One chilly morning in early November Alastriona sat in front of the Great Lake and watched the sun rise as she always did on the anniversary of her father's death.
She absently picked at the skin on her thumb and breathed in deeply. Alastriona hated herself. It seemed that with each passing year she missed her father a little less, the pain of losing him wasn't as strong as what it used to be. She knew why, of course. Uncle Finn.
He'd been there for her since the moment her father died and he'd stepped into the role of 'father' like it was made for him. Alastriona knew that he'd hate to hear it, she knew he'd hate that she was thinking that way because he'd tried so hard to honour the memory of his brother and Finn always let Alastriona know that while he loved her dearly, he was just her uncle. Alastriona couldn't help it though, she had no memories of her real father. Occasionally she woke up to a scream or manic laughter ringing in her ears and the flash of green behind her eyelids but there wasn't anything she could remember of him.
On this anniversary Alastriona thought more about her Uncle Finn and her grandparents than her father. She felt so sorry for them, to have to live with all their memories of him, she knew they missed him terribly and yet today, on the day of his death, all Alastriona could think of was if her Uncle Finn was okay. Alastriona thought maybe it was easier this way... not knowing him, not living with the memories of her dad, all she has are the stories told to her, other people's memories and a heavy guilt weighing in the chest for not remembering the feeling of being held in his arms as an infant.
"Morning, love."
Alastriona turned and smiled up at Draco, he held a stem of lavender in one hand. Behind him Darcy, Theo and Blaise stood silently. The sun had risen, it hardly peaked through the grey clouds hovering over the castle.
Draco held out his hand. "Pancakes?"
Alastriona smiled. She pushed her guilt down and took Draco's hand. He tucked the stem of lavender in the messy bun on her head, it stuck out right next to her wand.
Together, as a group, they walked back to the castle for breakfast.
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It was just days before the first Quidditch match of the season, Slytherin versus Gryffindor. Alastriona was reading a book on her way to Potions class, unaware of the people swerving out of her way. She tripped on air and stumbled but stayed on her feet.
When she looked up she saw Angelina Johnson walking her way and Alastriona couldn't help but roll her eyes and huff, still slightly annoyed at the Gryffindor. Just beyond Angelina she could see Victoria Mint whispering something to Olivia Goldberg and they eyed off Angelina.
Alastriona narrowed her eyes and before she knew it Tori had her wand out and was pushing people out of the way to get closer to Angelina.
