Little Corvus
When she woke in the morning Draco and Theo were sleeping in Pansy and Astoria’s beds, she didn’t understand why they hadn’t woken her up once they returned to her room.
She sat up in her bed and proceeded to walk across the room, she began with nudging Draco and once he was awake she moved on to Theo. She was much more gentle with Theo than she was with Draco, once the two young men were awake she sat back down on her own bed.
“You should have waken me when you got here.” Astrid said with some annoyance.
Draco rolling his eyes, “But you looked so adorable sleeping.”
Theo let out a low chuckle while Astrid through a pillow at Draco’s head, “So, what did Draco tell you?”
“Nothing really, but he did tell me that you didn’t mean to hurt my feelings by bringing up my mother.”
She noticed as Theo looked down when he mentioned his mother.
“What do you know about her? We should start there and take your time if needed.” Astrid used her most gentle voice when speaking to him.
“I know that she’s a pure-blood, grew up in France. She died before I even really knew her.”
Astrid quickly shifted her gaze to Draco before asking her next question, “Do you know her last name?”
“My father and grandfather refuse to speak about her, no one that comes to the manor speaks about her.”
Astrid took a deep breath before speaking, “I went to the Lestrange vault over the summer break and I found a massive family tree tapestry… not the one hanging in Lestrange manor but the one that shows both branches of the family. Most of the family have died or had daughters which is why my father’s branch continued and it’s the reason I’m the heir.”
Theo nodded his head, showing interest in what she was saying and she could see the slight concern on Draco’s face as she continued talking, “In the other branch it ends with the generation before ours which results in four daughters that were married off. None of those daughters lived long enough to bare children, except for one. She produced one child, a year older than me.”
Astrid shifted on her bed, preparing to deliver the last blow of the speech she had prepared.
“Your mother was one of the daughters, she was the daughter of Fulcran Lestrange the 3rd and a Sophie Rosier. I know this sounds insane but I do have a way to prove it to you.”
Theo looked at her with disgust on her face, as he got up from Astoria’s bed, “What you’re saying doesn’t make sense, your family is notable in our society, there’s no way that my grandfather wouldn’t throw her last name around if it was Lestrange.”
Draco raised his eyebrows, “She wouldn’t lie Theo.”
Astrid started thinking of ways to convince him, “During the next break I can take you to the Lestrange vault, it only allows people with direct Lestrange blood into the vault.”
Theo sighed and sat back down, “Why didn’t my father or grandfather mention this, they’re for consolidating power. It’s why my grandfather has pushed for me to become the Rosier heir even though there are others that can lay claim.”
“Okay, so we start there, we find out why they didn’t want you to know.”
Both Theo and Draco laughed loudly, “Yeah, sure, let’s just ask Lord Nott why one of the best kept secrets surrounds his daughter-in-law’s maiden name.”
“Draco, if you’re not going to make helpful contributions keep your mouth shut.”
Theo smiled at that, “You two really are siblings.”
Just as Theo opened his mouth to ask another question the dorm room door opened and Pansy and Astoria stopped in their tracks as they noticed the boys sitting on their beds.
Astrid looked at the two boys before speaking, “You should go, we’ll finish this conversation later.”
Draco got up first and Theo followed suit, “Yeah, later, after practice yeah?”
Astrid nodded in response, she could see the blush on Astoria’s face as Draco walked past. She wanted to hex her but managed to reel in the anger she had felt.
When the boys had left the room and Astoria and Pansy came in Astrid moved quickly to the bathroom so she could have a shower. Pansy shot her a look before the door fully closed, while she was in the shower she glanced at the transformed rock and picked it up. Within a second it was the blade again. She thought about performing one of the smaller rituals in Falco’s journal, she placed the blade to her thigh but hesitated because she knew that she didn’t have the proper tools for the ritual and eventually decided against it.
She finished her shower and got dressed, when she finally left the sanctuary of the bathroom she walked into an empty dorm room. A wave of relief washed over Astrid as she collected her books. Her first class of the day was divination, she liked the class well enough and Theo was her desk mate. She thought about talking to him during class, it would be easy enough, they both spoke French and they could have their conversation in private.
On her way to the Great Hall for breakfast she noticed Harry and Ron watching her, she met Potter’s eyes and raised an eyebrow. He rolled his eyes and started walking away, his lapdog Ron followed behind him.
Once she entered the dining hall she scanned the Slytherin table and found Draco, she quickened her pace and took a sit right next to Blaise.
“Potter has been watching me.”
Blaise answered in his flirty manner, “Who wouldn’t?”
Astrid rolled her eyes as she grabbed a bowl of yogurt, “Don’t flatter me Blaise.”
Draco grimaced, “Can we go one morning without someone flirting with Astrid.”
Before she could answer there was a commotion at the Gryffindor table when the owls brought mail, the Weasley matriarch had sent howlers. From the laughs she heard she could tell that Ron was being told off. Just when the laughter died down a single brown owl soared above the Slytherin table with a scroll that landed in front of Astrid.
The scroll had no indication of who it was from so she slipped it into her bag instead of reading it in a room full of people. Breakfast went by quickly and Astrid could faintly hear the comments being made about her by Astoria to the other Slytherin girls their age.
It didn’t bother her that she was an outcast with them, what bothered her was that Pansy was sitting across from Astoria laughing along with her. In this world gossip is as good as truth, so during first year when Astrid had been attacked for being the daughter of death eaters Pansy had stood up for her. They had originally met at a Merlin Day celebration years ago but had grown fond of each other during their time at Hogwarts, well that was until Astoria came into the picture. Astrid tried to be nice to Astoria during the beginning but she could only pretend for so long, she could see Astoria’s true intentions. It hurt her to see Pansy so willingly going along with whatever Astoria was saying.
Astrid knew that Astoria’s family were social climbers which wasn’t uncommon when it came to the families on the bottom half of the Sacred 28 list, she knew why Astoria held affection for Draco, that reason alone was enough for her to dislike Astoria. Many Slytherins, especially the girls would fawn over him and try to get his attention by befriending her and it all seemed so shallow.
She was lost in thought when she was nudged by Blaise, “Lestrange are you coming or what?”
“Yeah, I didn’t get enough sleep last night.”
Draco laughed behind her, “That’s not how it sounded to me, right Theo?”
“Draco, not so loud, we’ll get into trouble if anyone finds out.” Astrid rolled her eyes at his disregard for the rule breaking.
‘Nothing bad will come of it, Astrid. We’re Slytherin royalty, at most Snape will give us detention.”
“Unlike you, my dear Draco I prefer to spend my free time studying, not cleaning the potions classroom.”
Draco and Blaise spilt from Astrid and Theo as they headed towards the divination classroom, Astrid was unsure about how to talk to Theo. She had never really been close to him before, always polite but never more than that.
As they walked in silence Astrid recalled a memory from her tenth birthday, Lucius was talking to Lord Nott in the private library. Draco and herself snuck away from the party to spy on their conversation, at the time it struck Astrid as weird because there were only the two men talking.
“Lucius, the girl is in your care, her father and his Lord brother won’t ever be free again. And that poor Rosier girl, well, you know Azkaban didn’t let her survive. The choice is yours.” Lord Nott exclaimed.
“It’s not my choice, Lord Nott. We should table this discussion for now.” The two of them watched as Lucius went to walk away before Lord Nott continued.
Lord Nott had chuckled before speaking again, “I see how it is, you plan on making her the next Lord Malfoy’s lady.”
Lucius was almost to the door when Lord Nott made his accusation but within seconds he was face to face with the man again.
“Lady Lestrange will pick her own husband in due time, you better remember that before you say something like that again.”
Lucius started walking away and Astrid could feel Draco’s eyes on her, a slight blush settled over her face and just as they were about to leave their hiding spot, Lord Nott spoke again, “Aren’t you afraid that the she’ll turn out like the last Gaunt girl… their bloodline, their legacy. It’s all gone, once the most powerful house now they’re nothing. It could easily be her next. Your own wife’s family suffered the same fate, their male heirs wiped out or imprisoned, their family left to the women who no longer carry the name.”
The two Lords looked at each other for a moment before Lord Nott continued, “They may be distant cousins, much like your own son but this way together, my grandson and Astrid can control both households. They name their first son the Nott heir and the second the Lestrange heir.”
“It’s not my decision.”
Lord Nott slammed his hand on the table, “She is a girl, you know that she will have no respect, no real power. It’s not her decision. I’ll ask again later and you’ll be smart enough to say yes next time. The Sacred 28 gets smaller as time goes on. We’d be doing our duty to betroth them.”
“There are still enough options, there are many young girls who would make good wives to your grandson.”
Lord Nott shook his head and went to walk away, “Her bloodline will meet the same fate as the Gaunt family and it will be you to blame.”
Lucius waited a moment before Lord Nott reached the door, “I don’t think they’re all gone. The Gaunt bloodline.”
Astrid had to cover her mouth so they wouldn’t hear her gasp. As Lucius continued, “I believe that Morfin Gaunt had a son. Do you remember when that Yaxley girl disappeared, my father wrote in his journal that Morfin had kidnapped, wed, and held her. This was before Morfin had gone completely mad of course, their child would be around my age now and a pureblood.”
The two of them watched as Lord Nott turned and looked at Lucius, “How long have you known this?”
“Since my father’s death. He believes that the Yaxley girl’s family moved her and the child somewhere far from here as to not bring shame to their family.”
There was silence between the two of them again, “We should sit down with the Yaxley’s and get to the bottom of this.”
Lucius nodded and the two gentleman left the room, both Draco and Astrid sat in their hiding spot for a moment longer before heading back down to the party.
Astrid so lost in her memory didn’t hear the commotion going on around her, she felt Theo’s arm brush against her own before she noticed what was blocking the hallway.
Harry and Ron were fighting Crabbe and Goyle, a jinx passed between a group of students and a Ravenclaw girl bumped into her so it didn’t hit her. The girl’s eyes widened when she realized who she had bumped into.
“I’m so sorry!” She shrieked out.
Astrid pushed past the crowd and with her most intimidating voice she yelled, “Enough. Some of us are trying to get to class. You group of neanderthals need to go somewhere else.”
The four boys stopped what they were doing and glanced at her before she spoke again, “Crabbe, Goyle, leave now before you get detention.”
Theo walked up behind her and as the two other boys walked by she could feel the death stare Crabbe was giving her. Once the two Slytherins left the rest of the audience disappeared and she continued her walk to the divination classroom.
“You’re scary, ya know?” Theo said beside her.
She smiled, “I know, Narcissa trained me well I suppose.”
When they took their seats her mind drifted back to the memory of Lucius and Lord Nott, she wanted to talk about it but the classroom might not be the right place. She couldn’t help it though so when they broke into pairs to study she asked Professor Trelawney if she and Theo could go look for a book in the library. On their way there Astrid stopped and sat down on a bench.
“I have a question to ask.”
Theo sat down beside her, “Go on.”
“Did you know that your grandfather wanted us betrothed.”
Theo didn’t look at her as she finished the question and she knew his answer so she spoke again before he could, “It makes sense… no? You did say he wanted to collect power and wealth. It’d be the easier way to do it. Their generation was okay with marrying cousins, this one not so much. Maybe that’s why he kept your mother’s maiden name a secret, your parents didn’t even have a wedding announcement. I checked obviously.”
“That could be why every proposal he’s received he’s rejected. Maybe he’s waiting on Lord Malfoy to decide but I’m getting older and he can’t wait much longer. Especially with what’s to come.” Theo looked at her then.
Astrid looked at him then, really looked at him. He was no longer the small boy she knew, he had grown standing at about 5’11 and due to the quidditch workouts Draco had insisted everyone do his shoulders had gotten broad.
She looked away before speaking, “Well, I’m sure you’ll have no problems finding a wife.”
He nodded in agreement, she sighed before speaking, “I suppose we should actually go to the library.”
After divination Astrid had charms and then the study of ancient runes. Astrid didn’t care much for charms but due to her upbringing she was much better than most of the students. Ancient runes and arithmancy were two of her favourite subjects unlike most of the other Slytherins, which meant that the classes were filled with a variety of all the houses, mostly Ravenclaw.
Astrid didn’t mind most of the Ravenclaw students but she didn’t want to actually be friends with them, her desk mate Luna was not the company she would choose. She felt for the girl though, most of the students called her Loony Luna which is understandable considering her eccentric personality but Astrid still found it cruel considering how nice Luna was.
After ancient runes Astrid hurried to her dorm room hoping that it would be empty and when she walked through the door she had gotten her wish, she pulled out her textbooks from this morning and placed them on her desk. Just as she was about to put her Transfiguration textbook into her bag she noticed the scroll she received this morning.
She looked at it uncertainly before picking it up and walking over to her bed, as she sat down she un-scrolled it and just like Falco’s journal it felt like the voice was in the room speaking to her.
“My little corvus, I hope the Malfoy’s have been treating you well. I have risked a lot to send this to you. But there are many things I need to tell you, so let me begin. There is a war coming, the Dark Lord has risen again and I will be a faithful servant once more. Your uncle and aunt will stand by my side as well. As the Lord of the family Rodolphus must name you his heir in a ceremony which will take place on your birthday. I know this may seem like a lot of information all at once but I look forward to seeing you.”
The note burst into flames once Rabastan’s voice finished and Astrid could feel the room start to spin around her. Her breathing became heavy and she feared what was about to happen. She had to tell Draco, he would be the only one to understand what she was going through right now,
As she dashed through the common room looking for him she looked toward the corner they would normally play chess in and she thanked Merlin that he was there.
She quickened her pace and she could tell that people were starring but in that moment she did not care. When she noticed that he was sitting and playing with Astoria she cleared her throat which made them both look up.
“Can we help you?” Astoria said in a snooty tone.
“I need to speak to you, it is very important.”
Draco got up immediately and said sorry to Astoria before following her back to her dorm room, as soon as the two of them were locked safely in her room Astrid took a deep breath before the words started pouring from her.
“So, you know that scroll I got this morning, well I just opened it and you’re not going to believe who it was from.” She paused a second before she kept going, “It was from my father. I know people have smuggled letters out of Azkaban before, but it’s crazy that he has sent one now.”
Draco took step back and sat down at her desk, “Holy shit. What did the letter say.”
“It was in his voice, he said that he would see me soon and that on my birthday my Uncle Rodolphus will name me his heir. Which means that I’ll see him next month… he also mentioned the upcoming war and how the three of them will remain loyal to the Dark Lord. Which, I mean, isn’t a surprise I guess but what if he wants me to get the dark mark like him and my mother?”
Draco could see the concern on her face and moved closer to her, they both sat on her bed as he reached for her hand. “My mother won’t let that happen, she doesn’t want me to get the mark so she certainly won’t allow you to get it.”
“When they break out of Azkaban I may not have a choice, my father will be back in my life.”
“He’ll be on the run though, sure he’ll be able to see you once in a while but you’ll still be in my parents’ care.”
Astrid nodded and she could feel herself tearing up, but as much as she wanted to cry she forced herself to shove her feelings down. How would her father and uncle react if they saw her like this?
“Promise me that we’re always going to be together.” Astrid could hear the desperation in her voice but she didn’t care.
“Of course, Astrid, you’re family. The only one in this castle that gets me. Truly.” He cupped her face as he talked and leaned into his head.
Just as the door flung open the two of them slowly pulled apart, “I should get going.”
And with that Draco was out the door and heading down the hall, Pansy and Astoria glared at Astrid as they walked in. She took a deep breath before heading into the bathroom, she wanted to tell Pansy but she couldn’t be trusted not while she was attached to Astoria, the two of them together gossiped more than the tabloids.
Once she collected her thoughts she went back out into the room, she gathered some of her things and proceeded to head to the library. She knew once she left the room they would talk about her so she tried to push the anger down and focus on the future.