After parting ways with Hermione, Draco continued on his original route with Astoria.
This time, there were no major surprises—aside from the delay caused by The Monster Book of Monsters at Flourish and Blotts.
Watching the chaos those books caused in the shop, Draco couldn't help but feel skeptical. These bizarre, temperamental tomes seemed less like textbooks and more like weapons—perfect for unleashing in a duel to tear into an unsuspecting opponent.
If only they could distinguish friend from foe, they might actually prove useful.
That thought alone was enough to make Draco spend a bit of time studying them.
At first, he'd wondered if there had been a mistake in requiring students to purchase something so strange. But when he spotted a familiar name on the book list, the situation became perfectly clear.
After all, the professor in question was Hagrid—a man whose sense of logic was... anything but ordinary.
In Hagrid's eyes, this was probably what he'd call a pleasant surprise.
...
In any case.
After Crookshanks gave him a brief nod and a meow, Astoria stepped into the fireplace, green flames swirling around her as the Floo powder ignited.
The emerald fire wrapped around her petite frame.
With practiced ease, Astoria closed her eyes and softly murmured, "221 Baker Street."
The spinning and squeezing sensation was nauseating, but thankfully, it passed as quickly as it came. The moment she felt her feet touch solid ground again, she opened her sapphire-blue eyes.
Standing before her was a familiar figure, clearly waiting for her return.
"Welcome back, Astoria."
"Sister."
The next moment, Daphne pulled her into a tight embrace—so tight that the still-dizzy Astoria nearly lost her balance. Fortunately, her sister didn't actually knock her over, and she managed to steady herself.
"Sister!"
"Sorry, sorry! I just got a little excited. I've been dying to hear how your date went!"
"I don't know why you're so excited, but it wasn't a date. It was just—"
"Alright, alright, don't be shy! So? How was your first day out on your own? He's the Prince of Slytherin, after all. I bet he was quite the gentleman!"
"..."
Staring at Daphne's eager, gossip-filled expression, Astoria recalled Draco's perfectly composed, businesslike behavior and barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
A gentleman?
Her sister clearly had a very serious misunderstanding about that Malfoy.
...
Compared to how she'd been around Draco, Astoria now seemed like a completely different person.
Or rather, this was the real Astoria—the one only her family got to see.
Outside, she was calm, graceful, and impeccably mannered—no one could find fault with her. But once she returned home, that poise vanished. She immediately collapsed lazily onto the sofa in the middle of the sitting room, a chocolate bar handed to her by a house-elf now in her hand.
The ease and familiarity of her movements made Daphne's smile stiffen.
Her little sister's relaxed posture—perched on the edge of the sofa, legs swinging, eyes half-lidded in bliss—made Daphne's mouth twitch uncontrollably.
"I'll have you know, we are dignified pure-blood nobles. This is not how a lady should behave!"
"..."
Crunch.
Whether it was the sound of Astoria biting into her chocolate bar or the sound of Daphne's patience snapping was unclear—but in that instant, the once-pleasant air grew thick with tension.
In truth, Astoria and Daphne couldn't have been more different—not just in looks, but in values as well.
Born into one of the twenty-eight sacred pure-blood families, Daphne Greengrass firmly believed in the supremacy of pure blood and upheld the principles of nobility with near-religious fervor.
She also viewed Muggles as inferior—an unshakable blood purist through and through.
Astoria, on the other hand, was the odd one out in the Greengrass family. Though she presented herself flawlessly to the outside world, her father and sister both knew what she was really like at home.
Her favorite hobbies were sleeping, lounging on the sofa for entire afternoons while eating sweets, or devouring Muggle-written tales of knights and adventure—none of which were remotely befitting of a noble witch.
If it weren't for the fact that Astoria still excelled in her studies thanks to the strict Greengrass education, Daphne might have genuinely suspected her younger sister had been adopted.
If Daphne had lived in modern times, there would've been only one way she'd describe her sister—a wizarding otaku.
"Sit up properly, will you? How can you call yourself the 'Star of the Greengrass Nights' acting like that?"
Daphne's scolding tone was laced with frustration as she shot her sister a look of pure exasperation.
Astoria, still lazily dangling her feet, only yawned and stretched.
"Can't help it. I ran into a lot of interesting things today, so I need a little rest. Let me off just this once, alright? Besides, 'Greengrass Nights'—don't you think that sounds kind of embarrassing?"
Her casual, dismissive attitude made Daphne's temple twitch as she pressed a hand to her forehead.
No one would have ever guessed that the refined, graceful young witch praised at every social event—the one the public called the Greengrass Star—was, in private, such a laid-back mess.
"If I weren't worried about your health... forget it. I'll just pretend I didn't see anything today."
"Mm-hmm."
At those words, Astoria's eyes dimmed slightly, but before Daphne could notice, she flashed her sister a bright, cheerful smile.
That adorable dimpled grin made Daphne sigh and roll her eyes, but her irritation quickly melted into curiosity as her sister began mentioning the "interesting things" she'd encountered that day.
It was obvious—Daphne was dying to hear about whatever had happened between Astoria and Draco Malfoy.
Astoria, however, hesitated, nervously licking her lips in a completely unladylike manner—something that made Daphne's hand twitch with the urge to swat her.
Pretending not to notice her sister's growing impatience, Astoria quietly wondered to herself: if she mentioned that Draco seemed to get along quite well with a Muggle-born witch, would her sister—who clearly idolized him—lose her temper on the spot?
Hmm... best to skip over that part.
Still, as she recalled everything that had happened that day, Astoria didn't even realize that the corners of her lips had lifted into a faint, unconscious smile...