Chapter 1

Midsummer's Day in the Cotswolds was unusually hot that year. As was the Greengrass custom, the Manor was playing host to a gathering of the most elite Wizarding families in Britain. The famous Greengrass gardens seemed dipped in gold as they glowed in the afternoon sun.

Astoria had been doing her best to make her parents happy. Her mother had specifically told her that she needed to watch her manners and that the family's reputation relied on her and her sister's behaviour. As Daphne was 11, more than two whole years older than her, Astoria felt she had a long way to go to match the endlessly proper and sophisticated behaviour of her sister. It didn't hurt that Daphne was off to Hogwarts in September and so had many exciting things to discuss with the other guests. The question posed to Astoria over and over was "are you excited for your sister to go to school?" to which she could hardly answer with the truth.

Of course I'm glad, she thought. It will be so much more peaceful around here. She stood by herself near a flutterby bush, watching her sister. It wasn't really that Daphne was mean to her (or meaner than a sister is meant to be), it was more that they had virtually nothing in common. As her only sibling and companion, it was not an ideal situation and their most common pastime had become bickering with one another. She rather thought she would enjoy the coming months of quiet and solitude.

Daphne had already seemed to find her place in the middle of a buzzing crowd. Two girls named Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode had joined her in giggling over a young boy with silver-blond hair. He was standing in the middle of his own crowd of boys, but looked to be… well, 'holding court' was the thought that crossed Astoria's mind. She couldn't believe an eleven-year-old had so much self-assurance.

"Draco's father is very well-connected," she overheard Pansy boast. "I've known the Malfoys for years."

"You can introduce us, then!" Daphne had a rather mature grin on her face that Astoria had never seen before. Merlin's beard, she thought, I'm so glad I'm missing a front-row seat to Daphne becoming boy-crazy. She's only 11!

"Excuse me, my dear." Astoria nearly jumped out of her skin. She swore inwardly at being caught eavesdropping, a habit her mother had constantly reprimanded her for. She looked up to see a very elegant woman with dark features addressing her in a low resonant voice.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"You're the youngest Greengrass girl, aren't you?" The woman smiled politely, but in a way that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Yes, ma'am. My sister Daphne is over there." She was about to point, before remembering that 'pointing is rude'. Would she never be free of hearing her mother in her head?

The woman smiled again, not looking away. "Your mother tells me that you are two years younger than your sister. Is that correct?" A little caught off-guard at being the topic of conversation, Astoria answered politely. "Yes, ma'am."

As if she were being measured for new robes, the woman looked her over with deep coffee-coloured eyes. Blushing slightly at the inspection, Astoria felt a bit of her nerve return to her. She tried to channel the haughty self-important tone she'd heard her mother use when admonishing their house elf, Fletcher. "To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"

The smile dropped momentarily off the woman's face, to be replaced with shock and, was that a spark of amusement? "I am Mrs. Nabila Burke. A friend of your parents, as you might have surmised from my being here. Your mother pointed you out to me." She lifted an eyebrow as if daring Astoria to continue with her insolence.

Astoria felt a wave of embarrassment. What had she been thinking, talking to a guest like that? If her mother found out, she'd lose her privileges to the library - or worse. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Burke, if I offended. I'm very pleased to meet you."

Fortunately, Mrs. Burke still looked amused. "Yes, dear. I have come to have a look at you, because I have a daughter the same age. I suppose you will be quite alone once your sister goes off to school?" Astoria nodded politely. "And without her company, I'm sure you will be dreadfully lonely." Astoria didn't have the nerve to contradict her, so she nodded again.

"Would you like to meet my daughter?" The woman studied the girl again, her dark-eyed stare making Astoria feel like a hard-to-read crystal ball.

"I'd like that very much," she replied automatically. But Astoria's curiosity had been stirred. Would this girl be like Daphne, interested only in gossip, boys, robes, and being liked? Mrs. Burke beckoned for her to follow, leading the way across the back lawn to the canopied settees where her mother sat with a girl her age. Her mother had the same measuring look on her face as Mrs. Burke had had.

"Tullia, there you are." Mrs. Burke approached the settee. "I'd like you to meet Astoria Greengrass."

The young girl jumped up promptly. She was dark-haired like her mother, but her eyes were a lighter colour brown. There was something about her that Astoria liked right away.

The two girls curtseyed to each other. Their mothers watched on, looking smug and self-congratulatory.

"Astoria," Astoria heard the mild commanding tone of her mother and stood a bit straighter, "please show Tullia around. And mind your manners." Feeling mortified of her mother's public reminder, Astoria flushed. But she was instantly comforted when Tullia shot her a mischevious grin. Oh, she thought, she looks like fun!

Dutifully, Astoria showed Tullia around the gardens. Their conversation had been the usual getting-to-know-you type, with both girls both excited and nervous at the thought of a new friend. Yes, they'd be at Hogwarts the same year. Yes, they were looking forward to seeing the castle, and learning new things.

They had just started touring through the first floor of Greengrass Manor when Tullia let out a big sigh.

"Oh, Merlin! I don't know how anyone can stand it!" A bit taken back by this frank expression, Astoria laughed. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"All those people, staring! Our mothers, watching us like they're waiting for us to discover the cure to spattergroit or something equally as impressive." Tullia spun around to face Astoria and grinned. "I mean, we've only just met."

Astoria grinned back. "Maybe not spattergroit. Too much pus." The two of them laughed, disgusted by the thought and delighted with the other's company. Astoria was feeling more at ease than she could ever remember feeling. She looked at Tullia with suspicion. "Do you like books?"

"Do trolls smell?" They were both giggling like loons now. Astoria grabbed Tullia's hand. "Come on! I want to show you our library."

The next hour flew by. Astoria had shown Tullia the impressive library the Greengrass Manor was home to, while Tullia had filled her in on her family.

"My mother's from Egypt. Her father is a well-known curse breaker, with a family that dates all the way back to Ptolemy. My father is a Burke, as in Borgin and Burke's. That's in Knockturn Alley," Tullia whispered devilishly, as if she was both proud and disdainful of such a fact. "His great-uncle was the original Burke. We don't have much to do with the store nowadays, of course, but we're still on good terms with Mr. Borgin. Oh, look! The Toadstool Tales! You don't have any muggle books in here, do you?"

"Of course not." Astoria replied matter-of-factly. They made their way past the aisles towards the tall velvet-curtained windows overlooking the back lawn. Tullia was completely unlike her sister Daphne, and there was an innocent openness and an energy about her that buzzed. Astoria felt as though she'd found her long-lost twin. At the thought of her sister, she glanced out the window at the milling guests. Her sister was still in the company of Pansy Parkinson, who both seemed to be competing for attention from the Malfoy boy.

"Do you know anything about the Malfoys?" she said without thinking. Her eyes widened slightly when she realized what she'd said. She couldn't believe she'd started to gossip.

Tullia made a rude (and very unladylike) noise. "Oh, I know about the Malfoys. They know my parents through Mr. Borgin. Rich as goblins, and as full of themselves as peacocks. Did you see Draco earlier? He looked like a little prince, surrounded by his adoring fans." This was so on point to Astoria's earlier observation that she grinned broadly. "I thought the exact same thing," she confessed.

Whether it was Tullia's influence on her, or the fact that she felt more sure of herself today than she ever had before, Astoria felt a strong compulsion to have a little fun. "You know… he'd look a lot funnier with a pumpkin for a head."

Tullia's eyes went wide with surprise at her suggestion, but a wicked excitement soon replaced it.

"Pompion potion? You know how to make pompion potion?"

"No," Astoria said, "but I know where we can get some. My father got it as a joke gift years ago, and it's just sitting in a cupboard. Do you think we could sneak some into his pumpkin juice?" The two girls started giggling uncontrollably at the thought.

Astoria had never felt so rebellious before, and she was starting to like it. Against all practical, reasonable cautions, the two decided to carry out their prank. With Astoria peeking around corners, she led Tullia to the pantry. Standing on a gillywater crate, Tullia opened the cupboard and reached to the back of the top shelf.

"I see it! I've almost got it!" As soon as the words had left her, the sound of footprints rang through the nearby hall.

"Quick!" Astoria hissed. Tullia grabbed the bottle, and hopped off the crate. The footprints were getting louder. Astoria looked around, searching for a place to hide or an explanation as to what they were doing there.

Before either of them could get to the pantry door, it swung open. Astoria's father, a tall man with a sedate moustache and chestnut brown hair, stopped in his tracks at the sight of the two girls.

"Astoria! What in Morgana's name are you doing here?" He looked down at the guilty expressions of the two girls and plucked the bottle of potion out of Tullia's shaking grasp.

Astoria was mortified, petrified, terrified. She felt hot all over. She'd never really broken rules before, only pushed them. But now, her father's stern glance had turned to Tullia, and Astoria was suddenly sure that her parents would blame everything on her. She'd only just met Tullia, but she knew they were destined to be best of friends. It was up to her to make things right.

"Father, please don't blame Tullia! It isn't her fault! This was all my idea." She knew at once that she'd read her father's thoughts accurately, because he looked at her with a face full of shock and disappointment. Again, she felt a wave of heat - no, it was more like fire - flush through her.

"Truly, it isn't her fault. It issnnnn…"

Her tongue stopped working. The heat had transformed into a scorching wave of fire throughout her body. A rushing filled her ears, and she watched her father's face turn from anger to fear in a split second. And then everything went black.