Before long the summer was drawing to an end and it was time to once again go to Diagon Alley for her new school supplies, an occasion in which Aster had co-ordinated with Theo so that he could slip away from his father with a legitimate reason. She never asked him to explain why, after all, he never asked her about the Dursleys.
The morning started off well, her Grandfather only nominally there as a supervising adult as they explored the shops, including those down Raven Path Way and beyond. Though Knockturn Alley was a no go due to the sheer mass of people in Diagon. Aster picked up new clothing for the few centimetres she had grown since the last summer along with other odds and ends that were shoved into her hands as Others bowed and scraped both her and Ifan. Theo would raise a brow at each interaction, and seemed to develop more of an understanding as the hours went on. Aster wasn't overly worried though, he was the type to only talk to you once he had all the facts to shove at you, and even then it wasn't a confrontation, as opposed to a friendly debate.
They eventually made their way through the press of humanity that was the main street, getting new uniforms, Potions ingredients and whatnot before finally trudging into Flourish and Blotts to see that all the kerfuffle was down to some blonde man with overly white teeth doing book signings.
"Oi," she poked Theo, drawing his attention away from the encyclopaedia on Mummy Ages. "Isn't he the author on a whole load of books we've been assigned?"
"Don't poke me, you cretin." He snipped, pushing a boney finger away, "but yes. It seems we have to endure reading drivel for the foreseeable future.""How do you know it's drivel?"
"Because unfortunately Pansy has a habit of dragging everyone through her phases. And he somehow managed to even make her read." He sneered at the fawning Witches, and the occasional Wizard, clambering over one another to get their books signed.
"It's the Boy Who Lived! Look mum!" An excited child exclaimed, stalling their conversation as he bounced on the balls of his feet as Longbottom strutted up to the blonde man, posing with a too-wide smile as a camera flashed.
"Oh ruddy hell. Why'd we have to come when he was poncing about?" Aster grumbled, ignoring Theo's snort and her Grandfather rolling his eyes, as they shuffled up the queue.
"That's right!" The man exclaimed, interrupting their thoughts as he slung an arm over Longbottom's shoulders. "This year I am taking up the honourable position of professor at Hogwarts!" He smiled, his teeth gleaming as applause broke out.
"Think he's taking over Quirrell?" Aster heard from the girls ahead of her, making her squirm uncomfortably.
"I hope so! He's going to actually be able to teach us something!" Her friend simpered with a grin before an exclaim of "Arthur!" drew everyone's attention.
Pushing their way through, Theo and Aster saw a group of people - mainly redheads- surrounding two men brawling, one with the same red hair as the other children and another with long blonde hair with a familiar silver hue. Casting their eyes about they saw Draco standing not too far away, his mouth opened in shock as he witnessed his respectable father grappling about ungainly.
"Do you think his dad is going to exclaim "my father will hear about this!"?" Aster asked with a thoughtful tilt of her head, making Theo snort.
"Considering the man is dead, it'd be impressive."
"Conjuring items out of thin air is OK, but talking to a dead bloke is too much?"
"Legally speaking, yes."
"...you mean to say that that is actually possible?"
Theo pulled a face as he looked on with idle amusement as Lord Malfoy flicked his hair back to pristine straight and ushered Draco away.
"In a form. Inferi can be made, though they're rather...unsentient. And, of course, there's Necromancy."
"Neither of which will be spoken about here." Ifan interrupted smoothly, ushering the children out of the store as he had bought them when the kerfuffle was going about which opened up a suddenly empty till.
They spent the remainder of the afternoon dawdling about, Theo asking to go back to the bookshop in Raven Path Way, determined to find a organisation system to the chaos. Aster followed about, happy just to be around two people who were happy to be around her. She didn't think she'd ever get used to the feeling.
Once twilight had settled in, they said goodbye to the boy, and made their way home, having a quiet tea - they had already eaten the main meal with Theo - by the fire.
"Grandfather?"
"Hmm?"
"What's an Iferi?"
His eyes snapped to hers, gazing at her for a moment before closing his book shut with a snap, and sighing.
"It's an...impure type of Magic. Wizards would call it Dark, but it would be more appropriate to say Black. But even that, I'm afraid, doesn't cover it.
"It was an accidental spell, created eons ago by a Wizard who's name has faded into obscurity. Supposedly, he hadn't been intending for that result, but to bring someone back to life. Probably someone close to him. Instead...he...created an abomination. A corpse reanimated with no thoughts, no feelings, only the will of the caster."
"Sounds a bit like a zombie."Ifan's eyebrows furrowed, opening his mouth before a soft voice jumped in.
"That's essentially what they are."
Looking up at the portrait, Aster saw her parents paying attention, her dad sat cross legged on the bottom, leaning back on his hands as Lily snuggled up close to him.
"Though, unlike in Muggle fiction, they are rather hard to kill. No beheading or headshots will work."
"Should we be talking about beheading around the young impressionable child?" James asked with amusement, rolling his eyes as Lily narrowed her eyes at him playfully.
"She's not wholly yours, you know. She has the Evans sense too."
"Don't think there can be much stock to be put in that, Lil. What with your sister, and all."
"He's not wrong." Aster giggled before turning her focus back to her mum. "So what does kill them?"
"Fire. And not just normal fire from a match. Has to be Conjured. But you won't find anymore out tonight. Your dad's right - amazingly - but you're too young to know more."
Pouting she turned to look at Ifan who raised an eyebrow at her in agreement making her huff.
"Well, how'd Theo know about them then?"
"He has an unfortunate Family and affiliations.
Rolling her eyes at this non-answer she tried a different tactic. "Well what's Necromancy then?"
"You've read Tolkien, haven't you, love?"
"You mean Sauron?"
Lily nodded. "Somewhat. He wasn't right on all points, but it has the basics. There has to be an - affinity, I suppose you could say - for that, and its very Dark. Basically Black Magic. And, as much as many like to argue against, it isn't unnatural. It is a part of someone, much like we are part Fae."
"There's been thoughts that they stem from the Sidhe." James added thoughtfully, looking smug when he noticed Lily and Ifan raise a simultaneous eyebrow raise at him. "It can be handy being a Pureblood, you know."
"Do we have any extra powers then?"
"You mean besides the longer lifespan, pointy ears and skills with Magic?"
"I don't have pointy ears, Dad."
"And neither do I." Lily sniped, poking him in the ribs.
"But you do have immense Charms."
"That was terrible." She groaned, before glancing at Aster and blushing slightly. "I was top of our year for Charms."
"Even above Snivel-ow!"
"Stop saying that." She growled, crackles being able to be faintly heard even from outside the painting.
At her daughter's bemused look, she waved a hand, "just your father being himself with his petty little grudge."
"Do I want to know?"
"No. You're too young." She said gently, her eyes glazing over as she remembered long ago days, shielding both herself and Sev from her would-be husband.
"So how did today go?" James asked brightly. "Diagon as hectic as usual this time of year?"
"Worse." Ifan drawled, "some narcissistic author was book signing and all the Witches were making fools of themselves."
"And then Longbottom was there. That never helps matters." Aster pointed out in sagely.
She'll give Ifan a run for his money on dry wit, one day, James couldn't help but think fondly, watching as she curled herself up even tighter on the armchair, as one of her familiars - the cat, whatever his weird name was - climbed up and settled behind her knees.
"Why, what did he do?"
"Exist, from the looks of things." Ifan replied with an arched eyebrow and smirk in his granddaughter's direction. "Neither Aster or Mr Nott seemed particularly happy to see him. I was rather more interested in the debacle between Mr Malfoy and Mr Weasley."
"As in Ronald Weasley?" Aster asked, scrunching her nose up as she faintly recalled him being in the midst of red hair. She shouldn't be surprised though - where Longbottom was, Weasley was sure to be near.
"Hmm. He's their youngest son." At the portraits' curious expression he added, "the two men decided the centre of a bookshop was an excellent place to have a fight."
"That must have been havoc on the books with all the spellfire. Anyone could have been injured!"
Ifan shook his head, "That's the curious thing; no spellfire. They decided to go Muggle with fists."
"And hair pulling. Pretty sure I saw that too." Aster added with a grin before tilting her head. "How's that curious though?"
James snorted. "You've not met Lucius Malfoy then, I take it. He's a figurehead for Magical Rights - as in, only those with Magic - and not Muggleborn - should have them."
"Ruddy hell. No wonder Draco is such a prat."
"That his hellspawn, I take it?"
"Yeah, he's in my year."
"I'd ask if he was in Slytherin, but there's no point."
"Sirius was from a Slytherin family, yet was in Gryffindor." Lily pointed out to him.
James waved his hand in dismissal, "Yes but Aster just said this Draco kid is a prat."
Lily raised a brow. "That just adds to my point."
James opened his mouth to protest before snapping it shut and nodding solemnly in agreement.
"Do I want to know?" Aster asked, watching as Ifan rolled his eyes and went back to his book, clearly done with the conversation.
"Your...godfather, for lack of a Magical term," Lily started, "has always been eccentric. Among other things."
"Like handsome? Clever? Suave?"
"...did Dad date him?"
"Oi!" James shouted as Lily threw back her head and laughed.
"No. Or at least they say they never did. Either way, Sirius had a tendency to put his foot in his mouth for many things." She tapered off, looking out in the middle distance as she gnawed her lip in thought. "He...struggled, with some aspects of himself. He was a Pureblood from a Dark family who had broken tradition. There's a joke of the Black Madness, but I'm not entirely sure it is a joke. I just think it forms differently for each member."
"Aren't we related to the Blacks?" Aster frowned, making Lily smirk.
"Why do you think your father is such an idiot?"
"But a handsome idiot!" James grinned manically. "Though, Lils is right. Each Black has some sort of, I don't know..." He wrinkled his nose in thought, tilting his head to the side. "Trait, I suppose, that is over exaggerated. Padfoot's mother was stark raving bonkers, though."
"Don't you mean his dad?"
"Nope!" He laughed, "Sirius' parents were cousins."
"Ew." She shuddered, "were they both really ugly, so had to marry one another?"
"Actually, they were considerably attractive, according to my parents." James shrugged, "they actually had to keep batting people away from trying to marry one of them." James shrugged again, "No idea why that meant they had to commit incest, but there's Pureblood politics for you."
"You're a Pureblood, James." Lily pointed out.
"Ah! Actually, I'm a painting. So I can insult my lineage as much as I like." He said smugly, making his wife roll her eyes.
-
It was hours later, so late that the sun had finally descended and darkness swept through, that Ifan stood in front of the black window, a finger running across his lips.
"You made a good point earlier." He said softly into the quiet, barely moving his head towards the portrait above the hearth. "That Malfoy would stoop to be physical in his assault. It is...concerning."
"You think he's stirring up trouble?" Lily asked, her eyes flicking to the doorway in concern.
James snorted without humour. "Come off it, love. When's that tosser not stirring shit?"
"Since his narrow escape of Azkaban." Came Ifan's quick reply, "You both missed a lot. But let me assure you, Malfoy and his ken have had to assimilate to this age, hampering down on his derision of those of so-called lesser blood."
"You said that the politics is that of Pureblood rhetoric though?"
"Mhm," Ifan nodded, "but with the veneer of Voldemort's enemies' triumph. Otherwise the Longbottom myth would have been eradicated before it could be borne. As such, people are wary on both sides of what to claim to believe in."
"Sounds like chaos. Or something out of a dystopia novel."
"It's pandemonium. And all the while the general public go about their lives willingly blind to the atmosphere. I wager that there will be outright war within the decade. It's a miracle that the truce - and that's all it is really - has lasted this long."
"And you think Malfoy has something planned to speed things along?"
"I think he needs to be watched. Carefully." Ifan warned, turning to the guest sitting in the armchair.
"I'll pass along the message." Albus said simply, before taking a sip of tea.