Sweets: The Tale of Astoria Greengrass

Forever Hold Your Peace

Astoria sat at her desk in her dormitory, and she glanced up at the calendar she stuck to the wall with Spell-o-Tape. Tomorrow, Easter holiday would begin. She looked over her shoulder to her messy trunk and items strewn across her bunking area.

I need to pack!

Tomorrow, she would ride the Hogwarts Express into London and would visit her mother and sister.

In three days, Draco Malfoy would be married to Pansy Parkinson and that would be the end of that.

She clenched the back of the chair so hard her fingertips went white. She knew she should just forget it, surely these feelings would go away with time. She'd been fine without him in her life. He had, for the majority of his life, been against the very things she stood for.

But. . .

There were so many buts to her feelings about Draco Malfoy. The buts made it complicated. She never wanted it to be like that. She never wanted to be that sort of girl pathetically pining for a wizard. But here she was.

Get a grip.

Astoria stood up and started collecting her things to put them away. Several of her roommates were also going to the wedding. They talked about what dress they would wear, with what earrings and the like. It was like a Pureblood Bigot Reunion.

Alice sat on the end of her bed, reading a muggle magazine.

"Are you going to be alright, being here alone during break?" Astoria asked. She knew Luca was also leaving school to attend the wedding.

"I'll be fine," Alice assured her, not looking up from her magazine. "Could do without some bigots in this castle."

Heads turned and the gossiping and giggling and packing stopped.

"Don't look at me, I know you'd still be running with You-Know-Who if you weren't being watched and he wasn't dead!" Alice snapped.

"Watch your back, mudblood!" Celia-Laura shot back.

"Two points from Slytherin," Astoria said quietly.

"Are you serious, you little blood-traitor?" Celia-Laura demanded.

"Two points from Slytherin," Astoria repeated as she knelt over her trunk, careful to not pull out the letter. Unfortunately, her deliberation had caught Celia-Laura's vengeful eye.

"What's this?"

Before Astoria could hide it or grab it, Celia-Laura cast a Summoning Spell on the letter, and it soared traitorously into her hand.

Astoria looked helplessly over to Alice as Celia-Laura and her friends ripped open the envelope and unfolded the letter. Alice tilted her head, confused.

She leapt to her feet. "Give it back!"

Celia-Laura tutted and cleared her throat. "Dear Draco. . ."

It was horrible, her mocking tone. Everything felt so wrong about it. Astoria felt as if she were going to be sick.

She ran out of her room and into the dorm bathrooms. She stopped at the sink and leaned over it, clenching the sides until her knuckles were white. She was breathing heavily due to crying of humiliation.

I should've burned that letter, Astoria thought. She then heard footsteps and looked up to see Fawley coming in, wand lowered, but still out.

"Is something wrong, Prefect Greengrass?" Fawley asked. She sounded more concerned than Astoria had ever heard.

"I-I'm fine, it's just. . . One of my roommates found something she wasn't supposed to," Astoria said.

"A love letter, I suppose?" Fawley asked pointedly.

Astoria sniffled and turned to Fawley. "How would you know that?"

A smirk turned up the left corner of Fawley's mouth. "I may have confiscated it already."

She pulled out of her robe pocket the slightly-crinkled letter and she handed it to Astoria.

"If I were you, I'd keep it in a safer place," Fawley said. She hesitated a moment. "Jem told me you're his niece."

"Jem?" Astoria squinted as she tried to remember. "You mean Selwyn! Yes, he is. My mother's brother. They haven't talked in a long time."

Fawley nodded slowly. "Queenie Selwyn is your mother, isn't she?"

"Queenie Greengrass, now," Astoria said, not sure what to make of this woman asking family questions.

"It must be very difficult, what your family is going through," Fawley continued.

Astoria shrugged. "My family deserved it. I love them, but they did do what they were convicted for."

Fawley pursed her lips then hesitated. "Jem never talks to his family or about them, and I always wonder how he does it. I couldn't manage without mine."

"I see," Astoria said, shifting uncomfortably. "Thank you for helping get my letter back."

"Oh, right, you should be packing," Fawley said guiltily. "For Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy's wedding."

"Right," Astoria said, and she scurried out of the bathroom without another word.

With spring came the floppy hats Astoria adored. She wore a nice pink one with a marching pink and yellow floral, and a shawl to comfort Daphne's worries. She stepped off onto Platform 9 and 3/4 and spotted Daphne quickly.

"You shouldn't have to carry that much luggage," Daphne said as she pulled her wand out of its holster in her shimmery belt. The trunk hovered a foot above the ground, now following Astoria like a dog.

Daphne then grabbed the trunk and Astoria and Apparated.

Astoria vomited on the floor and Daphne promptly Vanished it.

"I thought you'd be getting better, with your Apparition lessons," Daphne said.

"I'm decent at it, don't prefer it, still makes me feel sick," Astoria complained.

"Yes, well," Daphne said pompously. She looked up. "Ah, Pansy!"

Pansy Parkinson smirked at the Greengrass sisters. "Daffy! And Aster! How good to see you!"

Astoria's eyes widened. She hadn't known that they would be staying at Pansy Parkinson's for all this!

Daphne hugged Pansy. "I'm so excited for you! This is going to be so fun!"

"Thanks," Pansy said, and then she put on a concerned face for Astoria. "Is your sister sick?"

Her voice was syrupy with its false sweetness.

"She doesn't have the stomach for Apparition," Daphne admitted.

"I see," Pansy said, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "I hear that happens with those who don't show signs of magic until their eleventh birthday."

"It's because of my blood curse," Astoria said.

"Hush," Daphne said quickly. "Astoria, why don't you go to our room, get settled in?"

"Maybe if you're feeling better, you could join us for our party we're having in the Sky Ballroom. It's the one with both sides exposed to the gardens," Pansy said.

"Hopefully, I will, thank you," Astoria said. She mimicked Daphne's charm as Pansy called a house-elf to escort Astoria. The trunk followed Astoria and Pansy up to the guest room.

Astoria had a bad feeling about all of this.