Epitome || H. Potter

EPITOME 05

"Child, do you expect to see company looking like that?" Mother snarled at her her face looking positively monstrous. A harsh slap made her stumble.

"I apologize, Mother," she replied, the eight year old holding her cheek. 'I'm sorry' was too informal, and so was 'Mom', 'Mum', 'Momma', or 'Mummy'. It was Mother, strictly a relationship defined by birth. She started to walk off, knowing that her mother was watching.

"Head up! Shoulders back!" The woman called from behind, a scowl on her face. She was disappointed, the childhood that she had given the child a proper training, and respect for those above her. Clearly, she had regarded neither. She was young, yes, but her destiny was already set for her, whether she knew it or not.

The girl grumbled as she kicked her feet walking down the hallway. She hated it, all of it- the fancy dinner parties, the classes on manners, her mother controlling who she could be friends with. Letting out a huff, the voice in the back of her mind told her that her father would have let her stay friends with the twins.

They had been meeting for under two weeks when Astrid, Fred, and George were forced to separate. But in those short two weeks, Astrid had gotten dirty while playing, climbed trees, had a real, childish sense of fun. That was all over now.

"Papa?" Astrid pokes her head into the study, where her father sat, his wand waving as he folded a pile of clothes with magic.

"Yes, Gee?" He looked up and saw her face before nearly rolling his eyes. "Astrid, if your mother told you to go get ready, then you need to go get ready. I'm not going to fight your mother." Astrid sighed and turned away, a scowl on her dainty face. Her long, rich brown hair gleamed out from behind her as she turned. A veela's curse. Her walk was floaty, no matter how ugly she wanted to stomp down the corridors. Astrid threw open her door and saw the green dress laid out on the bed. Grumbling as she put it on, Astrid Matthews slowly, but surely, made the change from pouty and childish to regal and sophisticated.

Astrid woke up in her bed, only to see the red curtains again. She blinked in surprise, still not used to the historical change that had been made. Grasping them loosely, she sighed in relief. She was not eight again, her mother wasn't here, and she was free to do as she please. She squinted her eyes as she thought about the fading dream. It was a typical dream for her to have, that night had been the worst night of her life. She couldn't remember the day before it for a long time, even the weeks leading up to it. But now she remembered.

Fred and George. They had been childhood friends, if only briefly. They hadn't spoken since then. Astrid didn't interact with seventh year Gryffindors. Specifically, them. There was something that drew her to them, likely that memory that had been tucked away from her for a long time.

Letting go of the drapes she still grasped in her hand, she sank into the bed just a millimeter before getting dressed and heading downstairs before Brown and Patil got up.

______

Astrid rapped her fingers nervously on the table as she ate her lunch. Transfiguration had gone well, despite the fact that she had only barely transformed her cactus. Arithmancy hadn't given her any extra homework, which was good, as she was still recovering from the last essay they'd had to write.

Finally, the trio sank into their seats down beside her, looking sour after Care of Magical Creatures. She regarded them with curiosity before asking what was going on.

"Hagrid's gone. And they've replaced him with this good for nothing woman!" Ron moaned, reaching for a handful of rolls.

"She was a decent teacher, but it was dull," Hermione said, eyeing Harry's unnerving glance with some fear in her body language. "Hagrid's lessons were always exciting."

"I never took Care of Magical Creatures," Astrid said, shrugging slightly. "My Mother wouldn't let me, and now, well,  it's too late."

"Speaking of your mother, are you still going over for Christmas break?" Hermione asked her. The two girls had made an odd connection over the past two days. They could truly understand each other, and Hermione was happy to have another girl in the group.

Astrid bit her lip as she thought. "No," she replied slowly. "As much as I wish to see my dad, I know that there will be consequences for going, ones that I don't think I'm ready to face."

"Are you going to stay here?" Harry asked simply making conversation as he poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice.

"I don't know," Astrid sighed. "I'll be vulnerable to those who ho have hurt me if I stay, but it's not like I have a place to go. I suppose I'll stay here if there's no other option."

There was a pause for food and drink as Astrid listened to the conversations swirl around her. Out of nowhere, she turned to Ron.

"I think I would like to meet your brothers," Astrid said. She added a silent 'again' to herself as she squeezed her hands together in anxiety.

"Which ones? All of them, or just the ones here?" Ron said, slightly bitter, but compliant none the less.

"Just the twins, I think," Astrid replied. "I've never properly met them, but I admire what they've done for the school." Hermione snorted and Ron rolled his eyes.

"Oi! Fred! George!" He called. Their head shot towards him; however, their glances both darted over Astrid briefly before returning to Ron.

"What's up, little brother?" One of them asked. Astrid almost held her head and sighed. She was never going to be able to tell them apart again.

"Matthews wants to meet you," Ron shrugged before going back to his food. The twins came over, smirks gracing their faces.

"Don't start boys," Astrid said rolling her eyes. "It's been a while." Ron nearly spat out his food.

"What?" He said, his face stone cold. Hermione rolled her eyes and Harry was biting his lip and trying not to laugh.

"We were waiting for you to remember," one of the twins, possibly George said. They both have identical grins, as well as Astrid.

"Explain," Ron said, waving his hand at the scene unfolding in front of him. "What is... this?"

"When I was eight, we met each other... somewhere, I don't remember.  I was invited to your house, but only for two weeks. Then my mother found out, and then I had a bad memory charm placed on me to help me try and forget. Memories from that year are still coming back to me."

"And we went off to school, without an explanation. We saw you get sorted into Slytherin, and decided that you were up to something else," the other twin, who Astrid was pretty sure was Fred, winked at his little brother.

"That's interesting," Hermione said, offering her opinion.

"Thanks, Granger," The first twin, confirmed to be George by the name on the bag that Astrid had spotted, said. "You all had Umbridge yet?"

"Next," Harry replied, shaking his head.

"Have fun," Fred snorted. "Now, Angelina looks as though she's about to kill me. We best be off."

"How come you didn't tell me you knew them?" Ron said. "And why don't I remember you?"

"It was a short period of time, and I had a dream last night that reminded me of it. So I remembered. The human brain is fascinating."

"Now," Hermione but in, "we need to go to class, because this Umbridge woman might be strict."

"She's a ministry worker, who's friends with the Malfoys," Astrid said, snorting at the thought. "She's going to be an arse either way." Despite her comment, Astrid stood up and left with her friends.

Meanwhile, from the staff table, Dolores Umbridge watched the girl whose mother had tormented her in school. And now, revenge was hers.