In The Shadow of Our Choices

Chapter 89 - Games and Gløgg

Andrew

The next day, after everyone had trickled downstairs, Andrew watched Aria picking at her food, hardly eating any of it. Before he could ask if she wanted something else, Maren announced that she would be showing them around town. Signe raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Dear," she said, speaking in Norwegian. "Are you sure? You don't want to miss decorating the tree."

Maren rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mamma. They want to see the town."

"Alright," Signe said with a sigh. "Be back before dinner, at least."

"We will be," Maren assured her.

Andrew listened to this brief exchange, pleased that he was able to understand so much of it - he hadn't grown up speaking Norwegian at home, only when visiting family. He'd known he was rusty, so he'd taken special care to practice before the trip.

As Maren shepherded them outside, Drusilla Malfoy slipped out to join them as well. Maren led them back down the road they'd walked up the night before - everything glittered in the sun now, more snow having fallen the night before to blanket the town in white. Though there was still no wind, there was now the steady hum of activity floating through the air. Andrew could hear the faint sounds of chatter, carts rolling through the streets, and even a few birds. Ahead of him, Elizabeth and Aria listened to Maren pointing out landmarks and shops of interest. Ominis walked beside Elizabeth, and Andrew thought he looked rather fidgety and distracted, fussing with a knit scarf Andrew didn't recognize. Andrew also noticed how Sebastian seemed distracted with peering into every shop they passed, and, despite everything, Andrew felt a pang of sympathy for him, knowing he was hoping to spot the wandmaker they'd come for.

Andrew's attention wasn't on Maren's tour either, as he was somewhat familiar with the town. He turned to Drusilla instead.

"I take it you go to Durmstrang as well?" He asked her, thinking of how Maren had introduced her the night before as a 'friend from school'.

"I do," Drusilla said stiffly. "Though my father has the utmost respect for Headmaster Black, the family thought it would be to our advantage for us to attend a school overseas and forge new connections. Besides, Hogwarts tends to host some... unsavory sorts."

Her face twisted into a sneer with this last comment, and Andrew was taken aback.

"Ah, I see," Andrew said, searching for a new topic. "Are you in your final year as well? What are you studying?"

"Potions," Drusilla said, shrugging. "What about you?"

"I'm hoping to become an Auror, with the Ministry," Andrew said, the well-worn answer slipping out automatically. "Why, er - what made you decide to stay here for the holidays?"

"Our break is not as long as Hogwarts'," she said simply, "So it makes more sense to stay here for the break, and Maren offered."

"That's fair enough," Andrew said, pausing to peer into a shop that had a few wands displayed in the window, but it was just a second hand shop.

"How did you come to be traveling with a Gaunt?" Drusilla asked, and Andrew was surprised at the look of disgust that flashed across her face.

"What do you mean?" Andrew asked, frowning. "He's a friend - in fact, it was he who suggested this trip to me."

Weren't the Malfoys and the Gaunts both old wizarding families? He wasn't aware of any particular bad blood between them, in fact, both were rather obsessed with their blood status.

Drusilla gave him a disdainful look. "And you trusted in invitation like that? The Gaunts are cruel, and would betray anyone - even each other - for a pittance these days. That one is probably just waiting for an opening to curse you."