January 1.0 FIC: Speak (Astoria, G)
Title: Speak
Summary: She was a wisp of a girl, small and mousy and overshadowed by the glamour and charm of her older sister. The Hat had looked inside her head and nearly placed her in Ravenclaw but her eyes widened.
"I want to be in Slytherin!" she said.
Characters/Pairings: Astoria, mild Draco/Astoria
Genre: Gen
Rating/Warnings: G
Word Count: 1258
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: No
If yes, your Tumblr username: NA
She was a wisp of a girl, small and mousy and overshadowed by the glamour and charm of her older sister. The Hat had looked inside her head and nearly placed her in Ravenclaw but her eyes widened.
"I want to be in Slytherin!" she said.
"Oh, you've a voice after all, don't you?" the Hat had murmured. "Slytherin? What would you do there?"
Flounder, she'd thought, if not eaten alive. But she still had her pride and family and determination in spades. She was sure the Hat saw all that, read all that, but all she said was, "I want to be in Slytherin. Take another look, and you will see I belong there."
"Not fully, no," the Hat disagreed. "You lack cunning--"
"I will learn."
"--and you lack loyalty--"
"I need the right cause to be loyal to, first."
"--but you are strong in spirit if weak in first impressions. You would be accepted among the eagles, you know."
"I want to be accepted among the snakes."
"Ah, there it is. You are ambitious, I'll give you that."
"Don't spend more time thinking," she said. "Any longer and I'll be a Hat stall. My new housemates wouldn't like that."
The Hat was shouting "Slytherin!" in a booming voice next, as she sighed her relief, and as the Hat was lifted off her head she thought she heard the distant sound of amused laughter, but she thought nothing of it, just as she tried not to think of the way her heart was pounding hard against her chest and how her fingers were trembling, as she made her way to the Slytherin table, chin up and smiling proudly.
It wasn't that she didn't know the answer-- she did, she almost always usually did, that's why the Hat had considered Ravenclaw-- but Daphne had teased her mercilessly if she ever spoke out of turn, or uttered the wrong thing. And there lay the Slytherin part of her, the part that longed to be thought of highly, the part that feared making mistakes.
But quietly excelling in her schoolwork wouldn't be enough, especially if she wasn't as talented in Potions as she'd have liked to be.
So in the silence of the room, she cleared her throat. "Sir, I think you forgot the paracress leaves."
Professor Slughorn paused in his demonstration, eyes on her. "I beg your pardon, Ms....?"
"Greengrass, sir. Astoria Greengrass." She swallowed the lump in her throat, forces the shakiness out of her voice. "I think you're supposed to add the paracress leaves before stirring. At least that's what the textbook had said, I--"
"And so you're right," Slughorn murmured thoughtfully, adding in the dash of paracress leaves and avoiding an unplanned explosion in the classroom. "Very well done, Ms. Greengrass."
"Thank you, sir," she said, the corner of her lips curling upward in a close-mouthed smile. The Slug Club invitation, she was sure, was only a matter of time now.
Her sister was insufferable enough as it is, but she'd no idea how much more insufferable she'd be with a wedding coming up, her name soon to change to one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight's.
Even so, it was still her sister, and she wouldn't have anybody ruining her rehearsal dinner, not even if that person happened to be the best man, who could barely be convinced to come out to the world from his hermit cave of a manor, and was a Malfoy on top of it all.
"Will you cut it out?" she hissed at the first private moment they could share together-- a feat in and of itself, considering they were both single and in the company of rumor-mongering Slytherins. It had taken an extra glass of wine to reach that level of bravery, but Draco Malfoy was so obviously moping, thus dampening the party, and it needed to stop, or Daphne will have a fit.
"Excuse me?"
"This isn't about you or your post-war issues. In case you're unaware, one of your best friends in the world is getting married, and his wife-to-be is not happy with how you've been acting!" Astoria declared. "At least have the common decency to pretend you're having a good time!"
"I-- what--"
"Look like you're having fun, or I swear to Circe you will be miserable for the rest of your godforsaken life," she ended, turning around on one heel and stalking off. The less Draco Malfoy could come back with a retort, the better for her nerves.
She was red-cheeked and breathless when she returned to the table, shaking her head when one of the other bridesmaids asked her if she was fine. She'd started thinking she might have made an even bigger mess of things when the party grew restless, wondering where the best man had gone to, but then Draco returned, giving a toast that was actually rather good-- Astoria thought she saw even her coldhearted sister shed a tear. She smiled, pleased at how the evening had turned out, and caught Draco looking at her with something like curiosity on his face.
She glanced away quickly, the flush on her cheeks blooming anew.
"It's really such a shame, the way the ministry is run these days," Lucius murmured, taking a sip of his tea and sitting back. "Perhaps one day when the filth running our government these days have had their fun and ruined wizards for the future, we'll eventually come to our senses."
The look in Draco's face pleaded with her not to say anything, to be quiet and nod along. Any other time, Astoria might have agreed-- there were battles, she knew, that she needed to pick. But she was a month into her pregnancy (they'd not told Draco's parents yet, and in fact, that was what they were having tea with them for) and already married to Draco. What was the worst they could do, truly?
She slid her hand in his, squeezed it gently. "It doesn't look like they're ruining anything at all, actually" she said, causing Lucius and Narcissa both to raise their eyebrows. "I've seen the latest figures from the Prophet-- that Granger girl's ideas have placed England in a good position to continue trading from a more advantageous position with France and Germany, and Hogwarts' curriculum now is more competitive with the other magical institutions, ever since they made Muggle Studies mandatory. Whether you agree with it or not, wizards must love Muggles and Muggleborns, and understanding Muggles will give any student an advantage once they enter the workforce."
"So they could do the Muggles' bidding?" Lucius scoffed.
"So they could work with Muggles. Currently we're working in a very limited capacity with the Muggle government, but I don't doubt someday wizards would have the ability to do more with Muggles-- and they do have plenty of money, Lucius, whether you like to acknowledge it or not."
"Muggle Studies is absolute nonsense. There's no reason--"
"It is a competitive advantage for those progressive enough to see the trends for what they are," Astoria said, "and who won't be left behind by outdated ideals. Someday, I would hope Draco and I will be able to raise our child to understand that blood has very little to do with superiority."
She smiled apologetically at Draco, who was still squeezing her hand, and ignored the looks on both of her in-laws' faces. He returned the smile, however, and pressed a gentle hand to her stomach.
Some things, she knew he was thinking now, were worth speaking up for.
Evyclaw/42 points for Ravenclaw!
Summary: She was a wisp of a girl, small and mousy and overshadowed by the glamour and charm of her older sister. The Hat had looked inside her head and nearly placed her in Ravenclaw but her eyes widened.
"I want to be in Slytherin!" she said.
Characters/Pairings: Astoria, mild Draco/Astoria
Genre: Gen
Rating/Warnings: G
Word Count: 1258
Can the Order post to Tumblr?: No
If yes, your Tumblr username: NA
She was a wisp of a girl, small and mousy and overshadowed by the glamour and charm of her older sister. The Hat had looked inside her head and nearly placed her in Ravenclaw but her eyes widened.
"I want to be in Slytherin!" she said.
"Oh, you've a voice after all, don't you?" the Hat had murmured. "Slytherin? What would you do there?"
Flounder, she'd thought, if not eaten alive. But she still had her pride and family and determination in spades. She was sure the Hat saw all that, read all that, but all she said was, "I want to be in Slytherin. Take another look, and you will see I belong there."
"Not fully, no," the Hat disagreed. "You lack cunning--"
"I will learn."
"--and you lack loyalty--"
"I need the right cause to be loyal to, first."
"--but you are strong in spirit if weak in first impressions. You would be accepted among the eagles, you know."
"I want to be accepted among the snakes."
"Ah, there it is. You are ambitious, I'll give you that."
"Don't spend more time thinking," she said. "Any longer and I'll be a Hat stall. My new housemates wouldn't like that."
The Hat was shouting "Slytherin!" in a booming voice next, as she sighed her relief, and as the Hat was lifted off her head she thought she heard the distant sound of amused laughter, but she thought nothing of it, just as she tried not to think of the way her heart was pounding hard against her chest and how her fingers were trembling, as she made her way to the Slytherin table, chin up and smiling proudly.
It wasn't that she didn't know the answer-- she did, she almost always usually did, that's why the Hat had considered Ravenclaw-- but Daphne had teased her mercilessly if she ever spoke out of turn, or uttered the wrong thing. And there lay the Slytherin part of her, the part that longed to be thought of highly, the part that feared making mistakes.
But quietly excelling in her schoolwork wouldn't be enough, especially if she wasn't as talented in Potions as she'd have liked to be.
So in the silence of the room, she cleared her throat. "Sir, I think you forgot the paracress leaves."
Professor Slughorn paused in his demonstration, eyes on her. "I beg your pardon, Ms....?"
"Greengrass, sir. Astoria Greengrass." She swallowed the lump in her throat, forces the shakiness out of her voice. "I think you're supposed to add the paracress leaves before stirring. At least that's what the textbook had said, I--"
"And so you're right," Slughorn murmured thoughtfully, adding in the dash of paracress leaves and avoiding an unplanned explosion in the classroom. "Very well done, Ms. Greengrass."
"Thank you, sir," she said, the corner of her lips curling upward in a close-mouthed smile. The Slug Club invitation, she was sure, was only a matter of time now.
Her sister was insufferable enough as it is, but she'd no idea how much more insufferable she'd be with a wedding coming up, her name soon to change to one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight's.
Even so, it was still her sister, and she wouldn't have anybody ruining her rehearsal dinner, not even if that person happened to be the best man, who could barely be convinced to come out to the world from his hermit cave of a manor, and was a Malfoy on top of it all.
"Will you cut it out?" she hissed at the first private moment they could share together-- a feat in and of itself, considering they were both single and in the company of rumor-mongering Slytherins. It had taken an extra glass of wine to reach that level of bravery, but Draco Malfoy was so obviously moping, thus dampening the party, and it needed to stop, or Daphne will have a fit.
"Excuse me?"
"This isn't about you or your post-war issues. In case you're unaware, one of your best friends in the world is getting married, and his wife-to-be is not happy with how you've been acting!" Astoria declared. "At least have the common decency to pretend you're having a good time!"
"I-- what--"
"Look like you're having fun, or I swear to Circe you will be miserable for the rest of your godforsaken life," she ended, turning around on one heel and stalking off. The less Draco Malfoy could come back with a retort, the better for her nerves.
She was red-cheeked and breathless when she returned to the table, shaking her head when one of the other bridesmaids asked her if she was fine. She'd started thinking she might have made an even bigger mess of things when the party grew restless, wondering where the best man had gone to, but then Draco returned, giving a toast that was actually rather good-- Astoria thought she saw even her coldhearted sister shed a tear. She smiled, pleased at how the evening had turned out, and caught Draco looking at her with something like curiosity on his face.
She glanced away quickly, the flush on her cheeks blooming anew.
"It's really such a shame, the way the ministry is run these days," Lucius murmured, taking a sip of his tea and sitting back. "Perhaps one day when the filth running our government these days have had their fun and ruined wizards for the future, we'll eventually come to our senses."
The look in Draco's face pleaded with her not to say anything, to be quiet and nod along. Any other time, Astoria might have agreed-- there were battles, she knew, that she needed to pick. But she was a month into her pregnancy (they'd not told Draco's parents yet, and in fact, that was what they were having tea with them for) and already married to Draco. What was the worst they could do, truly?
She slid her hand in his, squeezed it gently. "It doesn't look like they're ruining anything at all, actually" she said, causing Lucius and Narcissa both to raise their eyebrows. "I've seen the latest figures from the Prophet-- that Granger girl's ideas have placed England in a good position to continue trading from a more advantageous position with France and Germany, and Hogwarts' curriculum now is more competitive with the other magical institutions, ever since they made Muggle Studies mandatory. Whether you agree with it or not, wizards must love Muggles and Muggleborns, and understanding Muggles will give any student an advantage once they enter the workforce."
"So they could do the Muggles' bidding?" Lucius scoffed.
"So they could work with Muggles. Currently we're working in a very limited capacity with the Muggle government, but I don't doubt someday wizards would have the ability to do more with Muggles-- and they do have plenty of money, Lucius, whether you like to acknowledge it or not."
"Muggle Studies is absolute nonsense. There's no reason--"
"It is a competitive advantage for those progressive enough to see the trends for what they are," Astoria said, "and who won't be left behind by outdated ideals. Someday, I would hope Draco and I will be able to raise our child to understand that blood has very little to do with superiority."
She smiled apologetically at Draco, who was still squeezing her hand, and ignored the looks on both of her in-laws' faces. He returned the smile, however, and pressed a gentle hand to her stomach.
Some things, she knew he was thinking now, were worth speaking up for.
Evyclaw/42 points for Ravenclaw!