A muggle-born Slytherin whose parents are terrified of her.
A pureblood Gryffindor whose parents are disappointed in him.
The arrival of her Hogwarts letter was meant to make everything better.
Asteria Halloway finally had an explanation for her p...
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Sirius slowly stepped out onto the landing fully aware that it was past midday and he had slept in, probably causing Asteria's parents to form some sort of negative opinion of him.
He didn't want to call out for Asteria, but he also wasn't particularly comfortable in wandering aimlessly around the house. There was, however, something nice about being in the home. It drew a stark contrast from his home at Grimmauld Place.
Asteria's home was decorated with family pictures and paintings by local artists. Every surface was full of trinkets and every bookcase stuffed full of old books that had been passed back and forth throughout the family. Every room was brightly lit and the heating burnt through the home, bringing comfort with it.
Sirius straightened out his shirt and ran a hand through his hair before finally making his way down the stairs.
There was little sign of life. Apart from the faint murmur of chatter coming from the dining room.
He couldn't make out who was in the room or what they were saying before he hesitantly pushed open the door.
Celeste and Antonio Halloway instantly stopped talking and turned to face Sirius, some sort of relief flooded their faces.
"Ah, Sirius, would you like something to eat?" Celeste smiled warmly, brushing her husband away as she turned her back to him. "No thank you, I'm just looking for Asteria." Sirius replied awkwardly. Antonio muttered something under his breath before turning to Sirius, "She's probably down by the pier. That's where she goes when she's upse-"
Celeste shot her husband and cold glare, instantly resulting in Antonio snapping his jaw shut.
"Oh, er, thank you." Sirius nodded quickly and dashed from the room before anyone could say another word.
Asteria dangled her legs over the edge of the pier, looking down at the water below. It crashed and swirled and retreated and returned over and over again in an endless cycle. The salt surrounded her, filling her nose and flying into her hair, the water constantly spraying at the bottom of her legs. The sound of footsteps behind caused Asteria to desperately attempt to wipe away her tears before turning around to see Sirius Black walking towards her.
"Sorry I kind of left this morning..." Asteria began quietly, barely audible over the sound of the waves. "Your dad kind of let slip you were upset." Sirius admitted, "Did your parents say something?"
Asteria could already feel her bottom lip trembling, "My parents saw the Daily Prophet when the owl delivered my copy and they read about some of the wizards that have been going missing. They don't want me to go back to Hogwarts next year but I can't be in the muggle world, it doesn't feel like home. But then, I don't know why I want to go back to Hogwarts so much because that's lonely for me too."
