There wasn't much that could stimulate the so called 'Circle' of Pureblood elite; mainly scandals, discussions on the vermin of society, and, of course, the Dark Lord. So when news broke out that a young Half Blood had somehow possibly literally dispossessed him of a body, it was naturally discussed. Rumour it may be, but it was clearly the fancy of children. Probably stemming from some puerile Gryffindor. Though there were a few who were privileged enough to know the story in more detail.
Narcissa Malfoy was such a person. She was a woman of excellent standing, and breeding, being of the Black Blood Line and marrying into the esteemed Malfoys. She was the epitome of the perfect Pureblood wife: proud, elegant, and astute. She knew enough about politics that she could stand in her husband's stead (if such a thing was agreeable) without fault, but she was wise enough to not showcase just how much she knew. People in general considered her to be a vain, shallow woman, with only enough brain cells to work a household. People who knew her, like Severus Snape, knew better. Which is why he told her the relative truth of what happened with Aster Potter.
She knew that Snape was working both sides, and was clever enough to act enough that both thought he was surely on their side. Narcissa was more inclined to think that he was on a third that nobody else really knew about. So when her old friend contacted her to inform her of a most interesting event in the school, she was intrigued.
What followed was Severus detailing how a First Year Slytherin girl had somehow got mixed up when the Dark Lord was after an artifact in Dumbledore's care. And somehow, said Dark Lord disappeared.
"What do you mean, disappeared?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, crossing her legs at the ankles. "Surely you can't be claiming that this girl is responsible for...interrupting His plans?"
Severus rolled his eyes, as he leaned back in the chair. "Of course that's what happened. Whatever else could it be?" He snarked at her, watching as her mouth twitched in amusement.
"So what did happen?"
"Dumbledore is a little...vague on that front. Knowing him, he'd posture that the supreme power of love frightened him away."
If it wasn't so crass Narcissa would have snorted. "Ah yes, of course. The most powerful of Magic." She placed her tea cup back on to the table, so practiced that the china didn't even clink. "This is going to cause an uproar, you realise."
"Which is why I've informed you now." But not immediately. He had to make sure she wasn't going to die - it'd rather ruin everything if she did.
"You have my gratitude. Will you tell Lucius, or shall I?"
"I'm afraid you will need to do the honours." He said, ostentatiously glancing up at the carriage clock, "I'm needed back at the castle. I am her Head of House, and thus parentis absentia."
"Hmm. I must confess I was shocked that a Potter is a Slytherin. Her ancestors must be rolling in their graves." She laughed, her silver eyes glinting with mischief.
"Yes, because the Blacks have forever been Slytherins themselves." Severus sniped back with a smirk, earning a playful glower in return.
"Oh away with you." She said, rising to her feet fluidly, walking with him to the fireplace.
"As you command." He replied, taking a handful of the green powder on the high mantlepiece.
"And Severus?" She added, making him look at her with a raised brow. "Thank you. For giving me warning. The parlours are going to be amok." He inclined his head before clearly saying "Hogwarts" and disappearing in a swirl of green fire.
Narcissa stood there a minute longer, before going about the day, already planning on organising the mayhem that would accompany this tale. The Half Blood will be overlooked fairly quickly; it was too fantastical to consider, but the idea that the Dark Lord truly was alive? Well, that would incite a euphoria.
As Narcissa and Snape had been talking, Aster was visited by two rather relieved boys to see her bright green eyes open for once.
They had been barred in visiting her too often - her injuries too severe to risk disturbing her. When they had been able to see her, it was unnerving to see her so still, her hands at first bound in magical gauze, her scar periodically seeping spots of blood. She had always been thin and pale, but now she could have possibly been mistaken for an Iferious. Her skin was grey, her face gaunt from missed or too small meals.
But as they opened the door and popped their heads in to see her eyes open, staring out the window with a bored expression on her face they couldn't help but ignore the sickly pallor of her skin, focusing instead thay they could finally see her bright green eyes.
"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" Blaise proclaimed as he strode into the room, cataloguing how she flinched at the sudden noise, the minute tension relaxing as she realised she was suddenly not on her own. "Although," Blaise continued with a tilt of his head, "You look utterly terrible. Ghastly even."
Theo rolled his eyes as he shoved his way in, sitting on one of the armchairs. "A priority of hers, I'm sure." He drawled before turning to the girl currently grinning like a loon, "anyway, how are you?"
"Never better. I'm staying here for the fantastic beds you know." Aster dryly responded.
"Yes, yes, you were injured on your truly Gryffindor adventure." Blaise dismissed, dropping casually into the remaining chair, leaning his head on his fist. "I believe our esteemed Theo is talking about your recent proclivity to being depressing."
Aster choked, blinking at him before she turned to the other boy looking for support, to only see him raise his eyebrows in agreement.
"Er. Well. Um. I'm...fine?"
"Nooope. Try again. You've said that for weeks without success." Blaise snipped, his casual demeanor betrayed by his narrowed eyes and pursed mouth.
"Aster," Theo quietly said making her look at him. "He's right. What happened?"
Aster watched as Blaise moved to perch on the arm of Theo's chair, crossing his arms in a rare show of seriousness. Swallowing a rock in her throat, she looked back down to the quilt, playing with her fingers as she spoke.
"It...it's, um, hard to say." She started, refusing to look at them. "Qui-Quirrel kept bumping into me. And he just...gave off this...feeling." She admitted, wrinkling her nose at the memories. "Then he made me promise that I'd help him." She sighed, looking up out the window, scanning nothing as she continued. "He never gave a time. Not until the same day."
"Why didn't you say anything? Not even to the teachers, but us?" Theo murmured, hurt lacing into his tone.
Aster shrugged noncommittally. "I didn't want to be a bother. It wasn't your problem to deal with."
"Well that's stupid." Blaise drawled, ignoring Theo as he dropped his head into his hands mumbling "no tact" to himself. "You're our friend. Of course it's our problem."
"Right...next time I'm creeped out and threatened by a teacher I'll let you know."
"We already were aware of that, Aster. It's the whole...rashness that he's decrying." Theo sighed.
"You're twelve, Nott. Try to not use multiple syllable words." Blaise chided lightly.
"No."
"That's better. Thank you." Ignoring him bar from a roll of the eyes, Theo continued.
"You've struggled with this for weeks, and then proceeded to - to risk yourself without anyone knowing. Honestly if it weren't for your familiars who knows how long you would've been with him?"
"It's just...Slytherins...we don't ask for help. And I just - " stopping, Aster took a deep trembling breath.
"Slytherins look after their own. Even from their own moronic independent friends." Blaise said gently. "Besides, imagine the adventures we could have had. We'd compete with Terrific Trio in Gryffindor."
"Yes, cause that's my goal in life." She retorted with a wrinkled nose.
Blaise dismissed her with a wave of his hand. "Oh we wouldn't do anything so...plebian as open defiance. As you said - we're Slytherins. We take things down from the inside." He said with a grin, baring an uncanny resemblance to a shark.
Theo rolled his eyes at him again. "Whatever. Just - just keep us informed next time please? It was...concerning. And annoying."
"And you say I'm tactless." Blaise snorted.
"No, I - I get where you're coming from. I'd be brassed off too. Just...thanks."
"Right!" Blaise clapped, making Theo and Aster jump, "now that maudlin business is
over - dole out the details!"
"Er...what do you want to know?"
"Well nobody has really said anything on what happened...just that Quirrell kicked it. We think. Or he kicked you."
Aster sighed as she rubbed her eyes. Better get on with it. "He, um. He took me to the third floor corridor. You know, the one everyone's been trying to get into all year? But he went into the part of the corridor nobody went to, into a really locked room."
"So not a little locked then?" Blaise asked. "Ow! What was that for?!" He glared at Theo, rubbing his arm, making Aster smirk before continuing.
"When we went in, it was really weird. It was just pure darkness. The torches barely did a thing. And it...er...had a taste? I know it sounds wacky, but it had like a," she rubbed her forehead with a frown as she paused, "it was, I dunno, metallic? And mouldy?
"Anyway, Quirrell went straight to a corner and weaving spells and muttering to himself more than usual. Then a mirror of all things appeared, which made him way too excited. And things just went downhill from there."
As her pause turned into silence, Blaise moved to sit on the bed with her, holding her hand and ducking to look at her face. "Then what happened?" He asked gently.
"He unbound his turban. And - oh God -
Merlin - whoever - there was another face on his head." She whimpered, her fingers spasming in Blaise's. "It - he - he was hideous. And he just kept talking. He was...he was..." She broke off, biting her lip, shoving fallen tears off her cheeks with her spare hand before looking at her friends in horror. "It was him. The Dark Lord." She whispered, clutching at Blaise as tears spilled over again.
"Cazzo." Blaise murmured, closing his eyes in pain.
Theo cleared his throat, licking his lips, "How - how -"
"I somehow...melted him?" The both of them blinked at her in astonishment.
"Well that's...one way to do it, I suppose."
Theo slowly said with a frown. "Is he dead?"
"He melted, Theo. Of course he's dead." Blaise retorted with a roll of his eyes, shifting on the bed so his back wasn't killing him at the awkward angle he was sitting.
"Er - Quirrell is. Volde - OK! What's-his-face apparently isn't. According to Dumbledore."
Theo opened his mouth to respond when a hesitant knock on the door stopped him, along with it opening and a bush of frizzy hair popped in.
"Hello As - oh! Um. I didn't realise you had visitors." Hermione said before biting her lip. "I'll, um, come back later."
"No, it's fine, Granger. We can come back later. We've monopolised her time enough." Theo said with a close lipped smile, before getting up. "Blaise shall we? See you later Aster. We'll finish up then."
"Yeah you can't leave us on that cliffhanger." Blaise said before patting her hand and plopping a kiss on her forehead, making her blink in surprise. "Granger." He acknowledge with an incline of his head as he followed Theo out the door leaving the two girls alone.
The two of them sat in awkward silence for five minutes, the only sound being the ticking rain hitting the window. It was getting interminable and just as Aster was about to say anything, Granger popped out a sharp "I'm sorry!".
Looking over at her, Aster was bewildered. The Gryffindor was sat huddled in the armchair, her face buried in her hands as her shoulders shook in silent sobs. Blast it, she's crying.
"What for?"
"You just - you wouldn't - Oh, it's all our fault!" Granger wailed, making Aster pull a face.
"I'm...pretty sure it's not, you know."
"Oh, but it is, Aster!" She cried, lifting her head up and staring at her with glistening brown eyes. "I tried to tell the boys that it was dangerous."
"Granger -" Aster tried but she just kept on going.
"But they wouldn't listen."
"Granger!" Aster tried again to stop the flow of rambling.
"And then they thought you were involved because you've been ever so sad recently." Bloody hell, was there anyone who hadn't noticed?
"Granger!" She nearly shouted, finally getting her to shut up. "It's not your fault. I think I was just in the wrong place, wrong time." She shrugged, no need to go into the gory details.
"But- but what about...your mood?" She shifted awkwardly, biting her lip.
Aster rolled her eyes. "My first year of Hogwarts is nearly over and my parents aren't around to see it. Sue me."
"Oh...that...um. That makes sense." Granger frowned, slumping her shoulders in relief (at least Aster hoped it was relief).
"As to what? What did you think I was doing anyway?"
Granger paused, biting her lip again before flicking her eyes to look at Aster. "Well...um...Neville thought that you were, well, up to something."
Aster snorted as she shuffled up the bed a bit more. "Of course he did. What could I possibly up to? I'm a first year." At the other girl's continued silence Aster narrowed her eyes. "It's cause I'm a Slytherin, isn't it?"
Again Granger was silent, although this time she cringed in admittance, making Aster sigh. "At least tell me how earnestly he thought it...and you."
"Oh, I never believed it!" Granger said, leaning towards her, her eyes wide. "I tried to tell them - him - several times that you had nothing to do with the Phil-" she snapped her jaw shut, her expression almost comical at her near slip.
"Of course I had nothing to do with Phil. I don't even know him." Aster dryly replied, taking note of Granger's shoulders slumping in relief, internally rolling her eyes at her naivety. Gryffindors, honestly. Well, at least she had something to look into. A phil something.
As the silence continued to stretch,
Granger began to fidget more, quickly glancing between Aster and the door, trying to be discreet.
"Why are you here? Really?" Aster sighed, half closing her eyes as she leaned her head up.
She frowned at her as she replied matter of factly, "You were there for me. At Hal - Samhain."
"Not really." Aster shrugged, "I've said it before. Just there at the right time."
"But...you're my friend...aren't you?" Granger asked quietly, wringing her hands then tucking them under her thighs when Aster flicked her eyes in her direction.
"Honestly? No idea." She replied tiredly, blinking slowly, "it's still a pretty new concept for me."
"Oh. Well, I'd like to be. Your friend, that is."
Aster nodded weakly, not really focusing on the words as a pleasant numbing sensation started to tingle over her. "That's...nice," she slurred, each blink lasting longer than before, "Friends are...friends are...nice." She sighed before her head lolled to one side.
Hermione looked on in anxiety - should she go to Madam Pomfrey? She fell asleep far too quickly. And although she didn't know Aster's diagnosis of being an invalid, her parents had often told her to be wary of sudden fatigue such as this.
Just as she got to her feet to rush out the door, it opened revealing the stern hospital matron.
"I'm afraid you're going to have to finish your visit at another time, Miss Granger." She told her, brushing past her as she waved her wand over the sleeping girl so that she was laid back down.
"Is she alright?" Hermione asked quietly, "she...she just suddenly went to sleep."
"Hmm? Oh! Yes, she'll be fine. She's just had too much exertion and visitors. Now, off you go." She dismissed her, turning her back and continuing to cast diagnosis spells over her, pursing her lips at the remaining Black Magic intertwined with her own.
When Poppy heard the soft click of the door, she pursed her lips and stared at the sleeping eleven year old girl. Her scar was far too vivid still, and Albus was still firm in his decision to not let her know the actual cause of it. She was rather certain that the Black Magic from her...meeting with Quirrell was latching on to the foreign signature surrounding the scar. She had her suspicions, of course, she hadn't graduated Hogwarts third in her year for nothing. It was hard not to have them; not when she had seen her fair share of injuries as a school matron, and certainly not as an intern at St Mungos, and then much later a medic in the War. As such, she prided herself as knowledgeable on such matters. And she had never seen anything so...so rotten before. It leeched into the girl's very being.
Sighing through her nose, she straightened and went to fixing what she knew she could, complete with letting the infernal familiars back into the room. She had noticed, quite strangely, that the aggravation of the curses appeared to almost ease in their presence. Another phenomenon she hadn't yet encountered before. But if they helped her, so be it.
If only everyone would stop tiring her out, and making Poppy and Severus resort to sleeping spells and slow release sleeping Potions.
She had more luck watching a will-o-wisp outside of the Forest.