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 led Asteria by the hand out of the pub. Snow had begun to flutter down from the sky, encasing the small town in a white blanket of festivity.
"You missed me knocking that wizard's hat off his head. It was a challenge, I'll tell you that much. You should've seen his face! I think he almost shrieked. Must be weirdly attached to his hat." Sirius joked, glancing to his side and becoming fully aware that Asteria wasn't particularly paying attention as she only nodded in response.
"Ria... Are you alright?" He asked quietly, his eyes softening. Asteria looked up, "It's just something Mulciber said."
Sirius frowned, "What was it?" "Nobody can do anything. He's too powerful." Asteria repeated, hoping Sirius had some idea as to what that meant.
Of course, Asteria had a gut feeling. She thought it was something to do with Lord Voldemort. However, that thought terrified her and she hoped there could at least be some other explanation, no matter how unlikely it was.
"You... You don't think that's to do with... With that dark wizard?" Sirius asked, his voice hushed as the two glanced around people in the surrounding area to make sure they weren't being listened to.
Asteria pursed her lips, "I really hope not. Do you actually think we're in danger? It sounds like some of the students might even support him."
"We're safe. I know that much. Dumbledore wouldn't let anything happen to us. Besides, let's forget about that. It really is nothing to worry about and we've got sweets to eat." Sirius opened to door to Honeydukes with a grin plastered on his face.
"Okay." She agreed with a smile, "But you can't blame me if I'm sick on you after eating a nasty flavoured jelly bean." "I promise I'll only be mildly annoyed." Sirius held his hand on his chest, earning a laugh from Asteria.
They shuffled out of the winter cold and into the shop. It was tremendously crowded for such a small room and the two slid in amongst the crowd, attempting to move slowly away from the door and towards the shelves of sweets and treats.
"Here we go." Sirius held Asteria's hand and gestured to the shelf that was stacked head to toe with Berty Botts Every Flavour Beans.
"I don't want to eat a nasty flavoured one." She admitted as Sirius picked a box from the shelf. "That's the fun of it." Sirius grinned, pulling out some more money from his pocket.
"Here." Asteria handed over a single coin, dropping it into Sirius' hand, "Just take it and don't make a fuss." "Alright Miss Feminist." Sirius chuckled jokingly, taking the coin and paying for the box of jelly beans along with several bags of exploding bonbons.
They shuffled through the crowded shop and burst out onto the frozen street once more. Their cheeks were flushed scarlet from the warmth of being in such close proximity to so many other people. Asteria let out a long breath, watching as it turned cloudy before dissipating into the sky.
