I SPY || 𝕝𝕦𝕔𝕚𝕦𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕗𝕠𝕪

Chapter 7. You

Astrid laid out one simple rule before she left Grimmauld Place, that no one would tell her father of her undercover mission. Under any circumstances. Even in the event of her death she made Sirius and the others promise to hide the true reason of her demise, she could not have her father knowing, spoiling her image, spoiling the perfect picture of his daughter. She had spent her life keeping up the appearance of a perfect daughter, always doing well in school, always doing the right thing, she didn't want Alastor to fret over her and her safety, he was at heart a worrier despite his hard exterior.

            Harry had left Grimmauld Place to re-join his friends at Hogwarts, but Astrid stayed for a drink, merlin knew she needed one after the few weeks she'd had. She took a long swig of the fire whiskey in her glass, feeling the familiar burn down the back of her throat.

            "That went down rather smoothly for such a good girl," Sirius mocked as he too took a gulp from his own glass. Astrid smiled smally, thinking of all the underage drinking her and the girls had got up to at Beauxbatons, the late-night parties, the drinking games, stumbling to the school kitchen at three in the morning and painting the common room walls with vomit. Good times she thought to herself with a chuckle.

            "Would it surprise you to find out I'm not as much of an angel as my father thinks?" Astrid asked the man, she took one last long drink, finishing the glass and setting it down on the coffee table.

            "No," Sirius admitted, "We all rebel against our parents, I imagine it's harder to get caught when you're schooled in a different country,"

            "True," Astrid nodded, thinking off all the Christmases she spent in France because her father deemed it unsafe to come home for the holidays, as much as she loved and respected her father, she felt the sting of his long-distance parenting.

"I have to ask, are you sure about this Astrid?" Sirius asked seriously. Astrid pondered for a second before nodding her head yes.

"I'm sure, do you think me incapable? Be honest," Serious sighed as he thought about his reservations about Astrid's mission before finally speaking up.

"I think you very capable practically and knowledgeably, your father has told us time and time again you are well prepared for a fight, and you have more in that little head of yours in twenty-two years than most do in a lifetime, you just seem to absorb knowledge."

"But?" Astrid asked with a slight smile, she knew it was coming.

"But," Serious started with a small supportive smile, "I worry about whether you are ready emotionally,"

"What's that suppose to mean?" Astrid asked, screwing up her nose, wondering whether to take it as an insult or not.

"I mean that you're young and -"

"Naïve?" Astrid asked furrowing her brows.

"Not naïve," Sirius explained, "You're just... not emotionally experienced, romantically that is," Sirius tried to choose his words well, not wanting to cause offence. Astrid studied Sirius' face and decoded his meaning,

"You think I'm going to fall in love," Astrid whispered, "You think I'm going to fall in love with Malfoy," Sirius gave a slight nod at her words.

"He's an incredibly charming individual when he wants to be Astrid, he has a way with words, and a way of manipulating people over to him, that's how he came away with a clean slate from the first wizarding war, he was Voldemort's right-hand man then as he is now, you know that right?" Astrid didn't know, her father only spoke of the ones he caught, and how he caught them, he never spoke of the ones that got away, of which Astrid imagined were many.