It was a rather chaotic morning on the 1st September, with Eppy persisting in heaping more and more food on to Aster's plate and then the bag she'd be using on the train.
"There is a food trolley she can get stuff off, Eppy." Ifan laughed before cutting off at the glare the House Elf sent his way.
"Sweetses and packages is not food." She squeaked at him, slamming her fists on her hips. Glancing behind her he saw Jospo sagely nod his head in response.
"Right then. Er...carry on."
Aster watched in amusement as her several centuries old grandfather shuffled off, intimidated by the tiny House Elf. When she turned round she noticed that the two of them were watching her.
"Don't worry - there's enough sweets at Hogwarts without adding anything else. I'd much rather yours anyway." She shrugged ignoring the squeal of happiness. "But, er, I don't think I'll be able to eat all this though. Especially with that stellar breakfast." She hurriedly added, keen to avoid a breakdown over food. Again.
"Shares it." Eppy shrugged noncommittally before flouncing off to make three thermoses of tea. Now she may actually drink all that herself. The trolley tea was foul.
By the time that they got to the station, Aster was carrying three food bags inside her carry-on, all Charmed to be light, but still awkward as she was paranoid that something would fall over and squish all the food. As such, she threw herself into the nearest compartment and got herself settled so that Binky would stop twining himself around her legs and Clacker trying to get in the bag.
"Now, I expect you to continue your letters, OK?" Ifan said as he laid his hands on her shoulders, taking her in. "None of this 'don't want to disturb you' nonsense. I can quite honestly tell you there's nothing else more important than you."
"What about defeating Voldemort?" She asked with a grin.
Ifan sniffed disdainfully. "That's Wizarding business."
"Which includes me."
"Semantics." He waved off. "Even if - I'd let the entire world burn if it meant you were safe."
Blinking at that, Aster just quietly nodded, fiddling with her hands.
"I mean it, Aster." He said, tipping her head back up with a finger under her chin. "You need me, just write or ask your parents to send a message."
Waiting until she smiled and nodded he kissed her head. "Good. We have spent far too long a part. I don't intend to start giving you space." He joked with a matching grin. "Though, from the looks of the platform I am going to have to leave."
Turning around she saw that as they were talking the station had become a mass of people, parents and children yelling alike to one another.
"Be good." Ifan said quietly, pulling her into him for a snug embrace, both quietly breathing in the smell of the other for comfort. Touching her cheek briefly, Ifan left the train, the crowd automatically seeming to part for him as he sauntered away.
"That your grandfather?" A voice piped up from behind her, making her yelp.
Turning she saw the bright grin of Blaise, rolling her eyes she nodded.
"Damn. Wished I'd got here sooner and introduced myself. Theo wouldn't shut up about him and that he had met him and I hadn't." He said, flopping down into a seat,
kicking his legs up on the opposite bench. Apparently he had grown taller over the summer, like Theo.
"What did he say?"
"Just how he had taken you both down streets that weren't just Diagon or Knockturn Alley. The actually interesting ones. He waxed poetic about that bloody book shop though."
"Flourish and Blotts?"
"Don't be an idiot, star, it doesn't suit you. No, not that one. The other one. Down Crow Bird Drive."
"Raven Path Way." Theo said as he entered the compartment, pushing off Blaise's feet so he could sit beside Aster. "Honestly.
He's been deliberately saying that wrong for days now." He griped, shoving off Blaise's attempts to place his feet in the other boy's lap.
"Well it's just rude that you'd ask Theo to go with you, but not me as well."
"You were unavailable."
"I'd have made time!"
"You were in Italy."
"You could have postponed."
"I did." Aster interrupted the two of them, "you said, and I quote, 'why would I go bother traipsing about London when I'm lounging about in the sun and warmth?'. Ring a bell?"
Blaise opened his mouth before snapping it shut and grumpily looked out the window as the train pulled out.
"I think you hurt his feelings." Theo smirked, bringing out one of the two books he had packed for the journey.
"Dunno how." Aster shrugged. "He's the one who said it."
The door to the compartment clattered open, Daphne stalking in and throwing herself into the seat by Blaise.
"Hello, Greengrass. Won't you come sit down?" Blaise monotonously said, waving to the bench and making her glare at him.
"You alright there Daphne?" Aster asked carefully, carding her fingers through Binky's fir.
"Pansy," she grit out, flicking her hair out of her face, "is being impossible."
"What's she doing?"
"Harping on and on about Draco. And how close their families are and that's clearly points to certain futures."
"Do you want to marry him then?" Theo asked without lifting his head from the page.
"Of course not." She wrinkled her nose, as Aster squawked in horror at marriage at their age. "Don't be common, Aster. You know we are engaged early." Daphne chided her before returning to the subject at hand. "No, I don't want to be anywhere near Draco and marriage. I'm just tired of her droning on like I'm supposed to be jealous."
"Are you not?" Blaise asked, before throwing up his hands as she nearly killed him with a look. "Genuine question! Everyone knows he's the most eligible bachelor in England."
"He's a frigging child, not a bachelor." Aster muttered mutinously and was promptly ignored.
"In England is the key word. Purebloods aren't limited to here you know. Why do you think my Family have looked elsewhere for centuries? You're all inbred here. Well. Except you, Zabini. You're Italian."
"Thanks for that, Daph. Next thing you'll be saying I have webbed feet."
"Don't be ridiculous." She rolled her eyes. "You're not that closely inbred."
Blaise snickered at Aster's pout, nudging her with his foot until she pushed him away as she stuck out her tongue.
"Oh good. I've gone from children acting adult to children acting like toddlers."
"Welcome to how I feel." Theo piped up, smirking as Aster and Blaise cried identical "heys!". "That rather proves my point."
The rest of the journey passed with the relevant same peace, with Aster and Blaise bantering back and forth, then Daphne tackling her friend's nest of hair into something she deemed tidy enough.
The food Eppy had provided went down a treat as well, Blaise scarfing down a good amount without guilt, declaring that he was eating Daphne's share due to her "bird like appetite".
It was twilight when the train pulled into Hogsmeade Station, the platform quickly filling up with shouting and laughing children, with the new First Years being quickly led away. Aster, being the smallest of her group, quickly found her wrist grabbed by Blaise who had no issue shoving others out of his way so they could reach the carriages. At the end of term last year she noticed that she could see the invisible, and rather creepy, dead
looking horses that pulled them. Only Theo could see them as well, and he had explained quietly what they were.
Neither went to explain who they had seen die to cause them to see them.
The four of them were joined in the carriage by Pansy and Draco, who shooed Crabbe and Goyle away when they tried to get in as well.
"You're rocking the thing you morons! Get in another one." Malfoy sneered at them before slamming the door shut on them much to Pansy's loud amusement.
"I see your manners are as distinguished as ever, Draco." Daphne stated with crossed arms.
"It's just Crabbe and Goyle." He waved off, lounging back into his seat. "They're hardly going to complain are they?"
"And your posture? I suppose that will be no worse for wear due to your inability to sit straight." She scoffed before dismissing him entirely and engaged Aster in a new conversation, a slight uptick of her mouth the only hint that she heard Draco's subsequent sputtering.
The ride up to the castle was over rather quickly, the weather having caused the roads to be smooth instead of the usual onslaught of lashing rain. The time spent for Aster was spent ignoring Malfoy's end of the carriage, which also meant ignoring Pansy as she had taken to hang on his every word. She listened as Blaise told them how he spent the time in Italy, touring the valleys and doing his best to act like a lizard by sunbathing on large rocks.
As they walked into the Great Hall and approached the Green Table, Aster watched Daphne and Blaise compete on which countries were better, France or Italy, Russia or Norway.
"Why do you care, Zabini? Your mother's married people from all the countries you're debating." Malfoy taunted with a superior tilt of his chin.
Blaise raised an eyebrow. "I'm a person of culture. Just because your family is content to stay stuck in the Middle Ages of England, doesn't mean the rest of us can't be progressive."
Aster snorted into her hand as she ostentatiously looked at the Sorting that had begun, though barely paying mind to whom had been Sorted where. She flicked her eyes up to the High Table and frowned.
"Why's McGonnagall look like someone's killed someone and Snape look like he's both murderous and...gleeful?"
Theo glanced up before following their gaze to the Gryffindor table and seeing what was amiss.
"Both Longbottom and Weasley aren't here. Maybe they missed the train?"
"I heard that they knicked off with one of Weasley's dad's contraptions," the Third Year Molly Ashcrow whispered, "a flying car or something. And was seen."
"By Muggles?"
"Obviously. Why else would they be pissed?"
"Because he was in danger of making a sweat?" Aster muttered darkly, making Theo snort at her and Ashcrow nod her head in concedement.
She watched as Snape got up in one fluid movement before stalking out the doors, leaving McGonnagall to move the stool and Hat out the way before she could follow him.
"He's going to be expelled!" Malfoy crowed joyfully.
"Yes, because he's always had the same rules apply to him." Aster pointed out with
a grimace, picking apart her bread roll for her soup.
If he was seen by Muggles with a flying car - and how did Wizards know about cats? - she still highly doubted he see much consequences. He had committed various crimes by the school book last year but the most he got was fifty points taken off him, and a detention.
He didn't even get kidnapped for Voldemort's plans and he's meant to be his greatest enemy. Instead she got roped in and managed to commit murder at the ripe age of eleven.
Thank Merlin and any gods out there that Dumbledore liked her. For some reason.
Looking up at the teachers again, her gaze focused on Lockhart. She just hoped that the nitwit up there wouldn't try to kill her too.