Never Finished Fic: Post-War Draco, aka The Astra-Story, Part II
For the explanation and Part I, see the previous entry.
That Saturday was a Hogsmeade weekend. Draco went out with the other students and wandered through the town by himself. He stopped in at Melampus Cats. He was studying a cage of tumbling kittens when the bell over the door rang.
"Are you getting a cat?" Granger asked him.
"Astra's birthday is next week."
"Which one were you thinking of?"
Draco pointed. "There. The black one."
"A black cat? Isn't that a bit much?"
"Use every advantage."
Granger looked at him sharply. "Use her reputation to make people stay away from her. How very Slytherin."
"They'd destroy her if they weren't afraid of her."
Granger looked in at the cats. "Get the black one."
Draco glanced at her. "What happened to you?"
"Same thing that happened to you, I expect," she answered crisply. "War and death."
He sneered. "What do you know about death?"
"My grandmother died this summer. She had cancer. It was," a pause, "slow." Then, as if realizing she'd said too much, "How are you going to keep her from finding out about it before her birthday?"
Draco nodded at the frazzled looking man coaxing a nervous squirrel down from a shelf. "I can have him deliver it."
"She'll like it. And," she added speculatively, "it'll give her something outside of herself to focus on."
"Do you think that will help?"
Granger shrugged. "I don't know." She looked at the black kitten and smiled. "Pay for it and let's go to the Three Broomsticks for butterbeer."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "Right. We'll just have a cozy chat in the middle of Hogsmeade."
Granger scowled at him. "Why not?" She waved impatiently at the kittens. "Come on."
Draco leaned toward disbelief, but he paid for the kitten and arranged to have it delivered.
"Did you get her anything else?"
"Not yet." Draco nodded up the street. "I haven't had a chance to go up to Honeydukes. I'll get her some candy before I go back." He pressed his lips together. "There isn't anyone else to get her any."
Granger took his arm, and they walked silently to the Three Broomsticks. "Find us a table," she suggested when they entered the inn. "I'll buy the butterbeer."
He found them a small table in a corner and waved Granger over when she turned away from the bar with two nearly overflowing tankards of butterbeer. When he wrapped his hands around his, he found that she'd gotten hot, not cold. A good choice for the first weekend of November.
"You're right," Granger said. "About the cat," she clarified. She grinned suddenly. "I can't wait to see what the Creeveys do when they see her with it."
Draco reluctantly smiled with her. "You don't like them."
Granger made a face. "Well, they *are* Gryffindors, but Harry has enough people fawning all over him. He doesn't need an in-house fan club too." Crisp again.
"Hermione!" Weasel shouted a greeting as he and Potter came toward the table. "We wondered where you were." He noticed Draco and scowled. "Malfoy," he spat. "What are you doing here?"
"Having a drink with me," Granger said, and Draco was surprised by the steely tone in her voice.
"Hermione," Weasel started, and Draco nearly winced at the whine.
"Don't make trouble," she said sharply. Then more gently, "You can join us if you want."
"No," Potter said. "We'll sit somewhere else."
The Weasel threw a hurt and confused look at Granger and obediently followed Potter to an empty table as far away as they could get.
Granger scowled. "They're such hypocrites. The goddamned war is over."
Draco took another gulp of his butterbeer and set down his tankard. "Let's go up to Honeydukes."
Granger let her own tankard thump onto the table. "Let's." She again hooked her arm through Draco's as they left the inn.
They spent the rest of the afternoon browsing together. They walked back to the castle arm in arm and ignored the curious looks and occasional comments from the other students.
When they were within sight of the castle walls, Astra came running out from the walls and threw herself against Draco.
"Astra!" Draco disentangled himself from Granger and wrapped his arms around Astra. "What happened?" he asked Snape, who followed Astra out from the castle.
"Sibyl happened," Snape snapped. "She came down from her tower for lunch and talked nonsense about Divination." He nodded down at Astra. "Miss Conroy is apparently quite susceptible to suggestion. She had a vision."
"Professor Trelawney?" Granger asked. "She never leaves the North Tower."
"She did today."
Draco stopped listening and stroked Astra's hair. "What did you see?" he asked gently.
"Death," she said, her answer muffled in his chest.
A chill rippled down his spine. "Whose death?"
"Narcissa's," she whispered, and it took every bit of Draco's will for him to keep from stepping away from her. "Father's. Mother's," she said and began to sob.
"Jesus," Granger said softly from somewhere near him. She touched his arm. "I'll make sure the house elves send some tea up to your common room when you come in," she said, and then she and Snape were moving away from them into the castle.
Draco let Astra cry herself out and then made an ineffectual attempt to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "Let's go in," he suggested. "Granger said she'd make sure there was tea for us."
Astra silently took his hand and let him take her back to the castle. Granger had kept her word and there was tea, and handkerchiefs, waiting for them in an empty corner of the common room.
Astra clung to him more than usual that week. Draco was careful not to get too far from her.
Her birthday fell on Thursday. Granger stopped to talk to them as they cleaned up their workstation.
"Happy birthday," she said, and handed Astra a small box.
Astra stared at her. "Thank you," she finally said, and carefully opened it. "Oh," she breathed when she saw what was in it. A small, gold crescent moon hung from a slender gold chain. She pulled it out of the box and handed it to Draco. She turned her back to him and he draped it around her neck and hooked the clasp together. She picked up the pendant and smiled brightly at Granger. "It's beautiful."
"You're welcome," Granger said.
Behind her, a large owl carrying a large basket came through the doorway. It hooted and landed on the table next to Draco. Draco dropped a few knutes into the pouch on its leg.
"Happy birthday," he said, and gave the basket to Astra.
She opened the basket, and the kitten pushed up out of it to nuzzle at her hand. "Oh," she said. And again, "Oh." She carefully picked up the kitten and held it against her chest. "Her name?" she asked.
"She doesn't have one yet," Draco told her. "You'll have to give her one."
Astra's mouth opened in a silent "O" as she cuddled the kitten.
Granger took a second box out of her bag. This one she opened herself and drew out a second golden crescent moon, this one on a black collar sized to fit a kitten.
"The moon's charmed," she explained as she clipped the collar around the kitten's neck. "When you name her, it'll appear on the moon."
Astra pressed her lips against the kitten's fur. "Lydia," she said, and scritched between Lydia's ears. She picked up the crescent moon dangling from Lydia's collar. "It worked!" She held it up for them to see the engraved letters.
"It did," Draco affirmed. He put one arm around her shoulder and picked up Lydia's basket. "I arranged for a special birthday tea in the common room." He glanced up at Granger. "Would you like to join us?"
"In the Slytherin common room?" she asked, clearly skeptical.
Draco grinned at her. "Why not?"
"You don't honestly think you can just take me into the Slytherin common room."
"We're all supposed to be friends now, aren't we?" He didn't quite sneer.
"Use every advantage," Granger said.
He smiled approvingly at her. "Now you've got it."
Astra looked up at him. "Can we go have tea now?"
"Yes," Draco answered. He looked at Granger. "Coming with us?"
She swept an arm out in invitation. "Lead the way."
Draco and Astra were the cause of only a few glances in the common room, those no doubt inspired by the presence of Lydia. But as they moved farther into the room, there were pockets of silence and whispers behind them.
"Draco." It was Pansy who finally spoke. "Why did you bring *that* into our common room."
"It's Astra's cat," he answered carelessly.
"I wasn't talking about the cat," she sneered.
Draco glanced back at where Granger was accepting tea from Lydia. "Hermione," he said, stressing the first name, "is a friend of ours. She came to celebrate Astra's birthday."
"She's a Gryffindor," Pansy pointed out. "And a Mudblood."
"She's our friend," Draco said again, firmly.
"She can't be here." Pansy argued.
"There's no rule that says she can't be." Draco put on his best smug look. "If you don't believe me, go ask Snape." He very deliberately turned his back on Pansy and took the cup of tea Astra held out to him. "Thank you," he said. He sipped it calmly while Astra carefully poured some milk into a saucer for Lydia. He gestured to the cake and to Hermione. "Would you like to do the honors?"
"Certainly." She took out her wand. "Incendio." The candles lit and burned away merrily. She and Draco sang "Happy Birthday" to Astra. "Make a wish," Hermione urged, and Astra's eyes closed for a moment before she blew out the candles.
Draco had no more than cut the cake than Snape's voice came at them from across the room.
"Mr. Malfoy. What is going on here?"
Draco half-turned in his chair to face Snape. "It's Astra's birthday, sir. We're celebrating." He gestured at the cake. "Would you like a piece?"
Snape looked over Draco at Hermione. "And Miss Granger. Are you celebrating as well?"
"Hermione gave me this," Astra supplied, showing Snape her necklace.
Snape was taken aback, but he managed to say, "It's very nice." To Draco, he said, "I would like a piece of cake," and he pulled up another chair.
There was an uneasy peace as the four of them shared the cake.
"I have scrolls to grade," Snape said when he finished his piece. He nodded at them. "Enjoy your tea."
When he was out of earshot, Hermione's lips quirked into a smile. "He does know how to be subtle."
Draco relaxed back into his chair. "Slytherins aren't always obvious." He returned her half-smile. "Astra, don't," he admonished. "That much sugar can't be good for the cat."
Hermione picked up the pitcher and poured more milk into the saucer. "Give her this. It's better for her."
"Doesn't she need food?"
Draco dug into the basket and came up with a book. "Here," he said, giving the book to Astra.
"Cat Care for Young Witches and Wizards," Astra read from the cover. She relaxed back into the corner of the couch with the book and absently petted the cat while she read.
Hermione's lips quirked into that amused smile again. She poured herself more tea and pulled her Arithmancy book out of her bag. Draco was left with no choice but to choose one of his schoolbooks and read. He found that studying in the common room with Astra, Hermione, and a ever-warm tea pot was the most relaxing experience he'd had since-- He decided not to finish that thought.
The bell ringing for supper time startled all three of them, and the cat as well. Draco and Astra made a stack of their books, knowing that no matter how little goodwill the other Slytherins had toward them, their things would not be disturbed. Hermione muttered a quick drying spell and rolled up the scroll she'd been working on. Astra insisted on bringing Lydia to supper with her, and neither Draco nor Hermione had the heart to say no.
Hermione turned suddenly in the doorway of the Great Hall. "Come sit with me," she suggested.
Astra continued following her across the Hall, and Draco gave a mental shrug and followed both girls to the Gryffindor table.
"Hermione," Weasel greeted her. "Where have you been all afternoon?" he asked before he noticed Draco and Astra behind them. When he did notice, he scowled and turned that shade of red that almost matched his hair. "What are *they* doing here?"
Hermione sat next to the Weasel and gestured Astra and Draco into the chairs across from them. "Having supper, just like the rest of us."
"They can't sit there," Potter fairly growled.
"Yes, they can," Hermione answered pleasantly. She poured juice for herself and Astra and passed the (jug? pitcher?) to Draco.
"They're Slytherins!" Draco idly wondered if the outrage would ever make the Weasel's head explode.
"They're my friends," Hermione said evenly.
"I'm not sitting with them," Potter proclaimed.
"You don't have to," Hermione told him. "But they're sitting with me."
Almost as one, Potter and Weasel took themselves to the other end of the table. The rest of the Gryffindors stayed as far away from Hermione and the Slytherins as possible. Astra seemed oblivious to the slight while Draco and Hermione carried on a friendly conversation. For someone who'd been snubbed by her two best friends, Hermione was surprisingly cheerful when she bid them good night after supper.
Saturday dawned clear and crisp, perfect for Quidditch. Astra and Draco, with Lydia curled up on Astra's lap, settled themselves into their usual back row. Despite Weasel and Potter's presence in the front row of the Gryffindor section, Hermione came to sit in the back row and talk strategy with Draco. She, of course, knew just the spell to keep Lydia warm when Astra worried that the cold would be too much for her.
"Don't Potter and Weasley mind that you sat with us?" Draco asked Hermione on the way back to the castle.
Her lips thinned into a sharp line. "They'll just have to live with it."
Astra and Draco left Hermione in the castle entryway and went down to their own common room to have tea and listen to the Slytherin recounting of the match.
They spent most of Sunday studying in the common room and they ate breakfast early on Monday, so it wasn't until after lunch that Draco saw Hermione again.
She began to frown halfway through Professor Bressel's Theory of Magic lecture. "The druids," he explained, "were extremely powerful wizards, but they were accepted in Muggle society. Druid rituals were actually spells designed to safely expend magical energy. Of course, Druids used magic in their everyday lives, but they had so much power that they had to use other spells to siphon off the energy. Most priests and priestesses from the ancient world were wizards."
Hermione's hand shot up.
"Yes, Miss Granger."
"What about wizards with that much power now. What do they do?"
Professor Bressel smiled at her indulgently. "There hasn't been anyone that powerful in generations. Why, even our own Mr. Potter doesn't have that much power."
"But what if there were?" Hermione insisted. "What would they have to do?"
"Well," Bressel allowed, "they would have to find a safe way to expend their energy."
Hermione still looked dissatisfied, but she allowed him to go on with his lecture.
Draco left Astra curled up with a book and Lydia on what had become their couch in the common room and went to the library after tea. He found the book he wanted and took it to an empty table where he could watch the rest of the room.
Hermione came in with Weasel and Potter, and they seemed to have resolved their problems. She left them at the table while she wandered around and gathered up an enormous stack of books. She broke the quiet of the library with an exclamation. Draco looked up just in time to see Madame Pince glare at her. Hermione gathered up two of her books and brought them over to Draco.
"Look at this." She opened one of the books and put it in front of him. "Here," and she pointed at a paragraph halfway down the page.
"My true sister," he read, "the Priestess, Raised her arms above her Head. And There we saw It. A Glowing Golden Ball. All Hallows Eve has long been a night of Great Power. This was Power beyond even what we had seen before. She Spread her Arms and the Orb burst into a Thousand Sparks which came down on the Party. The Sparks infused us with Power."
"Where did you find this?"
Hermione put her hand on the page she'd had him read and flipped to the cover. "Magical Oddities: First Hand Accounts," she read. "I found a reference to it in another book." She pulled it away and pushed another book, "Magical Places in Britain and Ireland," in front of him. "Now read this."
"It is thought," this passage began, "that the Priestess would stand at the center of the circle, on or next to the Altar Stone. The other witches and wizards participating in the ritual would link hands and wrap around her in a spiral, with the most powerful of them linked to the Priestess herself. We have a fragment from the writings of Vachel Sheely describing the effects.
"' . . . held as if in Terror. Silence came down upon us, and stillness too, until the Priestess' connection broke. Sound returned and with it Power.'
"An attempt to reconstruct this ritual using the most powerful witch known to the author was unsuccessful. We still do not know if Priestesses learned their roles or were born to them. We do not know if the power transfer was triggered by a spell or by mere touch."
"Is that what it was like when Astra touched the Altar Stone?" Hermione asked when he looked up from the page.
"Yes," he answered slowly. "You think she's a Priestess."
"You heard what Bressel said today. The Priestesses were very powerful witches."
"He also said there hadn't been anyone that powerful in generations," Draco pointed out. "Even Potter doesn't have that kind of power."
Hermione looked thoughtful. "I don't know that Harry ever had that much power. When he killed Voldemort it was like," she paused. "Like," she continued, "his glow dimmed." She shrugged. "I think maybe some of his power depended on Voldemort somehow."
Draco's eyes narrowed. "You're interested in Astra because of her power. How very Slytherin of you."
Hermione glared at him. "That's not it at all," she retorted hotly. "She's my friend now, and I want to know what's going on with her."
"And you think this is it."
"I don't know," she admitted. "It could be. I'll have to do some more research." She tapped the cover of the book. "This has some references I want to check. There are a couple in the Restricted Section that might be just what we're looking for."
Draco was skeptical. "How are you going to get books out of the Restricted Section?"
Hermione flashed him a grin. "McGonagall got tired of always writing me notes to do research. She talked to Dumbledore, and I have free access to the Restricted Section."
"Useful."
"Very," she agreed. She gave him a real smile. "Think about it." She patted his hand. "I'll let you know what I find out." She scooped up the books and went back to Weasel and Potter.
Over the next few days, Draco watched Astra while trying not to look like he was doing it. On Wednesday, he stopped Hermione on the way out of the Transformation classroom. "There's something strange about the cat," he said.
She fell back to talk to him. "What about it?"
"I don't know. It's just strange. Astra takes her everywhere, and she doesn't mind. Aren't cats supposed to be wild and independent?"
Hermione nodded. "I know what you mean." She looked thoughtful for a moment as they went down a flight of stairs. "I think--" she hesitated. "I think she's feeding it."
"Of course she's feeding it. It's her pet."
"No. I think she's feeding it magic. It makes sense," she said as they went into the Great Hall together. "In Muggle mythology, witches were supposed to have cats as familiars. Maybe that's true. The really powerful ones fed energy to their cats." She went with him towards the Slytherin table. "Bressel did say they needed a safe way to siphon off their energy." She sat across from him when they got to the table. "Hello, Astra."
Astra looked up and touched her fingers to her necklace in what served as a greeting.
"I'll see what I can find out," Hermione said to Draco, and she calmly passed a platter down the table.
Draco continued to worry at the problem. "If she's that powerful," he asked Hermione the next day on the way out of Potions, "why didn't--" The name stuck in his throat. "Why didn't *He* go after her?"
"If she's that powerful, why didn't Dumbledore and the other teachers notice? She probably learned to hide herself," Hermione reasoned.
Draco went down to breakfast before Astra on Friday and dropped into a chair across from Hermione. "Why isn't she any good at Transformation?"
Hermione passed the toast without being asked. "I don't know," she admitted. "I wonder--" She stopped and looked off into the distance. "I'd like to know what kinds of magic she did when she was younger. Maybe it'll help us figure it out. There's a book," she continued thoughtfully, "about magic without wands."
"There's a book for everything," Draco snapped.
Hermione looked surprised. "Mostly," she answered. "Don't be angry at me."
His irritation disappeared as if it had never been. "Sorry," he muttered.
Astra appeared at his side and swiped a piece of bacon off his plate. She ate most of it and fed the last bite to Lydia.
"It's okay," Hermione said, and to Astra, "Don't give her too much of that."
Astra seemed to ignore her, but she didn't feed Lydia any more bacon.
Hermione sought them out on Saturday and sent Astra to fetch tea while she talked to Draco. "Is she more normal after she does a spell?"
Draco shrugged. "Maybe." He frowned and tried to remember. "Do you really think she's Priestess powerful?"
"I was never entirely happy with autism as a diagnosis," she admitted. "She doesn't have problems with attachment." She waved her hand at him. "You, Lydia, her mother." Hermione shrugged. "She has power. It's at least possible."
"What happens to her?" Draco asked. "If she's a Priestess."
"She learns how to dispel some of her energy."
"They'll want to use her."
Hermione reached out and put a hand on his arm. "The war's over."
"It doesn't matter. They'll want her for something."
Hermione squeezed his wrist. "Dumbledore has a lot of power, and not just magical. He knows what being used did to Harry. He won't let anyone steal Astra's childhood."
Tears burned behind Draco's eyes. "It's already been stolen."
In a gesture of affection that nearly undid him, Hermione wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. "They won't take what's left," she promised in a whisper.
She drew back when Astra arrived. She talked gently to Astra and helped her pour the tea. Draco was composed again when she turned back to hand him his cup of tea.
Draco and Astra spent most of Sunday on their couch in the common room. She read and he pretended to.
He sought out Hermione in the Gryffindor common room on Tuesday afternoon. "What do we do?" he asked.
She nodded and made space for him on the small couch, a love seat really, she was sitting on. "I think she has power," she told him plainly, and he was glad she didn't start with something more personal. "A lot of power. If she does, then we need to find, or create, a spell for her to use to dispel her energy, maybe share it. If we can do that, she'll be a little less odd." She shook her head. "I don't want to take away pieces of who she is, but she can't go on like this." Hermione met his eyes. "She needs to get out of her head and make some friends.
"But before we can do that, we need to find out if she really is that powerful. We'll need to test her." Hermione took a deep breath. "We can't do it. We need some of the teachers."
"No," Draco said reflexively.
"Yes," she insisted. "If she's that powerful, we'll need extremely strong wards around her just in case. I'm not that powerful and neither are you."
"And Potter's power was reflected."
"I won't let them hurt her," she promised.
You can't stop them, he almost said. Instead, he asked, "What do I need to do?"
"If you talk to Snape, I'll talk to McGonagall. We'll need both of them and Dumbledore. I'd like to do it next weekend if we can."
"I'll talk to Snape after Potions on Thursday," Draco agreed.
"It'll be okay," she assured him.
He wasn't so sure, but he kept his word and sent Astra to have tea with Hermione while he stayed behind to talk to Snape.
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?" Snape asked when Draco was the last person left in the Potions classroom.
"Hermione," Draco started, and had to stop and start again. "Granger thinks she knows what's wrong with Astra."
Snape raised his eyebrows. "Does she?" He sat at a worktable and gestured Draco onto another bench. "And what does Miss Granger think?"
"She thinks Astra's powerful."
"Powerful?" Snape asked skeptically.
"Powerful enough that she would have been a Druid or a Priestess," Draco clarified. "She wants to test Astra, but she thinks we need teachers to set wards around her."
The ghost of a smile crossed Snape's lips. "The girl's learning." He looked down the long line of his nose at Draco. "You want me to help."
"Yes." He glanced off across the dungeon. "She's asking McGonagall."
"And we're to ask Albus."
"Yes." Draco looked up at Snape and tried not to look as if he were pleading. "I think Hermione's right."
Snape's hand briefly brushed against Draco's hair. "I'll talk to Albus."
"Thank you." Draco got up to leave.
"Draco." Snape's voice stopped him at the door.
"Yes, sir?"
"Being Head of House is not all deducting points. If there is anything you need, you may come to me."
Draco swallowed against the sudden rush of gratitude that threatened to choke him. "Thank you, sir."
Snape's "You're welcome" followed him out into the hallway.
On Friday morning, Draco and Hermione were called out of Herbology and into the Headmaster's office. Hermione graciously accepted a cup of tea while Draco tried to take in all the various oddities in Dumbledore's office.
"Well," Dumbledore said when they were all settled. "Severus and Minerva tell me you have been investigating the case of our own Miss Conroy." He beamed at them and silently offered them each a cookie. "Tell me," he said, looking straight at Draco, "do you truly think we should test Miss Conroy's abilities?"
"Yes." Draco glanced at Hermione. "I think she's right."
Dumbledore continued to smile at them. "Well, perhaps she is." He sipped his tea. "Tell me, Miss Granger, what had you learned this morning before I borrowed you from your class?"
"We weren't actually learning anything this morning," Hermione told him. "The Mandrakes need transplanting, and the second years didn't finish, so Professor Sprout had us doing it." She held out her cup and Draco poured her more tea. She threw him a quick smile. "Thank you," she said and sipped her tea.
Dumbledore set down his tea cup. "I believe," he said, "that it would be beneficial to test the extent of Miss Conroy's abilities." He nodded at them. "I think we shall try tomorrow morning at ten in Dungeon Seven." He stood and extended a hand first to Hermione and then to Draco. "Have a good day, children. I will see you in the morning."
"We need to talk to Astra," Hermione said once they had bid Dumbledore goodbye and left his office.
"I'll do it."
"I can--" she started to offer.
"I'll do it," he said again, firmly.
"Astra," he said at tea, "Hermione thinks you're powerful."
She stopped petting Lydia and started again when the cat butted her hand.
"She wants to test it. The teachers have agreed to supervise tomorrow morning." Draco stopped and really looked at Astra. She had shrunk back into a corner of the couch as he spoke. "We don't have to," he said gently. "If you don't want to, we won't. We'll go flying if it's nice or stay in by the fire if it's not."
"It's not safe," she said.
"No one will make you do anything you don't want to," Draco said soothingly. "We don't have to do this."
"You want to."
"Yes," he admitted. "I want to know if Hermione's right."
"Ruin," she said, and bent her head to rub her nose against Lydia.
"No," he said fiercely. "No. We're not going to let them do anything to you. Any of them."
"Tomorrow morning," she said. "I'll do it." She pushed Lydia to the floor and wrapped her arms around Draco.
Draco hugged her back. "I won't let anything happen to you." He pressed his lips to the top of her head and let her go. "Drink your tea."
They were both jittery enough to be up early on Saturday. Astra was picking at her toast when Hermione came down to the Great Hall with Potter and Weasley. She left them and came to join Draco and Astra.
"Good morning," she said, liberally helping herself to breakfast.
Draco nodded at her and Astra ducked her head.
Hermione paused in the midst of buttering her toast. "Are you okay?"
Astra's hand crept into Draco's.
"We're fine," Draco answered for them both. "Just a little nervous."
Hermione smiled at them. "There's nothing to be nervous about." She offered them the plate of scones. They both declined, and she gave a little unconcerned shrug.
Hermione ducked out of breakfast early with a cheery wave. Draco and Astra picked at their food and watched the rest of the school wander in, eat, and wander back out to whatever it was they did on Saturday mornings.
"I want Lydia," Astra said at nine-thirty.
"Right," Draco said. They went hand-in-hand down to the common room where they found Lydia curled up on a pillow. She went willingly into Astra's arms. Draco stood silently by her side while she calmed herself by petting the cat.
"It's time to go," Draco told her. Astra tensed and Lydia meowed plaintively. "You don't have to," he said. "If you don't want to, we won't go."
"I'll do it."
Draco stroked his hand over her hair. "Let's go." He took her hand and they went together to Dungeon Seven.
Hermione greeted them with a smile. "The Professors are going to do the warding."
Behind her, Draco could see a circle drawn on the floor. Snape, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Bressel were ranged around it at evenly spaced intervals.
"Good morning, Miss Conroy," Dumbledore said in that jovial way he had. Astra clutched at Draco's hand.
"What do you want us to do?" Draco asked Hermione.
"You stay here with me." She gestured at a table piled high with books and an assortment of other things. "Astra, you need to be in the middle of the circle. Don't smudge the edge of it."
Astra looked up at Draco, who gave her an encouraging nod and squeezed her hand. She let go of him and carefully stepped over the line into the center of the circle. The teachers did something to activate the wards, and Draco saw Astra shiver.
Hermione nodded briskly and handed a match to Astra. Draco wasn't sure how that worked with the wards, but no one else seemed bothered by it.
"Now," Hermione said, and it was clear to Draco that she was going to be in charge of the whole process. "I want you to turn that into a needle. Don't worry about what you learned in class. Just make it change."
Astra nodded at her. She closed her eyes briefly, and the match in her hand became a needle so quickly Draco barely saw the change. McGonagall drew in a sharp breath and Hermione looked interested.
"Can you turn it back?"
Astra's eyes closed and the needle again became a match. Hermione reached through and took the match back. She switched the match for an empty matchbox.
"Let's try something a bit more difficult. Change that into a mouse."
The transformation was slower this time, but just enough that Draco could watch it happen. When it was done, Astra cradled a small brown mouse against her chest. Lydia twined around her ankles and meowed.
Astra bent down and showed the mouse to the cat. "No," she said when Lydia nosed at the mouse.
"Turn it back," Hermione said.
Lydia lost interest when the mouse became a matchbox, and Astra stood again to return the box to Hermione.
"Wait," Hermione told her. "Can you levitate it?"
Astra nodded and the box floated above her hand. She glanced over at the intense watchfulness Hermione wasn't even bothering to hide and the amazement Draco couldn't hide. The box twisted in lazy circles in the air, and then she touched it with her other hand and sent it spinning out in circles, first around her, then down to tease Lydia, and finally out around the inside edges of the wards. She flashed Draco a grin so quick he wasn't sure he'd even seen it.
"Very good," Hermione said, sounding a little awed. "Can you send it back to me?" The matchbox shot across the circle, neatly going around Astra, and hovered where Hermione could reach out and neatly pluck it from the air.
Hermione next handed in a small, glass bowl of water. "Freeze the water."
Astra cradled the bowl in her hands. Draco could see the water turn to ice. Instead of cracking the glass, the ice rose above the rim of the bowl.
"Good," Hermione said. "Now make it boil."
The ice melted back down into the bowl into it was only water, and then the water began to bubble and a cloud of steam rose from its surface.
"Don't your hands hurt?" Draco asked.
Astra flashed him another lightning-quick smile. "No."
"All right," Hermione said. "Give the bowl back to me."
Astra cooled the water--Draco could see it stop bubbling--before handing it through the barrier of the wards to Hermione.
"Very good, Miss Conroy," Dumbledore said. "Now," he said, "if Miss Granger doesn't mind--" Hermione nodded her head "--let's try something else." He gestured at the room. "There is power stored in the very stones of Hogwarts. Draw it out, and then return it."
Astra concentrated for a moment, then shook her head. "No. I can't."
Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment, then asked, "Can we put Draco inside the wards?"
Draco started and Dumbledore gave her an uncharacteristically sharp look. "Certainly," the headmaster answered. He brushed away a piece of the wards with a gesture, and Draco stepped over the edges of the circle to stand with Astra. She took his hand, and Lydia wound around his ankles. From inside, Draco could faintly feel the wards being re-established.
"Now try it," Hermione suggested.
Power flooded into Draco from Astra. It was like at Stonehenge, or Halloween, but he could feel her controlling it this time. She pulled the power back, leaving him with only a drop of what she'd given him.
"Incredible," Bressel murmured.
"True sister," Hermione said. "I thought it was talking about blood, but it's something else completely. An anchor," she mused. "To sort of ground the priestess?" She glanced at the teachers for confirmation.
Bressel nodded slowly. "Yes," he said. "You could be right."
Hermione was pleased with the praise. Astra bent down and picked up Lydia. The cat butted against her chin and extended her affections to Draco when he reached out to her.
Dumbledore did something to the wards and the teachers stepped away to consult in hushed tones. Draco tried to listen, but they'd done something to keep him from being able to hear them.
Dumbledore stepped away from the group. "Unless Miss Granger would like to conduct any further tests of Miss Conroy's abilities, I believe we will conclude this meeting."
Hermione glanced at Astra and Draco before agreeing. Dumbledore dispelled the wards and beamed at them genially.
"Enjoy your afternoon, children. We'll take this up again another time."
Draco and Astra helped Hermione gather up her things while the teachers did whatever else it was they needed to do. Hermione glanced at the teachers and closed the door behind the three of them.
"Let's go flying," Astra suggested. She paused to scoop Lydia up for faster travel.
"There's Quidditch practice on the Pitch," Hermione advised her.
Astra shrugged. "There are other places to fly."
Draco wondered if Hermione were really too distracted by the results of her experiments to notice the absolute banality of the conversation.
"I have some reading I want to do." She certainly seemed distracted. "There's a book in the library I want to look at." She took the books Draco was carrying from him and added them to her stack. "I'll see you at dinner."
Draco and Astra were left in the hallway while she went toward the nearest set of stairs.
"Let's go flying, then," Draco said.
"We'll leave Lydia in the castle, and you have to fetch your broom." Astra led the way back to the environs of Slytherin House. Draco left her in the common room while he went to his room for his broom.
When he returned, she smiled at him and settled Lydia onto their couch.
They fetched a school broom for Astra and considered their options. The Quidditch Pitch was, as Hermione had said, in use. The Forbidden Forest was, of course, forbidden. There were grassy areas outside, but none of them were quite as good as the Quidditch Pitch for flying. There was the lake; it wasn't expressly forbidden but it was considered a bad idea.
Astra looked speculatively at the castle walls. "Let's go around the castle."
Draco glanced up at the walls himself. "All right." He grinned at her. "Race you to the corner!" He beat her, but only because he had a head start. They raced from corner to corner until they'd gone all the way around twice, and then they took a desultory third turn.
Astra hurried them in for lunch, and they were nearly the first people there. Astra fidgeted until lunch was served, and then she ate more than Draco had ever seen her eat in a whole day. Hermione did not appear for lunch.
They went back to the common room after lunch. Astra invited Lydia up onto her lap and became absorbed in a book. Draco did his usual trick of pretending to read while staring into the fire.
Hermione was back at dinner, but she sat at the Gryffindor table with a stack of books.
The week dragged on for Draco. He and Astra had several sensible conversations about her classwork, and she asked to go flying every day. He felt both guilty and relieved when Saturday came around again and she seemed content to sit in the common room with Lydia on her lap.
Hermione came, at Astra's invitation, to an early tea on Sunday, but she was obviously preoccupied and she excused herself far too early for Astra's taste. She was grumpy for the rest of the afternoon. Draco, sunk in his own musings before the fire, wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for Pansy.
"Draco," she snapped from across the room, startling him, "Could you please make your little pet," a sneer, "behave."
Draco stared at her blankly.
Pansy held up a scroll covered in ink obscuring anything Pansy may have written. "She's ruined my Potions homework."
Now that he was paying attention to the rest of the room, Draco noticed the glares.
"She spilled our tea," said Claire Silver, an imperious fourth year who was, indeed, spelling tea back into its cups and pot.
"And she's made the lights flicker twice and she's kept half the house out," Pansy informed him. "This is the Common Room, not your personal play room."
Draco looked down at Astra. Now that Pansy mentioned it, it had seemed quiet today.
"I'll take care of it," he told Pansy.
She glared at him, but she went back to salvaging her Potions homework. She wouldn't truly challenge him. He was still a Malfoy, despite his parents' disgraces.
"Come on," he said to Astra. "We'll go flying before supper."
They left Lydia in the dungeons and went out to the Quidditch pitch. Potter and Weasley had beat them to it. Draco looked down at Astra and then squinted up at Potter and Weasley.
"All right," he muttered. "Potter," he called up at them.
"What do you want?" Weasley asked rudely when they'd floated to the ground with their Quaffle.
Draco was very nearly rude in return, but he had to do something with Astra.
"May we join you?" If he couldn't be rude to Weasley, he could at least outclass him.
Weasley eyed them suspiciously. So did Potter, but he, at least, said, "All right."
Draco and Astra were winning when the Weasley girl arrived. She stopped the game with a piercing whistle, a talent Draco thought must be the result of living in a large, loud family.
When they'd all gathered to hover around her in midair, she re-divided the teams. "Harry, you're with Malfoy." She gestured to Astra. "You'll be with us."
Draco worried about the two of them being split up, but Astra was already staking out her airspace so he went along with it.
Playing with Potter was different. For starters, Potter thought like a Seeker while Astra thought like a Chaser. That meant he was always looking for something and not paying enough attention to where everyone else was on the pitch. On the other hand, Potter had been the recipient of formal coaching and was a little more used to fitting himself into an unfamiliar team than Astra.
All in all, they were pretty evenly matched, which reflected well on either the Weasley girl's luck or her potential as a coach.
Draco and Potter were up by one goal when Granger arrived and put a stop to their game.
"You've missed supper," she half-scolded. "The house-elves are bringing something to the common room for us." Her general herding included Draco and Astra and they found themselves comfortably ensconced in a makeshift circle of deep red armchairs and couches around a low table with several overfull trays that constituted the "something" Granger had gotten the house-elves to feed them. Granger set a spell on the table to let the top of it spin so they didn't have to pass anything across.
In the time it took for them to pile their plates high with food, Lydia found her way through the castle and into the Gryffindor common room to curl up on the couch next to Astra. Granger produced a bowl of water and a bowl of cat food from somewhere without ever losing track of the conversation.
Gryffindor's furniture was comfortable, and the Gryffindors themselves seemed inclined to simply let him be. He was half-asleep when the supper dissolved into games. Potter and Weasel set up a chess board and the Weasley girl produced an Exploding Snap deck. When Draco waved off her invitation to play, Granger also refused. She took Astra's place on the couch while Astra and the Weasley girl settled onto the floor for their Exploding Snap game.
"Did they behave themselves playing Quidditch?" Granger asked.
"Yes." One of the cards exploded and Lydia jumped up onto Draco's lap. Draco petted her absently. "I took Astra out to fly because she was keeping people out of the common room."
Granger frowned. "How?"
"I don't know. I didn't even know she was doing it until Pansy said something. She also spilled someone else's tea, made the lights flicker, and ruined Pansy's Potions homework."
Hermione frowned and watched Astra play for a little while. "Why'd she do that?"
Draco turned to fully face her. "I think," he said, with less heat than he'd expected, "she's angry that you haven't been around."
Granger actually seemed surprised. "I'm trying to help her."
"Books aren't everything." Draco gently set Lydia on the floor and sat down to let the Weasley girl deal him in to the next round. He felt Granger's eyes on him for a while until she went to sit on the arm of Weasley's chair and distract him enough to give Potter a chance of winning.
After another two games of Exploding Snap, Draco had Astra say her goodbyes and they took Lydia and went back down to the dungeons.
Hermione ate breakfast with them in the morning, and she didn't have a book with her. Astra seemed to have calmed down, and Draco stopped watching her so closely.
The end result of an evening spent in Gryffindor's common room was that Draco and Astra started playing friendly Quidditch matches with Potter and his friends. The Gryffindors weren't particularly gracious about it, but they didn't turn Draco and Astra away either. Even Hermione was persuaded to join Astra and the Weasley girl in a boys against girls match that lasted most of a Saturday.
"I've been talking with Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said over tea one afternoon.
Draco reflexively put his arm around Astra. "Have you?"
"Yes, I have." Hermione set her tea down. "He thinks perhaps we can disperse Astra's energy into Hogwarts itself. Fully supervised, of course."
The Rest of the Story
Sometime later, Draco gets legal custody of Astra. Hermione becomes a teacher, marries Ron, and gets pregnant. She and Ron ask Draco and Harry to be their child's godparents. Draco goes to Harry's place (where he meets Harry's partner Tom and says, with a raised eyebrow, "No wonder Granger's so vehement about rights for unmarried partners.") and proposes that they put money in an account for the baby, since Ron and Hermione will never accept it outright. The baby's name is Flora.
After a while, Hermione starts to go stir-crazy. Draco goes back to Harry's place ("Harry's not here." "I know. I came to talk business.") and he and Tom, who's independently wealthy himself, endow and become the first trustees of a Wizarding University.
Draco eventually decides he has to clean out his father's study, which has been locked up since his father's death. He comes out from sorting through it, and finds Snape waiting for him. "I've had a monitoring spell on it." Snape is, of course, there to provide support and comfort, in a Snapish sort of way.
During her research, Hermione finds an old Malfoy diary, which she takes to Draco. The diary reveals that the Malfoys and the Weasleys are related (this was obviously conceived of long, long ago). My notes say "H approves of anger," but I'm not sure whose anger at whom she was approving of. Draco takes the diary to the Weasleys.
That's where my notes end, and I don't think I really knew where it was going after that.
That Saturday was a Hogsmeade weekend. Draco went out with the other students and wandered through the town by himself. He stopped in at Melampus Cats. He was studying a cage of tumbling kittens when the bell over the door rang.
"Are you getting a cat?" Granger asked him.
"Astra's birthday is next week."
"Which one were you thinking of?"
Draco pointed. "There. The black one."
"A black cat? Isn't that a bit much?"
"Use every advantage."
Granger looked at him sharply. "Use her reputation to make people stay away from her. How very Slytherin."
"They'd destroy her if they weren't afraid of her."
Granger looked in at the cats. "Get the black one."
Draco glanced at her. "What happened to you?"
"Same thing that happened to you, I expect," she answered crisply. "War and death."
He sneered. "What do you know about death?"
"My grandmother died this summer. She had cancer. It was," a pause, "slow." Then, as if realizing she'd said too much, "How are you going to keep her from finding out about it before her birthday?"
Draco nodded at the frazzled looking man coaxing a nervous squirrel down from a shelf. "I can have him deliver it."
"She'll like it. And," she added speculatively, "it'll give her something outside of herself to focus on."
"Do you think that will help?"
Granger shrugged. "I don't know." She looked at the black kitten and smiled. "Pay for it and let's go to the Three Broomsticks for butterbeer."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "Right. We'll just have a cozy chat in the middle of Hogsmeade."
Granger scowled at him. "Why not?" She waved impatiently at the kittens. "Come on."
Draco leaned toward disbelief, but he paid for the kitten and arranged to have it delivered.
"Did you get her anything else?"
"Not yet." Draco nodded up the street. "I haven't had a chance to go up to Honeydukes. I'll get her some candy before I go back." He pressed his lips together. "There isn't anyone else to get her any."
Granger took his arm, and they walked silently to the Three Broomsticks. "Find us a table," she suggested when they entered the inn. "I'll buy the butterbeer."
He found them a small table in a corner and waved Granger over when she turned away from the bar with two nearly overflowing tankards of butterbeer. When he wrapped his hands around his, he found that she'd gotten hot, not cold. A good choice for the first weekend of November.
"You're right," Granger said. "About the cat," she clarified. She grinned suddenly. "I can't wait to see what the Creeveys do when they see her with it."
Draco reluctantly smiled with her. "You don't like them."
Granger made a face. "Well, they *are* Gryffindors, but Harry has enough people fawning all over him. He doesn't need an in-house fan club too." Crisp again.
"Hermione!" Weasel shouted a greeting as he and Potter came toward the table. "We wondered where you were." He noticed Draco and scowled. "Malfoy," he spat. "What are you doing here?"
"Having a drink with me," Granger said, and Draco was surprised by the steely tone in her voice.
"Hermione," Weasel started, and Draco nearly winced at the whine.
"Don't make trouble," she said sharply. Then more gently, "You can join us if you want."
"No," Potter said. "We'll sit somewhere else."
The Weasel threw a hurt and confused look at Granger and obediently followed Potter to an empty table as far away as they could get.
Granger scowled. "They're such hypocrites. The goddamned war is over."
Draco took another gulp of his butterbeer and set down his tankard. "Let's go up to Honeydukes."
Granger let her own tankard thump onto the table. "Let's." She again hooked her arm through Draco's as they left the inn.
They spent the rest of the afternoon browsing together. They walked back to the castle arm in arm and ignored the curious looks and occasional comments from the other students.
When they were within sight of the castle walls, Astra came running out from the walls and threw herself against Draco.
"Astra!" Draco disentangled himself from Granger and wrapped his arms around Astra. "What happened?" he asked Snape, who followed Astra out from the castle.
"Sibyl happened," Snape snapped. "She came down from her tower for lunch and talked nonsense about Divination." He nodded down at Astra. "Miss Conroy is apparently quite susceptible to suggestion. She had a vision."
"Professor Trelawney?" Granger asked. "She never leaves the North Tower."
"She did today."
Draco stopped listening and stroked Astra's hair. "What did you see?" he asked gently.
"Death," she said, her answer muffled in his chest.
A chill rippled down his spine. "Whose death?"
"Narcissa's," she whispered, and it took every bit of Draco's will for him to keep from stepping away from her. "Father's. Mother's," she said and began to sob.
"Jesus," Granger said softly from somewhere near him. She touched his arm. "I'll make sure the house elves send some tea up to your common room when you come in," she said, and then she and Snape were moving away from them into the castle.
Draco let Astra cry herself out and then made an ineffectual attempt to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "Let's go in," he suggested. "Granger said she'd make sure there was tea for us."
Astra silently took his hand and let him take her back to the castle. Granger had kept her word and there was tea, and handkerchiefs, waiting for them in an empty corner of the common room.
Astra clung to him more than usual that week. Draco was careful not to get too far from her.
Her birthday fell on Thursday. Granger stopped to talk to them as they cleaned up their workstation.
"Happy birthday," she said, and handed Astra a small box.
Astra stared at her. "Thank you," she finally said, and carefully opened it. "Oh," she breathed when she saw what was in it. A small, gold crescent moon hung from a slender gold chain. She pulled it out of the box and handed it to Draco. She turned her back to him and he draped it around her neck and hooked the clasp together. She picked up the pendant and smiled brightly at Granger. "It's beautiful."
"You're welcome," Granger said.
Behind her, a large owl carrying a large basket came through the doorway. It hooted and landed on the table next to Draco. Draco dropped a few knutes into the pouch on its leg.
"Happy birthday," he said, and gave the basket to Astra.
She opened the basket, and the kitten pushed up out of it to nuzzle at her hand. "Oh," she said. And again, "Oh." She carefully picked up the kitten and held it against her chest. "Her name?" she asked.
"She doesn't have one yet," Draco told her. "You'll have to give her one."
Astra's mouth opened in a silent "O" as she cuddled the kitten.
Granger took a second box out of her bag. This one she opened herself and drew out a second golden crescent moon, this one on a black collar sized to fit a kitten.
"The moon's charmed," she explained as she clipped the collar around the kitten's neck. "When you name her, it'll appear on the moon."
Astra pressed her lips against the kitten's fur. "Lydia," she said, and scritched between Lydia's ears. She picked up the crescent moon dangling from Lydia's collar. "It worked!" She held it up for them to see the engraved letters.
"It did," Draco affirmed. He put one arm around her shoulder and picked up Lydia's basket. "I arranged for a special birthday tea in the common room." He glanced up at Granger. "Would you like to join us?"
"In the Slytherin common room?" she asked, clearly skeptical.
Draco grinned at her. "Why not?"
"You don't honestly think you can just take me into the Slytherin common room."
"We're all supposed to be friends now, aren't we?" He didn't quite sneer.
"Use every advantage," Granger said.
He smiled approvingly at her. "Now you've got it."
Astra looked up at him. "Can we go have tea now?"
"Yes," Draco answered. He looked at Granger. "Coming with us?"
She swept an arm out in invitation. "Lead the way."
Draco and Astra were the cause of only a few glances in the common room, those no doubt inspired by the presence of Lydia. But as they moved farther into the room, there were pockets of silence and whispers behind them.
"Draco." It was Pansy who finally spoke. "Why did you bring *that* into our common room."
"It's Astra's cat," he answered carelessly.
"I wasn't talking about the cat," she sneered.
Draco glanced back at where Granger was accepting tea from Lydia. "Hermione," he said, stressing the first name, "is a friend of ours. She came to celebrate Astra's birthday."
"She's a Gryffindor," Pansy pointed out. "And a Mudblood."
"She's our friend," Draco said again, firmly.
"She can't be here." Pansy argued.
"There's no rule that says she can't be." Draco put on his best smug look. "If you don't believe me, go ask Snape." He very deliberately turned his back on Pansy and took the cup of tea Astra held out to him. "Thank you," he said. He sipped it calmly while Astra carefully poured some milk into a saucer for Lydia. He gestured to the cake and to Hermione. "Would you like to do the honors?"
"Certainly." She took out her wand. "Incendio." The candles lit and burned away merrily. She and Draco sang "Happy Birthday" to Astra. "Make a wish," Hermione urged, and Astra's eyes closed for a moment before she blew out the candles.
Draco had no more than cut the cake than Snape's voice came at them from across the room.
"Mr. Malfoy. What is going on here?"
Draco half-turned in his chair to face Snape. "It's Astra's birthday, sir. We're celebrating." He gestured at the cake. "Would you like a piece?"
Snape looked over Draco at Hermione. "And Miss Granger. Are you celebrating as well?"
"Hermione gave me this," Astra supplied, showing Snape her necklace.
Snape was taken aback, but he managed to say, "It's very nice." To Draco, he said, "I would like a piece of cake," and he pulled up another chair.
There was an uneasy peace as the four of them shared the cake.
"I have scrolls to grade," Snape said when he finished his piece. He nodded at them. "Enjoy your tea."
When he was out of earshot, Hermione's lips quirked into a smile. "He does know how to be subtle."
Draco relaxed back into his chair. "Slytherins aren't always obvious." He returned her half-smile. "Astra, don't," he admonished. "That much sugar can't be good for the cat."
Hermione picked up the pitcher and poured more milk into the saucer. "Give her this. It's better for her."
"Doesn't she need food?"
Draco dug into the basket and came up with a book. "Here," he said, giving the book to Astra.
"Cat Care for Young Witches and Wizards," Astra read from the cover. She relaxed back into the corner of the couch with the book and absently petted the cat while she read.
Hermione's lips quirked into that amused smile again. She poured herself more tea and pulled her Arithmancy book out of her bag. Draco was left with no choice but to choose one of his schoolbooks and read. He found that studying in the common room with Astra, Hermione, and a ever-warm tea pot was the most relaxing experience he'd had since-- He decided not to finish that thought.
The bell ringing for supper time startled all three of them, and the cat as well. Draco and Astra made a stack of their books, knowing that no matter how little goodwill the other Slytherins had toward them, their things would not be disturbed. Hermione muttered a quick drying spell and rolled up the scroll she'd been working on. Astra insisted on bringing Lydia to supper with her, and neither Draco nor Hermione had the heart to say no.
Hermione turned suddenly in the doorway of the Great Hall. "Come sit with me," she suggested.
Astra continued following her across the Hall, and Draco gave a mental shrug and followed both girls to the Gryffindor table.
"Hermione," Weasel greeted her. "Where have you been all afternoon?" he asked before he noticed Draco and Astra behind them. When he did notice, he scowled and turned that shade of red that almost matched his hair. "What are *they* doing here?"
Hermione sat next to the Weasel and gestured Astra and Draco into the chairs across from them. "Having supper, just like the rest of us."
"They can't sit there," Potter fairly growled.
"Yes, they can," Hermione answered pleasantly. She poured juice for herself and Astra and passed the (jug? pitcher?) to Draco.
"They're Slytherins!" Draco idly wondered if the outrage would ever make the Weasel's head explode.
"They're my friends," Hermione said evenly.
"I'm not sitting with them," Potter proclaimed.
"You don't have to," Hermione told him. "But they're sitting with me."
Almost as one, Potter and Weasel took themselves to the other end of the table. The rest of the Gryffindors stayed as far away from Hermione and the Slytherins as possible. Astra seemed oblivious to the slight while Draco and Hermione carried on a friendly conversation. For someone who'd been snubbed by her two best friends, Hermione was surprisingly cheerful when she bid them good night after supper.
Saturday dawned clear and crisp, perfect for Quidditch. Astra and Draco, with Lydia curled up on Astra's lap, settled themselves into their usual back row. Despite Weasel and Potter's presence in the front row of the Gryffindor section, Hermione came to sit in the back row and talk strategy with Draco. She, of course, knew just the spell to keep Lydia warm when Astra worried that the cold would be too much for her.
"Don't Potter and Weasley mind that you sat with us?" Draco asked Hermione on the way back to the castle.
Her lips thinned into a sharp line. "They'll just have to live with it."
Astra and Draco left Hermione in the castle entryway and went down to their own common room to have tea and listen to the Slytherin recounting of the match.
They spent most of Sunday studying in the common room and they ate breakfast early on Monday, so it wasn't until after lunch that Draco saw Hermione again.
She began to frown halfway through Professor Bressel's Theory of Magic lecture. "The druids," he explained, "were extremely powerful wizards, but they were accepted in Muggle society. Druid rituals were actually spells designed to safely expend magical energy. Of course, Druids used magic in their everyday lives, but they had so much power that they had to use other spells to siphon off the energy. Most priests and priestesses from the ancient world were wizards."
Hermione's hand shot up.
"Yes, Miss Granger."
"What about wizards with that much power now. What do they do?"
Professor Bressel smiled at her indulgently. "There hasn't been anyone that powerful in generations. Why, even our own Mr. Potter doesn't have that much power."
"But what if there were?" Hermione insisted. "What would they have to do?"
"Well," Bressel allowed, "they would have to find a safe way to expend their energy."
Hermione still looked dissatisfied, but she allowed him to go on with his lecture.
Draco left Astra curled up with a book and Lydia on what had become their couch in the common room and went to the library after tea. He found the book he wanted and took it to an empty table where he could watch the rest of the room.
Hermione came in with Weasel and Potter, and they seemed to have resolved their problems. She left them at the table while she wandered around and gathered up an enormous stack of books. She broke the quiet of the library with an exclamation. Draco looked up just in time to see Madame Pince glare at her. Hermione gathered up two of her books and brought them over to Draco.
"Look at this." She opened one of the books and put it in front of him. "Here," and she pointed at a paragraph halfway down the page.
"My true sister," he read, "the Priestess, Raised her arms above her Head. And There we saw It. A Glowing Golden Ball. All Hallows Eve has long been a night of Great Power. This was Power beyond even what we had seen before. She Spread her Arms and the Orb burst into a Thousand Sparks which came down on the Party. The Sparks infused us with Power."
"Where did you find this?"
Hermione put her hand on the page she'd had him read and flipped to the cover. "Magical Oddities: First Hand Accounts," she read. "I found a reference to it in another book." She pulled it away and pushed another book, "Magical Places in Britain and Ireland," in front of him. "Now read this."
"It is thought," this passage began, "that the Priestess would stand at the center of the circle, on or next to the Altar Stone. The other witches and wizards participating in the ritual would link hands and wrap around her in a spiral, with the most powerful of them linked to the Priestess herself. We have a fragment from the writings of Vachel Sheely describing the effects.
"' . . . held as if in Terror. Silence came down upon us, and stillness too, until the Priestess' connection broke. Sound returned and with it Power.'
"An attempt to reconstruct this ritual using the most powerful witch known to the author was unsuccessful. We still do not know if Priestesses learned their roles or were born to them. We do not know if the power transfer was triggered by a spell or by mere touch."
"Is that what it was like when Astra touched the Altar Stone?" Hermione asked when he looked up from the page.
"Yes," he answered slowly. "You think she's a Priestess."
"You heard what Bressel said today. The Priestesses were very powerful witches."
"He also said there hadn't been anyone that powerful in generations," Draco pointed out. "Even Potter doesn't have that kind of power."
Hermione looked thoughtful. "I don't know that Harry ever had that much power. When he killed Voldemort it was like," she paused. "Like," she continued, "his glow dimmed." She shrugged. "I think maybe some of his power depended on Voldemort somehow."
Draco's eyes narrowed. "You're interested in Astra because of her power. How very Slytherin of you."
Hermione glared at him. "That's not it at all," she retorted hotly. "She's my friend now, and I want to know what's going on with her."
"And you think this is it."
"I don't know," she admitted. "It could be. I'll have to do some more research." She tapped the cover of the book. "This has some references I want to check. There are a couple in the Restricted Section that might be just what we're looking for."
Draco was skeptical. "How are you going to get books out of the Restricted Section?"
Hermione flashed him a grin. "McGonagall got tired of always writing me notes to do research. She talked to Dumbledore, and I have free access to the Restricted Section."
"Useful."
"Very," she agreed. She gave him a real smile. "Think about it." She patted his hand. "I'll let you know what I find out." She scooped up the books and went back to Weasel and Potter.
Over the next few days, Draco watched Astra while trying not to look like he was doing it. On Wednesday, he stopped Hermione on the way out of the Transformation classroom. "There's something strange about the cat," he said.
She fell back to talk to him. "What about it?"
"I don't know. It's just strange. Astra takes her everywhere, and she doesn't mind. Aren't cats supposed to be wild and independent?"
Hermione nodded. "I know what you mean." She looked thoughtful for a moment as they went down a flight of stairs. "I think--" she hesitated. "I think she's feeding it."
"Of course she's feeding it. It's her pet."
"No. I think she's feeding it magic. It makes sense," she said as they went into the Great Hall together. "In Muggle mythology, witches were supposed to have cats as familiars. Maybe that's true. The really powerful ones fed energy to their cats." She went with him towards the Slytherin table. "Bressel did say they needed a safe way to siphon off their energy." She sat across from him when they got to the table. "Hello, Astra."
Astra looked up and touched her fingers to her necklace in what served as a greeting.
"I'll see what I can find out," Hermione said to Draco, and she calmly passed a platter down the table.
Draco continued to worry at the problem. "If she's that powerful," he asked Hermione the next day on the way out of Potions, "why didn't--" The name stuck in his throat. "Why didn't *He* go after her?"
"If she's that powerful, why didn't Dumbledore and the other teachers notice? She probably learned to hide herself," Hermione reasoned.
Draco went down to breakfast before Astra on Friday and dropped into a chair across from Hermione. "Why isn't she any good at Transformation?"
Hermione passed the toast without being asked. "I don't know," she admitted. "I wonder--" She stopped and looked off into the distance. "I'd like to know what kinds of magic she did when she was younger. Maybe it'll help us figure it out. There's a book," she continued thoughtfully, "about magic without wands."
"There's a book for everything," Draco snapped.
Hermione looked surprised. "Mostly," she answered. "Don't be angry at me."
His irritation disappeared as if it had never been. "Sorry," he muttered.
Astra appeared at his side and swiped a piece of bacon off his plate. She ate most of it and fed the last bite to Lydia.
"It's okay," Hermione said, and to Astra, "Don't give her too much of that."
Astra seemed to ignore her, but she didn't feed Lydia any more bacon.
Hermione sought them out on Saturday and sent Astra to fetch tea while she talked to Draco. "Is she more normal after she does a spell?"
Draco shrugged. "Maybe." He frowned and tried to remember. "Do you really think she's Priestess powerful?"
"I was never entirely happy with autism as a diagnosis," she admitted. "She doesn't have problems with attachment." She waved her hand at him. "You, Lydia, her mother." Hermione shrugged. "She has power. It's at least possible."
"What happens to her?" Draco asked. "If she's a Priestess."
"She learns how to dispel some of her energy."
"They'll want to use her."
Hermione reached out and put a hand on his arm. "The war's over."
"It doesn't matter. They'll want her for something."
Hermione squeezed his wrist. "Dumbledore has a lot of power, and not just magical. He knows what being used did to Harry. He won't let anyone steal Astra's childhood."
Tears burned behind Draco's eyes. "It's already been stolen."
In a gesture of affection that nearly undid him, Hermione wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. "They won't take what's left," she promised in a whisper.
She drew back when Astra arrived. She talked gently to Astra and helped her pour the tea. Draco was composed again when she turned back to hand him his cup of tea.
Draco and Astra spent most of Sunday on their couch in the common room. She read and he pretended to.
He sought out Hermione in the Gryffindor common room on Tuesday afternoon. "What do we do?" he asked.
She nodded and made space for him on the small couch, a love seat really, she was sitting on. "I think she has power," she told him plainly, and he was glad she didn't start with something more personal. "A lot of power. If she does, then we need to find, or create, a spell for her to use to dispel her energy, maybe share it. If we can do that, she'll be a little less odd." She shook her head. "I don't want to take away pieces of who she is, but she can't go on like this." Hermione met his eyes. "She needs to get out of her head and make some friends.
"But before we can do that, we need to find out if she really is that powerful. We'll need to test her." Hermione took a deep breath. "We can't do it. We need some of the teachers."
"No," Draco said reflexively.
"Yes," she insisted. "If she's that powerful, we'll need extremely strong wards around her just in case. I'm not that powerful and neither are you."
"And Potter's power was reflected."
"I won't let them hurt her," she promised.
You can't stop them, he almost said. Instead, he asked, "What do I need to do?"
"If you talk to Snape, I'll talk to McGonagall. We'll need both of them and Dumbledore. I'd like to do it next weekend if we can."
"I'll talk to Snape after Potions on Thursday," Draco agreed.
"It'll be okay," she assured him.
He wasn't so sure, but he kept his word and sent Astra to have tea with Hermione while he stayed behind to talk to Snape.
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?" Snape asked when Draco was the last person left in the Potions classroom.
"Hermione," Draco started, and had to stop and start again. "Granger thinks she knows what's wrong with Astra."
Snape raised his eyebrows. "Does she?" He sat at a worktable and gestured Draco onto another bench. "And what does Miss Granger think?"
"She thinks Astra's powerful."
"Powerful?" Snape asked skeptically.
"Powerful enough that she would have been a Druid or a Priestess," Draco clarified. "She wants to test Astra, but she thinks we need teachers to set wards around her."
The ghost of a smile crossed Snape's lips. "The girl's learning." He looked down the long line of his nose at Draco. "You want me to help."
"Yes." He glanced off across the dungeon. "She's asking McGonagall."
"And we're to ask Albus."
"Yes." Draco looked up at Snape and tried not to look as if he were pleading. "I think Hermione's right."
Snape's hand briefly brushed against Draco's hair. "I'll talk to Albus."
"Thank you." Draco got up to leave.
"Draco." Snape's voice stopped him at the door.
"Yes, sir?"
"Being Head of House is not all deducting points. If there is anything you need, you may come to me."
Draco swallowed against the sudden rush of gratitude that threatened to choke him. "Thank you, sir."
Snape's "You're welcome" followed him out into the hallway.
On Friday morning, Draco and Hermione were called out of Herbology and into the Headmaster's office. Hermione graciously accepted a cup of tea while Draco tried to take in all the various oddities in Dumbledore's office.
"Well," Dumbledore said when they were all settled. "Severus and Minerva tell me you have been investigating the case of our own Miss Conroy." He beamed at them and silently offered them each a cookie. "Tell me," he said, looking straight at Draco, "do you truly think we should test Miss Conroy's abilities?"
"Yes." Draco glanced at Hermione. "I think she's right."
Dumbledore continued to smile at them. "Well, perhaps she is." He sipped his tea. "Tell me, Miss Granger, what had you learned this morning before I borrowed you from your class?"
"We weren't actually learning anything this morning," Hermione told him. "The Mandrakes need transplanting, and the second years didn't finish, so Professor Sprout had us doing it." She held out her cup and Draco poured her more tea. She threw him a quick smile. "Thank you," she said and sipped her tea.
Dumbledore set down his tea cup. "I believe," he said, "that it would be beneficial to test the extent of Miss Conroy's abilities." He nodded at them. "I think we shall try tomorrow morning at ten in Dungeon Seven." He stood and extended a hand first to Hermione and then to Draco. "Have a good day, children. I will see you in the morning."
"We need to talk to Astra," Hermione said once they had bid Dumbledore goodbye and left his office.
"I'll do it."
"I can--" she started to offer.
"I'll do it," he said again, firmly.
"Astra," he said at tea, "Hermione thinks you're powerful."
She stopped petting Lydia and started again when the cat butted her hand.
"She wants to test it. The teachers have agreed to supervise tomorrow morning." Draco stopped and really looked at Astra. She had shrunk back into a corner of the couch as he spoke. "We don't have to," he said gently. "If you don't want to, we won't. We'll go flying if it's nice or stay in by the fire if it's not."
"It's not safe," she said.
"No one will make you do anything you don't want to," Draco said soothingly. "We don't have to do this."
"You want to."
"Yes," he admitted. "I want to know if Hermione's right."
"Ruin," she said, and bent her head to rub her nose against Lydia.
"No," he said fiercely. "No. We're not going to let them do anything to you. Any of them."
"Tomorrow morning," she said. "I'll do it." She pushed Lydia to the floor and wrapped her arms around Draco.
Draco hugged her back. "I won't let anything happen to you." He pressed his lips to the top of her head and let her go. "Drink your tea."
They were both jittery enough to be up early on Saturday. Astra was picking at her toast when Hermione came down to the Great Hall with Potter and Weasley. She left them and came to join Draco and Astra.
"Good morning," she said, liberally helping herself to breakfast.
Draco nodded at her and Astra ducked her head.
Hermione paused in the midst of buttering her toast. "Are you okay?"
Astra's hand crept into Draco's.
"We're fine," Draco answered for them both. "Just a little nervous."
Hermione smiled at them. "There's nothing to be nervous about." She offered them the plate of scones. They both declined, and she gave a little unconcerned shrug.
Hermione ducked out of breakfast early with a cheery wave. Draco and Astra picked at their food and watched the rest of the school wander in, eat, and wander back out to whatever it was they did on Saturday mornings.
"I want Lydia," Astra said at nine-thirty.
"Right," Draco said. They went hand-in-hand down to the common room where they found Lydia curled up on a pillow. She went willingly into Astra's arms. Draco stood silently by her side while she calmed herself by petting the cat.
"It's time to go," Draco told her. Astra tensed and Lydia meowed plaintively. "You don't have to," he said. "If you don't want to, we won't go."
"I'll do it."
Draco stroked his hand over her hair. "Let's go." He took her hand and they went together to Dungeon Seven.
Hermione greeted them with a smile. "The Professors are going to do the warding."
Behind her, Draco could see a circle drawn on the floor. Snape, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Bressel were ranged around it at evenly spaced intervals.
"Good morning, Miss Conroy," Dumbledore said in that jovial way he had. Astra clutched at Draco's hand.
"What do you want us to do?" Draco asked Hermione.
"You stay here with me." She gestured at a table piled high with books and an assortment of other things. "Astra, you need to be in the middle of the circle. Don't smudge the edge of it."
Astra looked up at Draco, who gave her an encouraging nod and squeezed her hand. She let go of him and carefully stepped over the line into the center of the circle. The teachers did something to activate the wards, and Draco saw Astra shiver.
Hermione nodded briskly and handed a match to Astra. Draco wasn't sure how that worked with the wards, but no one else seemed bothered by it.
"Now," Hermione said, and it was clear to Draco that she was going to be in charge of the whole process. "I want you to turn that into a needle. Don't worry about what you learned in class. Just make it change."
Astra nodded at her. She closed her eyes briefly, and the match in her hand became a needle so quickly Draco barely saw the change. McGonagall drew in a sharp breath and Hermione looked interested.
"Can you turn it back?"
Astra's eyes closed and the needle again became a match. Hermione reached through and took the match back. She switched the match for an empty matchbox.
"Let's try something a bit more difficult. Change that into a mouse."
The transformation was slower this time, but just enough that Draco could watch it happen. When it was done, Astra cradled a small brown mouse against her chest. Lydia twined around her ankles and meowed.
Astra bent down and showed the mouse to the cat. "No," she said when Lydia nosed at the mouse.
"Turn it back," Hermione said.
Lydia lost interest when the mouse became a matchbox, and Astra stood again to return the box to Hermione.
"Wait," Hermione told her. "Can you levitate it?"
Astra nodded and the box floated above her hand. She glanced over at the intense watchfulness Hermione wasn't even bothering to hide and the amazement Draco couldn't hide. The box twisted in lazy circles in the air, and then she touched it with her other hand and sent it spinning out in circles, first around her, then down to tease Lydia, and finally out around the inside edges of the wards. She flashed Draco a grin so quick he wasn't sure he'd even seen it.
"Very good," Hermione said, sounding a little awed. "Can you send it back to me?" The matchbox shot across the circle, neatly going around Astra, and hovered where Hermione could reach out and neatly pluck it from the air.
Hermione next handed in a small, glass bowl of water. "Freeze the water."
Astra cradled the bowl in her hands. Draco could see the water turn to ice. Instead of cracking the glass, the ice rose above the rim of the bowl.
"Good," Hermione said. "Now make it boil."
The ice melted back down into the bowl into it was only water, and then the water began to bubble and a cloud of steam rose from its surface.
"Don't your hands hurt?" Draco asked.
Astra flashed him another lightning-quick smile. "No."
"All right," Hermione said. "Give the bowl back to me."
Astra cooled the water--Draco could see it stop bubbling--before handing it through the barrier of the wards to Hermione.
"Very good, Miss Conroy," Dumbledore said. "Now," he said, "if Miss Granger doesn't mind--" Hermione nodded her head "--let's try something else." He gestured at the room. "There is power stored in the very stones of Hogwarts. Draw it out, and then return it."
Astra concentrated for a moment, then shook her head. "No. I can't."
Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment, then asked, "Can we put Draco inside the wards?"
Draco started and Dumbledore gave her an uncharacteristically sharp look. "Certainly," the headmaster answered. He brushed away a piece of the wards with a gesture, and Draco stepped over the edges of the circle to stand with Astra. She took his hand, and Lydia wound around his ankles. From inside, Draco could faintly feel the wards being re-established.
"Now try it," Hermione suggested.
Power flooded into Draco from Astra. It was like at Stonehenge, or Halloween, but he could feel her controlling it this time. She pulled the power back, leaving him with only a drop of what she'd given him.
"Incredible," Bressel murmured.
"True sister," Hermione said. "I thought it was talking about blood, but it's something else completely. An anchor," she mused. "To sort of ground the priestess?" She glanced at the teachers for confirmation.
Bressel nodded slowly. "Yes," he said. "You could be right."
Hermione was pleased with the praise. Astra bent down and picked up Lydia. The cat butted against her chin and extended her affections to Draco when he reached out to her.
Dumbledore did something to the wards and the teachers stepped away to consult in hushed tones. Draco tried to listen, but they'd done something to keep him from being able to hear them.
Dumbledore stepped away from the group. "Unless Miss Granger would like to conduct any further tests of Miss Conroy's abilities, I believe we will conclude this meeting."
Hermione glanced at Astra and Draco before agreeing. Dumbledore dispelled the wards and beamed at them genially.
"Enjoy your afternoon, children. We'll take this up again another time."
Draco and Astra helped Hermione gather up her things while the teachers did whatever else it was they needed to do. Hermione glanced at the teachers and closed the door behind the three of them.
"Let's go flying," Astra suggested. She paused to scoop Lydia up for faster travel.
"There's Quidditch practice on the Pitch," Hermione advised her.
Astra shrugged. "There are other places to fly."
Draco wondered if Hermione were really too distracted by the results of her experiments to notice the absolute banality of the conversation.
"I have some reading I want to do." She certainly seemed distracted. "There's a book in the library I want to look at." She took the books Draco was carrying from him and added them to her stack. "I'll see you at dinner."
Draco and Astra were left in the hallway while she went toward the nearest set of stairs.
"Let's go flying, then," Draco said.
"We'll leave Lydia in the castle, and you have to fetch your broom." Astra led the way back to the environs of Slytherin House. Draco left her in the common room while he went to his room for his broom.
When he returned, she smiled at him and settled Lydia onto their couch.
They fetched a school broom for Astra and considered their options. The Quidditch Pitch was, as Hermione had said, in use. The Forbidden Forest was, of course, forbidden. There were grassy areas outside, but none of them were quite as good as the Quidditch Pitch for flying. There was the lake; it wasn't expressly forbidden but it was considered a bad idea.
Astra looked speculatively at the castle walls. "Let's go around the castle."
Draco glanced up at the walls himself. "All right." He grinned at her. "Race you to the corner!" He beat her, but only because he had a head start. They raced from corner to corner until they'd gone all the way around twice, and then they took a desultory third turn.
Astra hurried them in for lunch, and they were nearly the first people there. Astra fidgeted until lunch was served, and then she ate more than Draco had ever seen her eat in a whole day. Hermione did not appear for lunch.
They went back to the common room after lunch. Astra invited Lydia up onto her lap and became absorbed in a book. Draco did his usual trick of pretending to read while staring into the fire.
Hermione was back at dinner, but she sat at the Gryffindor table with a stack of books.
The week dragged on for Draco. He and Astra had several sensible conversations about her classwork, and she asked to go flying every day. He felt both guilty and relieved when Saturday came around again and she seemed content to sit in the common room with Lydia on her lap.
Hermione came, at Astra's invitation, to an early tea on Sunday, but she was obviously preoccupied and she excused herself far too early for Astra's taste. She was grumpy for the rest of the afternoon. Draco, sunk in his own musings before the fire, wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for Pansy.
"Draco," she snapped from across the room, startling him, "Could you please make your little pet," a sneer, "behave."
Draco stared at her blankly.
Pansy held up a scroll covered in ink obscuring anything Pansy may have written. "She's ruined my Potions homework."
Now that he was paying attention to the rest of the room, Draco noticed the glares.
"She spilled our tea," said Claire Silver, an imperious fourth year who was, indeed, spelling tea back into its cups and pot.
"And she's made the lights flicker twice and she's kept half the house out," Pansy informed him. "This is the Common Room, not your personal play room."
Draco looked down at Astra. Now that Pansy mentioned it, it had seemed quiet today.
"I'll take care of it," he told Pansy.
She glared at him, but she went back to salvaging her Potions homework. She wouldn't truly challenge him. He was still a Malfoy, despite his parents' disgraces.
"Come on," he said to Astra. "We'll go flying before supper."
They left Lydia in the dungeons and went out to the Quidditch pitch. Potter and Weasley had beat them to it. Draco looked down at Astra and then squinted up at Potter and Weasley.
"All right," he muttered. "Potter," he called up at them.
"What do you want?" Weasley asked rudely when they'd floated to the ground with their Quaffle.
Draco was very nearly rude in return, but he had to do something with Astra.
"May we join you?" If he couldn't be rude to Weasley, he could at least outclass him.
Weasley eyed them suspiciously. So did Potter, but he, at least, said, "All right."
Draco and Astra were winning when the Weasley girl arrived. She stopped the game with a piercing whistle, a talent Draco thought must be the result of living in a large, loud family.
When they'd all gathered to hover around her in midair, she re-divided the teams. "Harry, you're with Malfoy." She gestured to Astra. "You'll be with us."
Draco worried about the two of them being split up, but Astra was already staking out her airspace so he went along with it.
Playing with Potter was different. For starters, Potter thought like a Seeker while Astra thought like a Chaser. That meant he was always looking for something and not paying enough attention to where everyone else was on the pitch. On the other hand, Potter had been the recipient of formal coaching and was a little more used to fitting himself into an unfamiliar team than Astra.
All in all, they were pretty evenly matched, which reflected well on either the Weasley girl's luck or her potential as a coach.
Draco and Potter were up by one goal when Granger arrived and put a stop to their game.
"You've missed supper," she half-scolded. "The house-elves are bringing something to the common room for us." Her general herding included Draco and Astra and they found themselves comfortably ensconced in a makeshift circle of deep red armchairs and couches around a low table with several overfull trays that constituted the "something" Granger had gotten the house-elves to feed them. Granger set a spell on the table to let the top of it spin so they didn't have to pass anything across.
In the time it took for them to pile their plates high with food, Lydia found her way through the castle and into the Gryffindor common room to curl up on the couch next to Astra. Granger produced a bowl of water and a bowl of cat food from somewhere without ever losing track of the conversation.
Gryffindor's furniture was comfortable, and the Gryffindors themselves seemed inclined to simply let him be. He was half-asleep when the supper dissolved into games. Potter and Weasel set up a chess board and the Weasley girl produced an Exploding Snap deck. When Draco waved off her invitation to play, Granger also refused. She took Astra's place on the couch while Astra and the Weasley girl settled onto the floor for their Exploding Snap game.
"Did they behave themselves playing Quidditch?" Granger asked.
"Yes." One of the cards exploded and Lydia jumped up onto Draco's lap. Draco petted her absently. "I took Astra out to fly because she was keeping people out of the common room."
Granger frowned. "How?"
"I don't know. I didn't even know she was doing it until Pansy said something. She also spilled someone else's tea, made the lights flicker, and ruined Pansy's Potions homework."
Hermione frowned and watched Astra play for a little while. "Why'd she do that?"
Draco turned to fully face her. "I think," he said, with less heat than he'd expected, "she's angry that you haven't been around."
Granger actually seemed surprised. "I'm trying to help her."
"Books aren't everything." Draco gently set Lydia on the floor and sat down to let the Weasley girl deal him in to the next round. He felt Granger's eyes on him for a while until she went to sit on the arm of Weasley's chair and distract him enough to give Potter a chance of winning.
After another two games of Exploding Snap, Draco had Astra say her goodbyes and they took Lydia and went back down to the dungeons.
Hermione ate breakfast with them in the morning, and she didn't have a book with her. Astra seemed to have calmed down, and Draco stopped watching her so closely.
The end result of an evening spent in Gryffindor's common room was that Draco and Astra started playing friendly Quidditch matches with Potter and his friends. The Gryffindors weren't particularly gracious about it, but they didn't turn Draco and Astra away either. Even Hermione was persuaded to join Astra and the Weasley girl in a boys against girls match that lasted most of a Saturday.
"I've been talking with Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said over tea one afternoon.
Draco reflexively put his arm around Astra. "Have you?"
"Yes, I have." Hermione set her tea down. "He thinks perhaps we can disperse Astra's energy into Hogwarts itself. Fully supervised, of course."
The Rest of the Story
Sometime later, Draco gets legal custody of Astra. Hermione becomes a teacher, marries Ron, and gets pregnant. She and Ron ask Draco and Harry to be their child's godparents. Draco goes to Harry's place (where he meets Harry's partner Tom and says, with a raised eyebrow, "No wonder Granger's so vehement about rights for unmarried partners.") and proposes that they put money in an account for the baby, since Ron and Hermione will never accept it outright. The baby's name is Flora.
After a while, Hermione starts to go stir-crazy. Draco goes back to Harry's place ("Harry's not here." "I know. I came to talk business.") and he and Tom, who's independently wealthy himself, endow and become the first trustees of a Wizarding University.
Draco eventually decides he has to clean out his father's study, which has been locked up since his father's death. He comes out from sorting through it, and finds Snape waiting for him. "I've had a monitoring spell on it." Snape is, of course, there to provide support and comfort, in a Snapish sort of way.
During her research, Hermione finds an old Malfoy diary, which she takes to Draco. The diary reveals that the Malfoys and the Weasleys are related (this was obviously conceived of long, long ago). My notes say "H approves of anger," but I'm not sure whose anger at whom she was approving of. Draco takes the diary to the Weasleys.
That's where my notes end, and I don't think I really knew where it was going after that.