I'm glad you all enjoyed the length of the last chapter! Don't get too used to it though, I doubt that will be a terribly common occurrence. I can see most of you don't like peeps, lol, I used to hate them but I like them now! I like roasting them over the oven. By the way, those of you commenting as just "guest" should give yourself some sort of indicator if you review frequently! I like to be able to tell the difference and personalize you. (: I do keep track of you guys! Don't feel obligated though, it's just a suggestion. As far as Draco not seeming as angry with Theo as expected, he is very angry with him, but it's also just a usual idea that these people are constantly double-crossing each other for their own gain. Theo and Draco were not close friends, and Theo never pretended to not have the intentions of doing something like messing around with his wife. Draco is much more shocked and upset with what his wife did, who is meant to be completely loyal to him until the end. You can see how things like with Freya betraying the Notts will happen, and yet they will still attend the same events and are forced to be civil with each other. I'm annoyed at the time change, as it makes it so I'm writing this even later than usual. You guys are beyond awesome at giving me feedback, please keep it up! Thank you so, so much for two hundred reviews! Oh my gosh, that makes me happier than you even know! Also, do any of you do anything for Easter? Maybe you guys have younger siblings to do Easter activities with. I'll probably be purchasing a lot of discount candy the day after. ;)

I don't own anything from Harry Potter.

Astoria was lost.

Lost in nothing, emptiness. Who knew that absolutely nothing could be so deep? She had nothing to focus on aside from her own pain, her own longing for someone, something. She didn't even long for Theodore at this point, just anything and anyone. She had feared this before, but here she was facing it, and oh how it was even more terrible than she had apprehended.

It hadn't even been that long, and yet she was already drowning. She was touched with dark things now, dark knowings she had shoved aside in her focus on her end goal, on the directions she had followed. Now she was graced with memories she didn't want to remember.

It was so quiet.

Excruciatingly quiet, and Draco had made it impossible for her to go outside, and the library was even locked as well. How she wished for his merciless hands instead of this, this punishment was all the worse. She would take pain a million times over being alone, alone to think of nothing but bleak past and future, her future that held nothing.

She shouldn't have gone to Theodore, she knew that now, knew that then. If she had been in the right head space she knew she never would have. She had cheated on her husband, and she knew Draco had been making an effort to be good to her before she had wronged him. He didn't deserve that. She wanted to blame Theodore for what she had done, but she knew she had no one to blame but herself.

To think how easily it could have gone past simply kissing..

She shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself in her cold bed that she hadn't left in quite sometime. Somehow walking the endlessly long halls made everything seem deeper, colder. She hadn't been getting sleep as she was constantly woken by the house-elf from her nightmares that were filled with nothing but pain when she was actually able to remember them. Just blackness, and pain that she knew was there, but of course couldn't really feel it as they were just dreams. She pushed the nightmares aside as soon as she woke from them, not caring to search for the source of them. They were most likely nothing but a reflection of how she felt now, and pushing her thoughts aside was what she did best, wasn't it?

She had tried to find Draco more than once, but it was clear he was intentionally making himself unavailable to her. Yes, he knew exactly how to be cruel in the way that would hurt her the most.

She had hurt him, that she knew. Perhaps only his pride, but she knew his pride was one of the only things he had. She wanted to apologize, and she truly was sorry. She wanted him to know that. She did care for him, despite Theodore's rejection of the idea, she did. Theodore wouldn't speak for her, and she wouldn't allow him to take over her life more than he already had. She had said goodbye, and she had meant it. Not that they would have had any other choice anyway, as she was married and that was final even if she wished for a divorce. Their world just simply didn't work that way, and everything was far more complicated than affairs and remarriages.

"It was not wise of him to throw the woman out onto the streets. Now everyone is aware of his lack of control over his own wife, the wife being the most simple creature one should be able to keep control of," her father had mused over a pure-blood family, lower than them in status, that had graced their circle's papers over the man of the family throwing his wife, now ex wife, out onto the streets after stripping her of her name and all of her belongings in result of her apparent adultery.

"But she cheated on him, father. Isn't that just as humiliating?" Daphne asked him, cutting into her dinner only to push it around on her plate.

"We wouldn't know that had he not chosen to make it known, now would we?"

"I suppose not," Daphne answered, nodding slowly.

"Precisely. Now he appears more foolish than the woman, who is quite foolish seeing as she is now without a family or funds in the fact that she certainly won't be welcomed back by her parents now that she has humiliated their ability to raise her properly."

Astoria covered her face with her hands at the memory, fearing how her father would think of her once he knew what she had done should her mother tell him or of course should he simply take the information from her.

Draco wouldn't forgive her. She knew that much. He could barely stand her when she hadn't done anything at all to him. He would sleep with other women, and not go near her until he absolutely had to for appearances. He would eventually come to her for sex as she needed to provide him an heir, but that would be the extent of their relationship. She cringed at the thought of being taken by him so coldly, used for sex for only for one reason.

She numbly told the house-elf to let her be when it had offered her something to eat. Her stomach was definitely not up to taking anything at the moment. She didn't even think she could bring herself to sit up to attempt to eat, and the thought of food nauseated her.

She didn't want to do anything, she just wanted everything to end.

What would meet her should she die? No, she certainly didn't want to die, but she couldn't see what exactly she was living for either.

Please, I'm sorry! Please don't leave me!

Astoria whimpered and pressed her palms against her forehead, willing the memories back.

You are not to cry over blood traitors. You have exactly three seconds to silence yourself.

She shuddered, choking on a sob. She screamed her thoughts away, begging them away.

One.

Her body balled up and she moved her hands to clutch her blankets, pulling them close to her, needing something to busy herself with.

Two.

She tried to hum, but instead using her voice only brought her weeping forward.

That's three, Astoria.

Draco was watching the Pensieve when Pucey entered his home, expecting him to start arguing about the fact his wife was currently blocked from entering the Manor to see her sister. However, he attempted nothing of the sort as the next memory was brought forth on it's own accord, not provided by Draco himself.

Freya Krat gave her professor a flat look as he ordered her to switch seats with Evelyn Bissette in response to her talking too much to the boys around her.

Joseph Nott nudged her teasingly and smirked. "Off to the back you go, Freya. Don't replace Rhys and I with Greengrass while you're there."

Freya sneered at him before gathering her things and moving to the back of the class to take Evelyn's seat as the witch crossed her on the way to Freya's previous spot, her dark eyes cool as she stared her down irritably.

Freya dropped her things down on table next to Aldrich Greengrass carelessly before sitting down, pulling the hair from her long ponytail through her hand as she looked back at the professor in annoyance as he nodded his approval.

"Are you planning to make more of a mess as the class continues?" Aldrich asked her levelly, his eyes on his work.

Freya looked at him, narrowing her eyes slightly. "I'm planning on sitting exactly as I always sit, with my things exactly as they always are."

"I see. It's quite interesting the behavior you get away with I have found," he mused. "Careful. Push the boundaries too far and your luck may just run out."

Freya opened her mouth as if to argue but only a short sound came out before she stopped, her mouth slowly closing. Her eyes were wild with alarm and her hand came up to her mouth in confusion. Aldrich looked up from his work to meet her eyes and the corners of his mouth lifted in a small, calm smile.

"My advice to you did not require a response, my love."

The Pensieve's scene faded and shifted, not pausing to clear itself before it was onto the next memory.

The Great Hall was mostly empty of students when Narcissa Black came to sit near the three students she had recently taken up sitting next to.

"Everyone gossips about whether you and Nott are shagging each other, Freya," Rhys Pucey complained as Freya came up to the table. "What about me? I'm also your friend, and Merlin knows I'd be a better time than Nott."

Freya gave him a dramatic sad expression before wrapping an arm around him and sitting in his lap. "You are more than worthy of being rumored to be sleeping with me, Rhys," she told him an almost cooing voice as she put a hand on his cheek, scowling.

"Hey, it doesn't just have to be a rumor," he suggested, winking at her as he held her on her lap.

Joseph rolled his eyes and snorted. "Who gossips that, Pucey? The people you hang around? If that were actual gossip my parents would be mailing me in concern that I've ruined a potential wife."

Narcissa stared at Freya before shaking her head in disbelief. "I cannot believe you're doing that so publicly."

Freya moved her eyes to Narcissa before rolling them. "I know what I can and cannot get away with, Black. I've been in the game for a long time. No one is here. Who is going to report me to the pure-blood authority? Those Hufflepuffs over there across the Great Hall? You? That would just come off as sabotaging out of jealousy. No one would take you seriously."

Narcissa motioned to Joseph, eyeing Freya's lap in her friend's.

"Aw, Joseph," Freya started, sliding off of Rhys and next to Joseph as others began to enter the Great Hall. "You're not going to tell on me, are you?"

"If I was planning to snitch on you I'd have much bigger things to report than you sitting on a man's lap," he chuckled before running a hand through his hair, causing an odd flinch from Freya at his movement.

"Sorry, Black. Seems you're stuck with me as competition for a bit longer," she chirped before taking out a sealed letter to open it at the table, stilling as she read it.

Joseph noticed her tense and snatched the letter from her, smirking as he read. "The Greengrass family interested in you to marry their son? I didn't know you bothered with the Greengrass family, Freya. What did you do in the back of the class with him? You see, Black. She must be doing something right if-" Joseph broke off as he yelped when the letter caught fire and burned into nothing as he dropped it. "For fuck's sake Freya!"

"That was impressive," Rhys said, blinking at the ash on the table. "Why so spooked?"

Freya was silent as she stared forward, looking paled and angry.

"Come on. It's not as if you'll have to marry him. It's too late in the game for that. I don't know why he freaks you out so much anyway. It's not as if he's said to torture kittens before breakfast or anything," Joseph said, examining his hand irritably.

"He's a prick," Rhys snorted. "Loves to kiss up to all of the teachers."

"I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago. He seemed alright to me. He asked me about my sisters," Narcissa mused then frowned curiously. "Though when I told him I was closest to Andromeda he just said 'shame'. Which I thought was a bit odd. Curious man. Everyone knows Bella is the less favorable given her behavior."

This time, the memory had barely begun to fade before it was replaced with another.

Joseph was eyeing Narcissa across the table with a guarded expression as Freya stalked through the doors of the Great Hall, appearing as if he knew something Narcissa didn't. Freya slammed the paper down in front of Narcissa, leaning next to her ear.

"Shame," she hissed the words of Aldrich Greengrass to her before shoving away from the table and leaving the way she came.

"Freya what the fuck," Joseph started as she stalked away, shaking his head before sighing. "Insensitive witch."

Narcissa stared at the paper that revealed Andromeda Black marrying a muggle-born, disowned from the Black family as a result. She began to shake her head slowly as tears filled her eyes, murmuring her denials as tears began to fall.

Lucius Malfoy watched her from further down the tables, his eyes cold as he looked at her. "You can't honestly be upset over a blood traitor," he spat, looking disgusted at her.

"It was her fucking sister, Malfoy," Joseph snapped to him. "She obviously didn't know until now. Have some sense and mind your own bloody business."

"She is my business with how things are appearing, Nott," Lucius replied, narrowing his eyes at him. "Perhaps you ought to mind yours."

"She'll be more of your business when things become more than 'appearing'. Now fuck off."

Narcissa didn't seem to be paying attention to them as she shakily pushed herself up from the table, her shoulders shaking as she tried to hold in her sobs as she left the Great Hall.

Draco stared forward as the memory faded, pain for his mother in his chest as an eery feeling toward Greengrass nudged at him.

"Well. Ah. Moving on from that. We should chat, Malfoy," Adrian said after some time of silence.

"I don't have any idea why you would believe we should do that, Pucey," Draco replied, shaking off his feelings toward the memories as he focused on the wizard.

"Because my wife is upset, and unlike you I care about my wife's feelings. I also care about my wife's sister. I know it's hard for you to believe, but some men don't really enjoy seeing women in pain."

"My wife," Draco started, his voice cool. "Decided to cheat on me. She lost any right to happiness when she betrayed our marriage and my name."

Adrian watched him calmly before nodding. "I understand. That's fucked. I get it, but let the punishment fit the crime at least. Did she fuck him?"

"No, she didn't fuck him, but I believe the punishment is less than the crime. I haven't touched her. Haven't even raised my voice to her. Actually, I haven't even spoken to her. So tell me, what punishment do you speak of? She gets to live in a good living arrangement with all of the resources she needs. She can go without speaking to her sister for now."

"She's lonely, Malfoy. Do you understand loneliness?"

Draco snorted loudly at his ridiculous words. Was he sure he was a man? Or was he speaking to Narcissa at the moment? "Loneliness. Are you fucking kidding me, Pucey? What is this?"

"These women are raised to believe they have to make us happy. They're conditioned to want to please us, and you're isolating her from you and everyone. She's seventeen years old, Malfoy. A child. She's only just been married and taken away from her parents and her sister and you refuse to be reasonable. We can't expect perfection from these women until we are perfect ourselves, and we both know damn well you're not perfect, and I know damn well that I'm not perfect. She was in some sort of panic attack. You didn't see her. Maybe if you wouldn't have fucking abandoned her right when she was obviously beside herself she wouldn't have gone to Nott. It's your job as her husband to take care of her. You're acting as if she fucked Nott in your bed. Have you met Nott? He's a fucking arsehole and he's manipulative as well as older than her. She's seventeen. At least listen to what she has to say, at least try. She made a mistake. How many mistakes have you made?"

"I left because I didn't want to hurt her," Draco snarled, furious with this idiot scolding him of all things for how he treated his wife.

"Right. You left because you can't control your temper. Because you're not perfect. Still, you left, and surprise! Your wife isn't perfect either."

"She's meant to be. It seems she wasn't prepared for the life she signed up for."

With that, the Pensieve was active again, filling the room with its knowledge it wasn't asked for.

Small Freya Krat appeared to be around ten to eleven years old as she walked carefully down the steps of her home, her hair up in a ponytail on her head as it usually was, though her face that was always hard as an adult was fearful and innocent as a child. She paused, jumping slightly when the yelling started, the woman's voice speaking in broken, heavily accented English. Freya quickened her pace down the stairs while seeming to try to make as little noise as possible to not alert anyone of her location before she slipped into a small closet beside the stairs, sinking down the wall, closing her eyes and covering her ears as the shouting grew louder, soon becoming accompanied by sobs.

Tears fell from the small girl's eyes as she held her ears silently, her body shuddering when screams sounded and loud slams as well as the sounds of shattering glass filled the home. Freya began to cry fearfully before she began to count to herself as her parents fought, appearing to be quite familiar with this routine, shaking her head slowly in the dark closet.

Suddenly, it was deathly silent, and the woman's sobs and pleading had ended abruptly. Freya's eyes opened in fear and she clapped a hand over her mouth, forcing herself into silence as she stared forward, eyes wide.

It was quiet for a long time before there was a loud sound of something hitting the ground from outside of the home, and Freya's face went deathly white.

"She's distraught," a man's voice explained from a distance after a large amount of time had passed. "Her mother just died, of course you can understand I'm sure. She's normally quite together. I haven't been able to find her."

Freya's face crumbled into pure sorrow at the man's words, her previously frozen in place hands covering her face as she doubled over, seemingly overcome with pain.

"Freya, my child. Come here please!" The man called loudly.

Freya struggled to hold herself together enough to quietly exit her hiding spot, her mouth being held tightly by her hand as she seemed to be biting into her palm as she slowly moved toward the voices coming from the entrance of the large home as tears streamed freely down her face.

There with her father and brother stood Aurors, two of them, looking quite solemn. "Sweetheart, we only have a few questions for you, and then you can go, alright?" The taller one asked, his face apologetic.

Freya stared at him, still holding her mouth before nodding when she glanced at her father who was looking at her in silent warning.

"Did you see anything when your mother did this? Hear anything before it happened?"

Freya shook her head slowly, her eyes falling to the ground.

"Did she show signs of wanting to end her life?"

Freya shook her head again.

"Did she.. Show any emotional distress?"

"My daughter just lost her mother," Mr. Krat said again, his eyes tight as well as slightly red. "Freya, tell them how she was."

Freya looked at her father, staring at him tearfully before turning shakily to the Aurors. "S-She was always d-drinking.." She said slowly, her eyes falling to the floor again.

"So she was an alcoholic," the Auror said gently, taking notes.

"She was. Terribly so. Fell down the stairs earlier today. I tried to correct her of the habit, but it is not an easy task."

"You appear to have been drinking yourself, Mr. Krat," the other Auror commented to him, regarding him with a slightly cool expression.

"Ah.. My wife just jumped off the balcony," the man replied tightly and the other Auror gave his partner a look.

"Of course, Mr. Krat. We're almost finished. My dear, where are these from?" He asked, taking her wrist gently to examine the bruises on her arm.

Freya looked up at the Auror before glancing at both her father and brother, her brother narrowing his eyes at her in a threatening manner.

"She was a-always d-d-drinking," she repeated again, not looking at the man as she spoke to him, her voice breaking off in a quiet sob as she pulled her arm away from the Auror to hold herself.

"I see," he said slowly before nodding and writing again. "Mr. Krat, if your wife was abusing your children why would you not report her?"

"It only just began," he said smoothly. "I was hoping to help her before it reached that point."

"May I go?" Freya whimpered to the Auror quietly, still not looking up.

Once she was excused, Freya numbly left them to stumble up the steps and down the halls to shut herself into a woman's bedroom. She sank into the bed that was unmade, curling into the blankets as she began to sob uncontrollably, her whole body shaking. "I'm sorry, mama," she cried out, burying her face into a pillow near her to muffle her sounds. "I know it wasn't you. I-I know you wouldn't leave me.. P-Please come back.. I didn't tell them. I didn't tell them the truth. Forgive me." The memory faded as the girl began to weep, speaking to the mother that wasn't there now in German rather than English.

Draco's stomach rolled as yet another memory filled the room, not knowing if he could take another.

"Something tells me she was dead before she hit the ground," Mr. Greengrass mused to his wife as Freya walked passed them and into the crowd of adults, standing tall and well kept, her posture flawless as she seemed unfazed by the man's comment.

"Freya, darling. I heard what happened with your mother," Mrs. Nott said gently, her eyes sympathetic. "I'm so, so sorry."

Freya smiled back at her, nodding her greeting. "Hello, Mrs. Nott. You look very lovely tonight. Yes, it's quite sad. I suppose she wasn't prepared for the life she signed up for."

Mrs. Nott exchanged a look with her husband for a moment before looking down at the girl again. "Yes, well I do hope you're alright, dear. You're welcome to come and see me anytime you would like if you need. At least until your father remarries."

"I'm quite alright," Freya replied confidently, nodding reassuringly. "I am always alright. Thank you so much for your offer. You're much too kind."

Once away from the adults, Freya went to sit herself down on a bench, watching the crowd of people as her face stayed eerily neutral.

Young Joseph Nott came to sit beside her, watching her cautiously before looking out at the people. "That's your brother, right?" He asked, his voice sounding put off as he looked towards the older boy who was laughing and seemingly unbothered with his friends. "He seems like a prick. I mean, your mother just-"

"I'm going to kill him one day," Freya said clearly, cutting him off as she tilted her head thoughtfully.

Joseph's eyes snapped to hers in alarm, searching her face in surprise. "What?"

Freya turned to look at Joseph before her eyes squinted slightly. "You're not going to tell on me, are you?"

Joseph watched her for a while before shaking his head. "No. You're not serious though, right?"

"Good," Freya said brightly, not answering his question before jumping to her feet. "See you at Hogwarts. I'm sure we will be sorted into the same house."

When the Pensieve cleared both Draco and Adrian were silent for a long time, both looking quite ill as neither of them knew what to say in response to what they had seen.

Adrian stood, shaking his head over and over. "No," he said, his tone disgusted. "No, I've stomached enough for today. For a whole lifetime actually. Your lot, Malfoy.. You people are something else."

Draco watched him as he prepared to leave, not knowing quite how to respond to that. He definitely couldn't argue.

"Talk to your fucking wife, Malfoy. I'm not putting up with my Daphne being hurt over your petty tantrum," Pucey said sharply, his voice unsettled before he laughed in disbelief. "Not prepared for the life they signed up for," he muttered, repeating what both Draco and Freya had said. "I just.. Fuck this."

He was in her Astronomy class again, Edric, and once more they were partners. Ophelia deflated slightly when she learned of this, going to stand by him once again reluctantly as their professor prattled on. Witnessing his family had made her even more insecure to be in his presence as well as offended for her mother after his had so mockingly tossed her child's candy money at her as if she were a beggar on the street.

"Miss Hale, it says here that your original name is Clarke," the professor announced curiously and Ophelia felt an irritation for the woman nag at her.

"Yes. Clarke is my father's name. I don't go by that name," she responded clearly, not knowing why on earth it was relevant to anything they were learning.

"Clarke.. Could that be from the famous wealthy family that live in London? That own all of those wineries?"

Ophelia stared at her, her face burning slightly as her irritation turned to both anger and embarrassment. "I.. I believe so, professor. Yes."

"Oh! Lovely! Which one? I know there are a couple of men in that family."

"I don't know his first name. I never knew him." Lies. She knew his first name. He was the eldest brother of the family.

"Pity.. Hmm.." The professor went on, looking up at the sky as she went into thought.

"You didn't know him," a Slytherin girl repeated, eyeing her with an unimpressed expression. "So what? Does that mean you're a bastard?"

Ophelia's jaw tightened before she regarded the Slytherin girl coldly. "Yes, that means I'm a bastard," she replied, her voice flat.

"What's worse?" Violet said from further up in the class, looking at the girl. "A bastard or a product of cousin incest?"

"Fifteen points from both Slytherin and Ravenclaw for unnecessary terms," the professor said, though not sounding fully interested.

"Hard to think of muggles having famous names," the Slytherin girl snorted.

"Nonsense. Muggles have competitions of social status and ladders just as witches and wizards do," their teacher replied dismissively. "The Clarke family is one of the wealthiest in London."

"Can't tell from the looks of her," the girl quipped.

"As I said," Ophelia said through gritted teeth, more than humiliated by now. Why was their teacher allowing this? Was she that dense? "I didn't know my father. I don't go by his name. I obviously am not connected to his money or status in any sort of sense."

"And why not?"

Ophelia threw her hands into the air. "Muggles have competitions of social status just as witches and wizards do," she ground out in exasperation, repeating the professor's words.

"You idiot," a Slytherin boy near the girl said dully. "She's saying her daddy fucked someone he shouldn't have and ended up with an accident that no one can know about out or else his reputation would be tarnished."

The girl giggled. "So she's not wanted by us or the muggles. How pitiful."

Ophelia took a step back, her eyes becoming unfocused as she felt as if she might cry in her shame, shame that the whole classroom was witnessing.

"Thirty points from Slytherin," the professor said dismissively before opening her mouth, looking as if she may speak about the subject more.

"Professor," Edric began smoothly, stepping forward slightly and Ophelia was blocked from view of the Slytherin girl who had been mocking her. "Excuse me for interrupting, but I'm a bit lost on the chapter. May we please go over the end of it again?"

Their teacher clapped her hands together animatedly. "Of course! Thank you for speaking up, Mr. Greengrass!" She began enthusiastically going through what Ophelia knew very well Edric understood.

She looked down, still feeling herself burning with humiliation as the teacher went on, wanting to leave. No, she couldn't leave. That would only be further embarrassment and it would make that Slytherin girl think she had gotten the better of her, that she had actually hurt her.

Once the professor had dismissed them to work among themselves, Edric was quiet for a while, and he hadn't even looked at her through the whole previous debacle. Ophelia was grateful he seemed to ignore what had happened as well as the fact he had taken the attention off of her on purpose.

How he confused her.

She followed him from the tower and down to the grass to the spot they usually studied at after class and she sat down, pulling her robes more tightly around her.

"I believe I gifted you something to help you with the weather," he commented, standing beside where she sat.

"I forgot it," she mumbled, thinking of the cloak's location in her dorm room. It was the warmest piece of clothing she owned, but she felt too shy to bring it out in front of him.

"You don't get to keep this one," he said, handing her the one he was wearing which was just as luxurious feeling as well as thick but varied slightly in design and color. "My mother is rather fond of it."

She looked at it for a few moments before taking it and draping it over her shoulders, attempting to not get it all over the grass beneath her.

"Thank you," she told him sincerely, meaning more than just the extra warmth he had given her.

"She's an idiot."

"The professor or your fellow housemate?" She muttered bitterly, looking down.

"Both."

"Thank you," she said again, feeling emotion creep up her throat.

No, she would not cry here in front of this boy. She refused.

Edric sat down beside her on the grass, adjusting the cuffs on his sleeves as he got himself situated and pulled out his notes.

"You said before that I didn't know anything about you," he said after a while and she looked up to meet his thoughtful eyes. "Tell me."