HP • Legilimency | 𝐍. 𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐅𝐎𝐘

𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲

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Christmas was rapidly approaching, and one morning Astria woke up to find Hogwarts covered in several meters of snow. The Black Lake looked lighter when observed from the Slytherin common room, its entire surface frozen over. The Weasley twins, Fred and George, older siblings of Ron Weasley, were punished for using enchanted snowballs to follow Quirrell and bounce off the back of his turban. Astria could swear she heard something very annoyed and hissing in anger coming from the back of the professor's head, but she thought the cold was playing tricks on her senses.

No one could anticipate the start of the holidays. While the Common Rooms and the Great Hall had crackling fireplaces, the airy corridors had turned bitter and icy. When Professor Snape appeared the previous week, making a list of students who would stay during the holidays, Astria was ready to sign her name immediately on the list.

But to her surprise, both Draco and Blaze invited her to spend Christmas with their respective families. She had never spent Christmas with a family before and didn't know how to accept. She gave preference to Draco and Lady Malfoy, as she already knew them, and asked Blaze to thank Mrs. Zabini for the kind invitation. He joked with her, saying that Mrs. Anathema Zabini doesn't take no for an answer and wouldn't rest until she met the beautiful friend her son talks so much about. Astria felt enchanted and was just as curious to meet the woman.

Anathema Zabini was a very famous witch for her beauty. She had been married seven times, six marriages in a row after Blaze's father's death. It was all very suspicious, and the woman was called the Black Widow. But according to Blaze's stories, she was an amazing mother.

When they left the dungeons at the end of the Potions class, they encountered a large pine trunk blocking the corridor ahead. Hagrid was behind it, and Ron Weasley and Harry were talking to the giant.

"Hello, Rubeus, need some help?" Ron asked, sticking his head through the branches.

"No, I'm fine, thanks, Ron," Hagrid replied.

Draco took that very moment to open his big mouth.

"Mind moving out of the way?" he drawled. "Are you trying to earn a few knuts, Weasley? Maybe you're aiming to become a gamekeeper when you're done with Hogwarts. Hagrid's hut must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."

Ron stared at him, his face still red, and lunged at Draco just as the head of a large, fat rat emerged from his pocket. Pandemonium ensued.

Lago, who until then had only his head sticking out of Astria's backpack, lunged forward with his claws extended. Ron let out a high-pitched shriek that was quite embarrassing and stumbled backward, falling loudly on his bottom. His fall ended up saving his chubby pet rat, but it also removed the rat from Lago's path. The rat squealed loudly, darting back into Ron's pocket.

"That cat's a menace!" Ron cried, continuing to crawl hastily backward, even as Lago returned to Astria's lap, the feline making strange grumbling noises of displeasure and looking scornfully at the red-haired boy.

"A menace?" Astria questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Lago would be doing a great service by getting rid of that pest. Ever heard of the Black Death?" She commented, completely disinterested.

"Black Death!" Draco exclaimed, doubling over in laughter. "That was a good one."

Ron lunged at Draco again just as Lady Malfoy ascended the stairs.

"WEASLEY!" she exclaimed scandalized, and the redhead let go of Draco's robes with wide eyes.

"He was provoked, Professor Narcissa," Hagrid explained, emerging from behind the tree with his hairy face. "Draco insulted his family."