Hi! I hope you all are doing great. I like this chapter, so tell me if you like it too! Tell me what else you're interested in seeing and I'll take it into consideration. Thank you so much for your continued support. I love you so much. Happy reading!

I don't own anything from Harry Potter.

Eleven year old Astoria Greengrass had her hair in a tight bun, her icy blue eyes watching sternly ahead as she waited to be sorted into her house. She sat herself on the stool, the Sorting Hat barely grazing the little girl's head before announcing her a Slytherin. She smoothed her hair as she stood, her expression neutral before she gave a polite smile to the professors as she made her way to sit beside her older sister. Daphne had already made a spot for her beside her as she settled herself down, eyeing her. "Well, that was quick," she quipped, straightening Astoria's robes as if they were a mess.

"Daph, remember when you were sorted and it took simply ages?" A young Pansy Parkinson simpered tauntingly, leaning over the table from where she was seated next to Draco who was deep into conversation with Blaise.

"Pans, remember when you cried on the train ride here because you were scared you might end up in Hufflepuff?" Daphne shot back, pushing her hair off of her shoulder.

Astoria watched them indifferently before her eyes scanned the rest of the tables, looking calm as opposed to most of the first years. Her eyes caught with Theodore's for a moment and she gave him a smile, nodding her head slightly before moving on with her observations. Theodore watched her as the boys next to him sneered and laughed as they usually did, a look of pride for the girl in his eyes.

When the food appeared in front of them, Astoria began to fill her plate eagerly as her sister scowled down at her. "Must you always be such a pig, Tori? Honestly," she muttered, shaking her head and removing some of the food from Astoria's plate.

Astoria gave her an irritable side glance before replacing the food she had taken with more, beginning to eat without paying her sister more mind.

"You really shouldn't be eating that much. Mother would not approve of those choices either. Too much fat, and your cheeks are looking a bit chubby," Daphne scolded before poking a finger at her sister's pale cheek.

Astoria swatted her hand away and didn't pause from her eating, looking unbothered by Daphne's nagging. "Fine. Don't listen to me then. See how you end up," Daphne sniffed, gathering a small assortment of vegetables and healthier options onto her plate.

The loudness of the jeering boys grew and Draco snickered loudly after saying something nasty to some of the Gryffindors and Astoria's eyes flickered to the ceiling, blinking up at it as they made a fuss.

"Astoria," Daphne warned her quietly, noticing her expression. "Careful who you roll your eyes at. That could be your husband one day."

"I didn't roll my eyes," Astoria replied, tilting her chin up. "I was only looking up at the ceiling. Besides, he will be my husband one day."

"Yes, well. Not with your eye rolling."

"I didn't roll my eyes," Astoria repeated firmly.

"You did basically the same thing as rolling them," Daphne argued, shaking her head at her.

"Well they act so stupid," Astoria grumbled, lowering her voice even more.

"As mother says, better a fool than an intellect when it comes to the man you marry."

"Mother says a lot of things."

"It's best we listen to her," Daphne told her sternly. "She's our mother. She knows best."

"No, father knows best. He's the man. He is responsible for everything we have. Not her. Besides, she's so dramatic."

"Don't disrespect our mother." Daphne's voice was irritable and she pinched the back of Astoria's arm. Astoria glared up at her, moving her arm away.

"I wasn't disrespecting her. Don't touch me," she huffed. "I've been here all of five minutes and you're already fussing at me."

The memory blurred and moved, replacing itself with a new scene. Inside the mansion that resided on the Greengrass Estates sat Astoria in a dimly lit room with her father standing in front of her. "Silence as a talent, my child, is something very often overlooked by most. Controlling yourself into complete silence and stillness is useful, especially when you don't want anyone to know you're somewhere you shouldn't be," he told her thoughtfully.

Small Astoria listened attentively as she sat still in her chair in the middle of the room, the candles that lit the space flickering. "Excuse my theatrics, my dear," he chuckled softly before flicking his wand and drawing an incredibly large enchanted snake out of the crate near Astoria's chair. "But I couldn't help myself. The serpent is incredibly useful for what I am to teach you, in my thematic defense."

Astoria stared at the creature, her eyes wide with fear as he lifted it near her. She leaned away in her chair, her bottom coming halfway off the edge. "Don't move, Astoria," he commanded her, causing her to halt in her retreating. Aldrich watched her expectantly until she straightened back into the middle of the chair, sitting up with her hands folded in her lap as she glanced between him and the snake.

"If you move, if you make a sound, if you breathe: you will get bitten. Do you understand?" He asked her levelly, an eerie kindness in his eyes as he spoke to the young girl about being bitten by a large snake as if it was only a small matter.

Astoria trembled slightly in her seat, her eyes becoming desperate. "Please don't put it on me," she pleaded to him. "Please, father."

"Shh, love. It's quite alright. There is nothing to fear if you follow directions, I assure you," he told her gently, his voice comforting. "Though you'll have to stop shaking like that. It will hurt if it bites you."

This only caused Astoria to become more nervous, tremors rocking her body. She twisted her fingers in her lap, biting her lip as she tried to calm herself down. "I wouldn't bother with you if I didn't believe you capable, sweet girl. Otherwise I would have your sister in your place."

Astoria nodded slowly at his words as she processed them, then nodded curtly again, almost to herself. She relaxed her body, and soon she was sitting calmly, patient. "There's my good girl."

Astoria stiffened, her eyes searching frantically in confusion. "I-I can't see!" She stuttered, pressing her fingers to her eyes in confusion.

"You can, but I've made you believe you can't," he said dismissively, not offering any further explanation. "Forget that now. Focus your senses before I grow impatient and give up on you."

Astoria hesitated before lowering her hands slowly back into her lap, fighting to get her uneven breaths under control again. Aldrich hovered the snake over to her, pausing. "Don't flinch. It's a terribly bad habit. Your mother does it all the time. Infuriating. You mustn't give away your fears to your predator."

Aldrich lowered the snake into her lap, releasing it from it's magical hold. Astoria was completely frozen, her breath held and her eyes squeezed tightly closed as there was no reason to keep them open in her blindness. The snake was slow as it slid up Astoria's arm and around her shoulder, but she kept obediently still.

Until she ran out of breath.

Her chest moved when she finally sucked in a fearful breath, and the snake lunged at her skin.

Astoria jumped awake, forcibly shoving Draco out of her head as she sat up, frightened and out of sorts at being shocked awake.

"Lovely man, your father," he said stiffly, tense at the thought of her memory that had been slightly clouded in the back of her mind. So young she had been, so eager to please her father.

"I don't.." She started, frowning as she pushed strands of her hair from her face. "It was a reasonable exercise."

"A reasonable exercise," he repeated, feeling slightly sick at her conditioning.

"I was only bit once," Astoria said, lifting her chin.

"Is that supposed to be a defense for your father's abusive exercise?"

"It was not abusive," she replied, her frown deepening. "It was useful."

"Ah yes, giving your own small child an impossible task resulting in getting bitten by an incredibly large snake if she should fail the impossible task is not abusive at all," he sneered, pushing himself off of the bed.

"It was not impossible. As I said, I only was bitten once. I shouldn't have failed the first time either. Besides, I chose to be bitten. Not him. He didn't force the snake to attack me, and he told me what to do in order to prevent being bitten," she explained, nodding. "He's far from abusive. He's very smart, and has taught me a lot of valuable things."

"Like how to prevent a snake attack? Very useful, indeed you're right," he replied dryly, opening his balcony doors.

"No. How to be quiet. How to be still."

"Mmm. Right." Draco left his wife to go into his bathroom, irritated by her words and excuses.

Theodore sat in his home's library attempting to distract himself with reading. He was incredibly tired of the Aurors already, and he had a feeling they weren't going away anytime soon. His father absolutely detested their interrogations, but he was lucky he wasn't back in Azkaban as it was. The only reason he wasn't was because of the fact he had turned himself over only minutes before the end of the battle, suspecting the Dark Lord's defeat at the last moments and offered his assistance on finding the Death Eaters who had run after the end of the war.

His mind wandered onto the earlier conversation between his parents as he lost focus on the pages of his book.

"It's completely ridiculous that we have to sit here and be poked and prodded at while others just get to waltz off as if they were not involved with the Dark Lord at all!" Sylvia protested, glaring off at nothing as her eyes weren't focused.

"Some weren't involved with the Dark Lord at all, Sylvia," Joseph said dully.

"Some married their child to a Death Eater," his mother muttered bitterly. "Yet they're no where to be found."

Joseph looked up at her, giving her a sneering look. "Will you ever stop whining about that family? Please let me know when you do, I'll have to throw a celebration."

"I'm not whining about them," she quipped, taking a drink from her glass that she had already refilled more than once. "It's just confusing to me how some families are free to go and live as they please even though the new uprising members could be anyone, as we've learned from the recent attacks."

Theodore wondered why his father had never seemed to make any attempt to help his mother with her drinking problem. If only he'd give her a bit of attention or show a shred of care, maybe she wouldn't be as bad as she was. She could find a way out. Instead, she only got worse, and Theodore couldn't help feeling a resentment towards his father for that. It was one matter if he didn't love her, but he didn't have to love her to show some mercy by attempting to help her. She was his wife, and he had a responsibility to care for her. He chose not to.

"Some people make the wrong choices while others make the right ones. Greengrass has a tendency to make all the right choices. There is no point in complaining about unfairness."

"Hmm. He will slip somewhere."

"I'm not as invested in his possible misfortunes as you are, I must confess. I don't care," his father drawled, sipping from his own glass.

"Right choices," Sylvia muttered, shaking her head as she ignored his response. "Everything about them is conveniently right, even from the start of them. Krat wasn't showing any signs of marrying into that family and yet there she is."

"She hated him," Joseph agreed, humoring his wife slightly.

"Yes well, you didn't like me either."

"An interesting use of past tense, dear wife."

Sylvia threw him a withering look, running a hand through her hair. "Their older daughter is engaged to Adrian Pucey," she stated.

Joseph looked at her and raised an eyebrow, considering this before snorting. "Of course she is. Rhys has always been perfectly fine with doing that woman favors."

"The Puceys aren't being investigated either," she grumbled irritably.

"They are now," Theodore interjected. "That changed when Adrian was at the Manor when Potter and the mudblood girl was there." Theodore grimaced at the mention of the girl as he spoke of her, filthy thing, calling him attractive.

"I can't say I'm at all shocked the idiot got himself into that," Joseph scoffed, rolling his eyes. "From what I've seen him, he's absolutely useless."

"He didn't. Astoria did. She told Potter he ought to be investigating the Puceys as well."

His mother paused to look at him before she laughed loudly, shaking her head. "Unbelievable. How loyal to her future in-law, she is."

"Perhaps you ought to stop meeting there," his father said, his voice a bit stiff.

"Astoria? The younger one?" His mother asked him curiously.

He nodded. "Right before exposing Blaise to Potter. Something that could tarnish him quite horribly should Potter go running his mouth, though I doubt he will. In all fairness, she did threaten Blaise. He chose not to take her seriously," he said vaguely. His parents wouldn't out Blaise, but he wouldn't repeat his knowledge of what Blaise had done anyway.

"All those times you defended her. You see? She's a nasty thing, just like her mother," his mother spat. "Exposing our own to them. Completely inappropriate, so disloyal."

"Perhaps you ought to stop meeting there," his father repeated through his teeth, his eyes dark.

Theodore closed his book, moving on from the thought of his parents conversation and he went to the windows, staring out at his property. His mind drifted again to previous years, to her.

Theodore stood next to Daphne in their seventh year as she peered worriedly at the gathered Dark Arts class as Carrow conducted it. "They're making them perform the Cruciatus on the students with detentions.. And if the students in detention can preform it themselves then they will get out of their detentions." She said worriedly, finding her sister in the crowd.

"They won't be able to perform them. Only slightly at most, and it will barely hurt. She'll be fine, Daphne," he told her, though he was mostly reassuring himself.

"And what if she can't! Then Carrow will hurt her!" She exclaimed, worried and frustrated as she pressed her hands against her temples.

"She's a pure-blood. They are easier on us."

"A pure-blood whose family denied him," she hissed, glaring at Theodore. "You know that. They know that."

Theodore said nothing, knowing she was correct.

"Please, stay and make sure she's okay. I don't want to watch this, Theo," she said quietly after a while, emotion thick in her voice.

Theodore allowed her to leave, reluctant to be alone with the scene as he watched Astoria be called to the front, an unsurprising early pick as she was such a well known pure-blood. "Alright, gorgeous," Carrow sneered, grinning as he examined her body hungrily, causing bile to rise in Theodore's throat as he watched the disgusting man eye his Astoria in the way he was. "It's your turn. I think I'll let our Gryffindor lion have a go first this round. Turn the tables a bit. Sounds fun, no? Feeling brave?" He asked the Gryffindor boy mockingly.

Theodore's eyes narrowed slightly as he recognized the boy, thinking back to when he had found Astoria collapsed in the hallway the previous year. Theodore's breathing became uneven as his anger rose, his eyes fixed on the Gryffindor boy as he looked at Astoria reluctantly. "I can't very well curse her," he protested, scowling. "She's.. A girl. I don't want to torture girls."

Ha, the irony. He didn't want to torture girls, but would assault them all the same.

"Just do it, Brandon! What does she matter? She's one of them. She probably is dying to do it to you!" A girl cried from the group of kids in detention behind him, glaring fiercely at Astoria. He saw Astoria's face change slightly to a confused look before it hardened, her face becoming determined.

"Yes, she's probably dying to torture you, Brandon," Carrow mocked, watching the boy with a mad glint in his eye, excited to see the small girl tortured.

The Gryffindor boy lifted his wand after hesitating for a while and Theodore tensed, grinding his teeth together as he was helpless to do anything in the situation at hand. He let out a breath when Astoria didn't even so much as flinch when the boy muttered the curse, failing to cast it. She was fine.

"It's fine, it's fine. Here, I'll show you," Carrow told him, pointing his wand at Astoria.

Theodore's stomach dropped and he took a step forward, a ringing sound entering his ears as Astoria held up her hands, a polite expression on her face. "Professor, may I have a turn first? You said we could leave if we were able to cast one," she asked him as he was about to curse her.

"I said you could leave if you were able to hold it," he growled at her, dropping his wand. "Fine, cocky bitch. Five seconds. Go. Oh, and when you can't cast it I'll be here to show everyone how it's done, princess."

Astoria nodded thoughtfully before raising her wand calmly, her eyes fixed on the Gryffindor boy. He sighed at her efforts, doubting them as he feared the repercussions of her failure, preparing himself for her punishment. He saw her mouth move over the spell and the whole room cringed and recoiled as the boy's screams fell over them. He stared at Astoria wildly then at the boy as he fell to the ground, writhing in pain as the seconds ticked by.

Five seconds.

He looked at Astoria again whose wrist twisted slightly as she focused, her expression colder than he had ever seen it before. She finally lifted the spell at seven seconds, looking to Carrow expectantly, now stiff.

When she was dismissed from the class as her reward, Theodore caught her, pulling her away from the class after noticing her panicked expression. "You're alright, Astoria," he told her, comforting her as he felt her tremble and rubbed her arms worriedly, a tightness in his chest at her distress.

"He was going to.. I didn't want to be tortured.." She said, her voice breaking. "I just wanted to leave."

"I know. You did fine," he replied gently, nodding. More than fine, horribly fine. Somehow, after watching her for so long, he was less shocked than he should have been.

"That boy," she went on, her eyes darkening slightly and the coldness that had been in her eyes when she had used the Cruciatus graced her expression again. "He hurt me first."

"Yes. He did. Don't feel guilty, love," he breathed, kissing the top of her head firmly, relieved she wasn't hurt.

She looked up at him at him when his lips touched her head, her eyes curious as she watched him for a while before speaking. "I thought you were just showing advancements towards me over a game you boys always play with us," she said softly, searching his eyes.

Guilt pinched at him slightly as he thought of his mother's pressings to seduce the girl in order to sabotage her, and his promises to comply. Perhaps he wasn't playing with her for the reasons she suspected, but his intentions were still not what she deserved.

"Come now, Tori. Don't I deserve more credit than that? I'm a gentleman, no?" He asked her, smirking.

"Why?" She asked him, her searching eyes not lifting from his.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you interested in me, Theo? Why do you care? What do you gain?"

Theodore shook his head, feeling slightly hurt at her expectation that he'd only be after her in order to gain something.

Wasn't he?

"I've cared since we were children, Astoria," he told her slowly, sincerely as his emotions filled him, nagging at him.

She closed her eyes for a moment before she leaned forward to wrap her arms around him. "We're still children, Theo," she said mournfully before burying her face into his chest.

His arms came around her slowly, his heart both warmed and aching at her embrace along with her words. He lifted her slightly to lower himself onto the ground, sliding down the wall before he settled her in his lap as he held her, pressing his face into her neat hair. He breathed her in, closing his eyes as he let everything that was happening in their world fall as he focused on the girl in his arms. His Astoria.

Present Theodore pushed himself away from the window and buried his face in his hands as the next memories of her rolled through his head, tormenting him.

Astoria smiled at him, moving closer to him in his prefect dorm. He had gotten her closer to him as the weeks passed, gaining her trust and desires. He knew she wanted him now, and he knew as soon he kissed her it wouldn't take him much to get everything that comes after that. He had her where he needed her, and he could have her.

All of her.

He could make her love him, devote herself publicly to him, and he could manipulate her into ruining herself for more than just Malfoy; for most of the men in the most traditional families. Which was exactly what his mother had told him to do. He could make her love him, and then he would break her heart, as he would never be able to do right by her.

Theodore pushed his thoughts away as he took her face in his hands gently, stroking his thumb over her cheek slowly. His gaze moved from her brilliant eyes to her pink mouth, full and inviting. He leaned down, brushing his lips against hers slowly to feel her before kissing her softly, cradling her face carefully. She responded shyly, her lips unsure and inexperienced as she began to kiss him back, her mouth gentle and eager to please.

He moved a hand from her face to find the small of her back, pressing her against him as the other moved forward to hold the back of her head as he deepened the kiss, desperate for more of her. Her hands found his chest timidly and she rested her fingers there lightly as she allowed him more access to her. She gasped softly when his teeth nipped her bottom lip softly and he kissed her again, more roughly than he had intended as a feeling of possession stole his control.

He had needed this for so long, needed her. He was surprised she was letting him have this much the first time he had kissed her. He had expected a bit more pursuing. At this rate, he could probably take her to bed, which was only right beside them, right at that moment without any protests. The thought egged him on and he gathered her closer, his hand slipping underneath the back of her school sweater, resting against the warm skin there. She shuddered at his fingertips, pressing willingly against him and a low growl escaped his throat.

Mine.

She was his, and she would be his. He wouldn't argue with himself over it any longer. He had to have her. When he broke the kiss to proceed kissing her elsewhere, she looked up at him with big eyes. So innocent, so trusting.

They shattered him.

He couldn't have her. He couldn't hurt her. Not that, not her.

He pulled away from her, stumbling back as his feelings attacked him, his own desires screaming at him to ignore reason and morals. He glanced at her again, sorrow filling him at her expression as she looked as if she was wondering what she had done wrong. No, it was him who had done wrong. He had taken advantage of her. He had lied to her about his parents liking her, he had made her feel supported in their most desperate year at Hogwarts, he had made her feel like she was safe with her childhood friend; her only friend.

It was wrong.

He took her from the room quietly, leading her towards the empty Common Room in silence. He felt her worried eyes on his face, a confused look etched into her features. He thought impulsively, knowing he had to end this before he lost his will to do the right thing, and gripped his wand in his robes.

"I'm sorry, Astoria," he managed to get out, his voice uneven as he battled himself. "I love you."

She tilted her head at him, warmth adding to the confused look on her face. "I love you too, Theodore," she told him clearly.

Fuck.

He closed his eyes, the air feeling heavy and suffocating. The ringing in his ears returned as he pressed his lips to her forehead forcibly as he also raised his wand to her temple. He had to focus, had to ignore all of the screaming in his head so he could perform the spell properly. He couldn't take more than he intended, he couldn't fuck up her memories completely.

"Obliviate."