Control ▸ Ron Weasley [2]

VIII. THE GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM

CHAPTER EIGHT:
THE GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

      This was the first time in nine years that Nova was not returning home on October eighth. 

      She had woken up that morning with a dry throat and her hand clutching her mother's necklace. Though she was happy the obligation of seeing her father was one she didn't have to fulfill today, she still wished she could visit her mother's grave and just sit for a few hours. True to her promise, whenever Nova had returned to the Room of Requirement, the portrait of Elizabeth Nott had remained stoic and unmoving. She knew the reason her mother had done this was a good one, so Nova wouldn't waste her life sitting in front of it, but it still filled her with the same hollowness she had felt the first few weeks after her mother's death. 

      Daphne was sitting in the Great Hall when Nova made her way down. Her hair was up in a high ponytail and she looked a little better than she had in recent weeks. Nova was thankful for that. Daphne deserved a break from her heartbreak. When Nova sat down next to her, Daphne gave her a small smile. "Morning, Nova. How are you feeling? I...I remember what today is."

      Nova waved her off. Her concern was sweet, but Nova couldn't talk about it without feeling sorry for herself, and she decided she didn't want to feel that way today. "Thanks, Daphne. I'm fine. Just trying to get through the day in one piece."

      A small brunette slid into the bench across from the two sixth year Slytherins. The resemblance between Daphne and Astoria Greengrass was uncanny. Nova wondered why she hadn't noticed before, but maybe it was because she hadn't seen the two of them next to each other often enough. The only difference between them was their stark difference in hair color. While Daphne's hair was nearly as platinum as Draco's, Astoria had dark hair that verged on ebony. That was about where their differences ended, however. "Morning," Astoria said. Even her voice sounded similar to her sister's. She had her nose buried in a book, and she flipped a page as her eyes scanned the text.

      "Morning," Daphne said, and Nova could hear the happiness in it. Astoria was obviously Daphne's Theo, if the soft way she smiled at her little sister was anything to go by. "Put the book down and eat, Stori."

      "Huh? Oh." Astoria listened to her sister, setting the book on the table, only after sliding a bookmark between the pages. "Sorry. Hi, Nova."

      Nova hadn't had much interaction with Astoria Greengrass, but she seemed nice enough. The only thing she knew about the younger Slytherin was that she fancied Blaise, and Nova didn't have the heart to tell her that it was a possibility that would never happen. "Hi, Astoria. What're you reading?"

      Her eyes lit up. "This awesome book about a wizard who has to face this mystical dragon that's, like, way more dangerous than a Hungarian Horntail. Daphne got it for me for my birthday."