time with you three, I mean, I have so many questions about Hogwarts."

Tracey's face lit up with a kind smile. "It's the best, you're going to love it."

"Well, I guess I'll never know because my evil sister wants to keep me locked away in my tower." She turned to Ron and batted her eyelashes. "Besides, Ron enjoys my company more. Don't you?"

Ron glanced between Astoria and Daphne. "Um…"

Daphne sighed and ran her hand across her face. It was the first time Ron saw her become visibly annoyed by anyone except himself or Theo. "Fine, Tori, you can come with us. But, you can't tell father about anything that happens. Deal?"

Astoria smiled from ear to ear. "I would never tell, after all, what are sisters for."

Ron had a strong suspicion that she would certainly tell Aloris anything that she could. And he made a mental note to try and contain as much swearing as he could manage. He felt like he was sitting at the kitchen table again while his mother doted over him and his siblings, reminding them about all of their politeness.

Daphne nodded and turned to Tracey. "The gardens then?"

"Oh, I can't wait! I've never seen it in winter before!"

"How big are the gardens?" Ron asked. "I can't see beyond those hedges."

"That's kind of the point!" Astoria interrupted. "It's supposed to be hard to see, otherwise how would you ever have any kind of privacy when you're trying to do sneaky things?"

"Sneaky things?" Daphne raised an eyebrow.

"Of course, like not telling Daddy whatever it is you're up to."

"Right," Ron nodded. "But, I mean, like it can't be much bigger can it? How much land does your family own?"

Daphne and Astoria shared a knowing look.

"Ron…" Tracey said softly. "They own more than one house."

"Blimey, you mean they have another? Just like this!?"

Astoria laughed. "You're funny, I can see why my sister wants to be friends with you. Of course, we have more properties, remember? I'm a princess?"

"You are not," Daphne scolded. "Stop telling people that, it makes you sound like a brat."

"Oh, does it?" Astoria swept her braid off of her shoulder. "I don't think I've ever noticed. Either way, we have quite a few houses, don't we? Not all of them are like this, of course, this is our home. It's where we live. But we have houses in Spain, Germany, and even in America. Although daddy won't ever take us to America, says it's not good for business."

"That's not why," Daphne sighed. "It's because he wouldn't trust you not to make an international incident. At least there isn't any trouble for you to get into in Spain."

"I would not!" Astoria turned to Ron. "Can't you kill her? Like the troll?"

Ron felt his face pale and his mouth turned I? … probably…

"Astoria! What's wrong with you!?" Daphne stepped over to them and grabbed Ron's arm, yanking him away from her sister. Ron stared at them both.

Who asks someone that? Merlin, she's as crazy as Theo!

"Fine," Astoria rolled her eyes. "I won't talk anymore about the troll thing. But, just so you know, Ronald, I think you're quite heroic. I think it would be great to be saved from certain death. It's like a fairytale isn't it?"

"Excuse me?" Daphne shook her head. "How exactly is it like a fairy tale?"

"Oh please," Astoria snorted. "Imagine you think you're about to die when a tall ginger wizard saves your life. I think I would fall in love instantly."

"Love?" Ron swallowed. Hermione couldn't possibly have fallen in love with him, could she?Merlin, girls are insane, I really wish Blaise had come with me.

"Oh yes," Astoria nodded, "that's how it always works in the stories. Haven't you read any?"

Ron shook his head. He hadn't heard any fairy tales since he was young and not very many of them had anything to do with love. He preferred stories where wizards fought dragons or got caught up in something terrible. He remembered particularly liking one story about a muggle boy who stole a goose.

"That… is how stories work," Tracey added. "Maybe Granger's in love with you?"

Ron's cheeks burned scarlet. "I don't think so…"

"It doesn't matter," Daphne added, "we just said we aren't talking about what happened on Hallowe'en. Astoria's just trying to trick you into talking about it more."

Astoria wore a defensive look. "No, I'm not."

"Yes, yes you are. I know you Tori, don't try that stuff with me."

With a final huff, Daphne turned around and grabbed both Tracey and Ron by the arm of their robes pulling them over to a stone step that merged the patio into grass of the garden.

The four of them set out across the yard to where the hedges began to grow and found an archway cut into the plant. Beyond the archway, the grass gave way to a tiled path of pink-ish coloured stone that spread out in multiple directions through different archways and turns beyond.

"It's a maze," Astoria said beside Ron. "So you can hide sneaky things."

"That's not what it's for!" Daphne snapped. "It's all decoration, so people can walk around during the balls."

Tracey smiled wickedly. "Probably so they can snog."

Astoria laughed while Daphne looked irritated.

"Anyway, Ron, you should probably know that if you're ever separated out here, follow the stones," she pointed down at their feet. "See that one there, it's kind of shaped like an arrow. They all lead back to this entrance."

Ron stared at the lattice of tiles trying to make out which one of the various stones was supposed to look like an arrow. He just decided to not get lost, he would have to make sure he stayed by Daphne or Tracey's side. It couldn't have been that hard, could it? How large could the maze possibly be?

"You could also call for a house elf," Astoria suggested. "That's what I do."

Ron nodded, that sounded probably like a better plan. The Weasleys didn't own any house elves because they were too expensive, but he did know how they , it would be so nice to have a house elf to do all my chores.

Daphne led them down one path of the maze, the hedges grew tall around them so despite the sun still being rather high, they were cloaked in dark cold shadows that brought a chill to Ron's face. Tracey, for how excited she was about seeing the garden, was disappointed to learn that many of the flowers don't grow during the winter so the hedges remained mostly green with only the occasional splash of colour. Daphne explained that the hedges themselves were magical and immune to the snow and cold and never had to be trimmed.

They turned left at a junction in the maze and came out to a small clearing that was walled in on six hexagonal sides with more hedges and a few other arches. The path turned different, becoming as smooth as a proper floor and shifting to an orangish colour with black squares that almost reminded Ron of a chess board if only a chess board was built by someone who had never played chess.

"This," Daphne said, "Is the garden dancefloor."

"Oh," Tori smiled widely, "Can I do the next part, Daphne, I love it when it happens!"

"You don't have a wand!" Daphne said with a tone of exhaustion. She stepped over to one of the black marks on the floor and tapped her wand against the surface.

Ron flinched as the entire surface seemed to rumble, Astoria laughing merrily at whatever it was that was happening. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw that along one of the six walls some of the stone was rising from the ground. The stones morphed from pure solid blocks into the rough shape of humans until they formed what seemed to be eight pairs of men and women, the men wearing very traditional dress robes and the women long stony dresses. With one bow each they all stepped forward like toy soldiers and stood together at attention.

"The stone dancers!" Astoria squealed. "Aren't they wonderful!"

Ron had to agree, the golems in front of him were absolutely wonderful, they looked almost as if they were real aside from their uniform colour and rocky texture.

"God, I love this," Tracey said breathlessly.

Daphne gave her a slight nod and raised her wand in the air. All at once the dancers took hold of their partners and started to prance around the floor being careful enough to avoid the four children. They swung and danced as flawlessly as Ron had ever seen anyone dance, each step perfectly timed and coordinated seamlessly. It was extremely fascinating.

"Wow. I don't even know what to say." Ron mumbled.

"Isn't it great," Tracey smiled at him. "This is why I love it here, lots of little things like this. Daphne's mum is absolutely amazing, isn't she?"

Ron's eyes widened. "She made this?"

Astoria laughed. "No, silly, she just designed it. A wizard in France did all of the spellwork. My father said it cost a small fortune."

Daphne nodded, "My mother is a great potioneer, but not so good at charms."

"So what's this for?" Ron asked. "I mean, it's kind of amazing even if it's just for looking at. I bet Fred and George would love to see this." He felt a sudden pang of hurt when he thought of the twins, his smile slipping slightly.

"It's for practice," Daphne said, "so you can learn all of the dances you need for a ball. My father had Astoria and I learned it when we were young."

"I wish I learned," Tracey said a little bitterly.
Ron had never danced, not properly, and he felt a slight nervousness about the prospect.

"But," Daphne said, "I thought the dancers could serve another purpose too."

She walked over into the path of one of the dancing couples and gave them a heavy shove from behind. The two stone people toppled over heavily, cracking into bits when they hit the board. Tracey and Ron looked on in the fuck, she just killed them for no reason!

Just as they had fallen apart, the stones rumbled and seemed to fuse together again, first the wizard reforming and standing to his feet before reaching down to grab the hand of the witch and helping her stand too. Both golems looked as if they were completely fine, and neither had a scratch.

"I thought," Daphne said carefully, "we could practise the explosion charm on them. Couldn't we?"

A sudden chill ran down Ron's .He was hoping they had forgotten.

"Er… your father…"

Daphne let out a sharp breath and crossed her arms in front of her. "He asked you not to teach us, didn't he?"

"Yes."

A large frown formed on her face. "Of course he would, he's such a… such a… ugh. He never wants us to do anything that could result in any danger. It's so annoying."

"He won't let me have a wand," Astoria , because you're not old enough?

"That means you won't teach us?" Tracey asked. Ron felt some guilt swirl in his stomach. He had promised, hadn't he?

"No," Daphne interrupted. "He shouldn't, my father won't like it and then Ron will probably have to go back to Hogwarts. It isn't very pleasant, but it's who he is. He sees me as this little girl, and he can't get over the fact that I'm clearly growing up."

"Should we run away?" Astoria asked seemingly seriously. "We could go to America."

Daphne shot her a dark look. "No, we aren't running away, I'm just going to have to speak to him later."

A rush of relief spread through Ron's limbs. Aloris hadn't seemed to him like a man who easily changed his mind, at least, he hoped not. He hoped the whole issue was settled and they could just move onto something else… anything else.

Tracey frowned. "But what if something else happens at Hogwarts?" she asked. "How are we going to protect ourselves?"

Ron's relief was torn away from him , shit, hadn't considered that could happen, but he knew that whoever let the troll into the castle was still out there. What if they attacked his friends? He bit the side of his cheek. But he couldn't just go against Daphne's father? Could he?

Ron stared out at the stone dancers and compared them to the shadows that Salazar used in the room of requirement. A small idea came into his mind. He reached backwards and took his wand out of his pocket. He swirled it around in his fingers for a second before picking one of the stone dancers.

"Expelliarmus!"

A scarlet light blasted from the end of his wand and hit one of the dancers. The wizard he aimed for shivered in a spray of stone, his hands letting go of his stone partner and dropping her onto the ground.

Tracey and Daphne shared pleased looks.