Capítulo 5: A new home
Since the day the Truth about her Godly ship adjacent, Draco loved to remind her after hearing the full story he was an intricate part of her becoming Death's Mistress.
She longed to deny that he was wrong but if it wasn't for him Astrid would never have been alive to call herself Astrid.
Once Andy showed the Ex-Malfoy the exact shade of pink Nymphie had, he stopped being too annoying to the point you were about to watch him being thrown into a wall repeatedly. Though now the House of Black has been working toward a new, but right now they are going their separate ways.
Astrid was the only one going to New Orleans, which was a bad idea in itself since the Potter Wixen once tried to redecorate her common room as she was alone for 2 hours and ended up in the hospital wing coughing up feathers which lasted 3 days.
But they all wanted to leave as soon as possible, and it would help them to have someone there already making contacts that didn't solely involve bribes.
Everyone was also looking at Astrid more and more, waiting for the immortal Wixen to either slip up so they can destroy her and call her the next Dark Lady or for Lady Black to announce an intended since she couldn't possibly survive without someone dictating her every move.
All the while, everyone else would stay in England
Draco and Narcissa are technically still wanted for their crimes as Death Eaters even if Narcissa wasn't marked, apparently, anyone associated with one was now just as bad of a crime.
Whether they cared if they were forced or not Azkaban was their next destination.
Andromeda has become their council as it is known that the trials are just shows, and the daughter of House Black was going to make a show of the people hurting her family.
She couldn't wait for everyone's faces to show the fear and horror that the people they want to condemn held the most power in the little chamber of theirs.
Teddy is with them as it would be better for him even if Astrid wants to hold on and never let go of the small babe, it was better for the little hybrid to be safer with most of their House than in an unknown city with at every turn.
But that won't stop Astrid from coming back every few days so he can get used to her scent and to bond.
Right now, they are all in Andy's old home that was filled with delightful memories of a little Nymphie tripping over and her hair turning the colour of whatever she collided with, or Andy being pulled up by Ted and swaying with her having moments before them being ruined by their daughter.
The whole family were staying here too as none of them entertained the idea of sleeping at Grimmauld place for more than one night for many reasons, however, the biggest is that it was Grimmauld place.
"You'll be fine," Draco told Astrid who held his lips in a straight line with his voice wavering slightly, at the thought of his cousin getting injured in the middle of somewhere new
Astrid saw right through his blank mask, smirked with fondness swimming in her sparkling green eyes as she sarcastically spoke "Now try again but make it seem you're reassuring me"
"Shut it, Potter" Draco spat with no heat behind it as seeing her blasted smirk made him feel better about her leaving
Narcissa was fretting over Astrid's luggage as if she will never return, but stood up giving them both a mother stare before chastising "Children"
"Astrid dearest, send a letter once you arrive" Andromeda warmly spoke as she walked over to her from picking up a book and giving it to her sister to put in Astrid's bag
"Each?" Astrid spoke with an innocent expression completely ignoring Draco's eye roll and annoyed sigh
Seeing the sparkle of mischief glimmering in her silver-flaked eyes, Andromeda carried on playing with a faux dramatic sigh with a shake of her head muttering "If you must"
"Stop enabling her, sister" Cissa called as she took Teddy from Draco's arms and ignored the spluttering and gave him Astrid's bag in return
Grinning like an imp, Astrid told them all with a firm nod "I'll see you all soon, and will most likely pop back in like 2 days"
Astrid then made her way to Andy, who held her arms out ready for the attack that was a Potter hug. Snuggling into her arms Andromeda uttered into her wild midnight curls "Try not to end up kidnapped or piss off someone to the point of attempted murder"
"No promises, Auntie" Astrid told her with a dopey smile before kissing her on the cheek
Moving over to Cissa and Teddy, Astrid pulled the little hybrid out of the elder's arms and spin them both around before peppering kisses all over his chubby cheeks. All before whispering conspiringly to the small babe "Be home soon as I will miss my favourite Son of House Black"
Then moving into Cissa's arms accepting the warm but light hug as not to hurt Teddy.
They didn't say anything to each other, but Narcissa did tuck a stray curl behind her ear before caressing her cheek as she took Teddy back securely on her hip
And finally moving to her blond cousin, who was pouting not that he would ever admit it to anyone. Draco was going to miss her terribly but all he said was "Scared Potter?" As he held out her small purple bag with small daisies embroidered onto the fabric.
Taking the bag with an Undetectable Extension Charm Astrid replied with a wide smirk saying "You wish"
Walking to the middle of the room and giving them all one last smile, as she gripped her necklace muttering "Mischief Managed"
Once Astrid left, Draco immediately went over to a decanter filling up 3 glasses with a tumbler of Fire Whiskey. Handing out the glasses to his mother and aunt, the blond male groaned out "I will end up with greys because of her"
"Hush son, your only 18" Cissa dismissed flippantly as she made sure Teddy was conformable
"Point being" Draco questioned with wide eyes as he plopped himself down on the soft chair in an undignified manner
Andromeda on the other hand was sitting on a barstool by the counter in her open planned kitchen and living room, speaking with surprise as she swirled her glass that glittered in the sunlight from the window "I still can believe she managed to go unsupervised without pulling the 'I'm Lady Black' card"
"Oh, I've seen her charm a stone statue before and it worked" Draco told his aunt with horrified awe, remembering that particular incident as the statue followed after her like a puppy with only a few words without magic making everyone who looked at her wrong end up in the hospital wing. What was worse was that this was in their Second Year
Cissa was playing with the few curls on Teddy's head, in an attempt to calm her worry. But she looked over at her elder sister and asked with an unusual frown that settled on her pouty lips "She's going to end up dead isn't she"
"Don't worry, Sister, Sister" Andy soothed with a mothering smile, before a small smirk pulled at her lips as she told Cissa "Astrid is immortal"
"Again, Point being" Draco asked as he sighed deeply and sunk into the soft seat thinking of all the ways Astrid could get into trouble.
His first point; Astrid breathing
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Astrid had been in New Orleans for about 24 hours, which she thinks it's been longer.
When she first arrived in the secluded Bayou, staggering around still not liking the tug at her navel making her insides swirl around into a knot.
Even after all the Apparating from place to place in the last few months, nothing will ever make her feel more scared than the feeling of landing even if it was a Portkey not after her little trip to a cemetery fourth year.
Luckily, she landed on her feet, but still went to the nearest tree and leaned her head against it as she tried to calm her heart that was humming like wings of a bird and dug her fingers into its bark until her nails broke.
After regaining some sense of her thoughts as she chanted over and over in her mind "Toujours pur de cœur et d'esprit, pas de sang"
Astrid made her way to the French Quarter not noticing the golden eyes shining in the shadows of the trees.
Her first stop was a hotel as Lady Black needed a comfy bed to sleep in after her torturous memories were pushed to the forefront of her mind.
Opening her door to the plain room, Astrid dropped her bags and practically launched herself face-first into the white soft cloud and fell asleep immediately as she hugged one of her pillows at 7:36 in the morning.
Right now, the immortal Wixen is in a lovely bar she found which wasn't too far from her hotel. Sitting in the old warn but comfy leather of the booth seats of Rousseau's with a warm and spicy bowl of gumbo with a glass of water, as she scribbled down sentences on a piece of parchment describing the life of hopefully their new home
Astrid had been so engrossed with either her purple ink-stained quill or her food that was on her left so she could easily eat at the same time, not noticing the handsome male walking up to her and slipping into the booth opposite with a charming smile as he mused "I haven't had the pleasure of seeing you around"
"Well, I would think not since I arrived yesterday or 2 days ago," Astrid told the dark-skinned male that oozed charisma and death.
Once the silver flaked-eyed Wixen looked up as she placed down her quill that dropped ink spots on her parchment, Astrid explained with a dopey smile "Jet lag, I think. Doesn't matter once I woke up, I found a bar, which is the right way of living. Sorry I'm rambling, aren't I"
"Yes, but I have to admit it is funny" Marcel admitted with a pearly white smile that was somewhat genuine, not expecting to find the girl he was warned about to be so blunt
Not even fazed at the male's response, the Mistress of Death has heard much worse being said to her face and behind her back.
Her smile just widened with the twinkle of chaos shined in her emerald eyes as she told him "Well, I do aim to amuse" Holding her dainty hand out with her Lady rings proudly on her fingers, she introduced herself "I'm Astrid"
"Marcel Gérard" The self-proclaimed King introduces back, as he turned her palm and kissed the tops of her knuckles.
Releasing her surprisingly rough hand, Marcel questioned lightly "How about I buy you a real drink"
"Perhaps, if you tell me the real reason you came over" Astrid answered with a Potter smirk and lifted her eyebrow as she took a sip of water
Marcel covered his surprise with another smile as if he was trying to distract her with the swoon-worthy smile since Astrid's aura was extremely powerful and he could feel it coming off her in waves.
Compulsion would never have worked so he tried again "Can't it be for a pretty lady"
Astrid hummed before sitting back resting her back on the faded leather seats, before tilting her head and musing "Yes, but I look younger than I do. Also, the shadow of Death makes you sorta intimated" The Vampire couldn't disagree, the last time he felt the amount of power and death was when he was in the presence of an Original. Marcel just hoped the woman across from him wasn't as old as them or as powerful.
While the King was hoping for the best which means she would leave soon, Astrid continued as she ate a spoonful of gumbo "So, I'm guessing you thought I was a vampire, or well the one with the silly cap did about 10 minutes ago and called you"
"How did you—" Marcel asked dumbfounded, as the woman didn't even make any acknowledgement of his presence. So, either she knew him beforehand expecting him to arrive or she just didn't care, either way, the Kings ego took a great tumble
Astrid cut him off with an amused smirk telling him "I'm observant, so real reason"
"Fine, you caught me" Marcel held his hands up with a matching smirk before it turned cold with the air of authority "I'm the King of the Quarter, I just like to know the newest not Vampire in town and tell them the rules"
Not even threatened or wanting to submit to his every whim, Astrid just gave him a bored look and counted on her fingers "Well, first I'm a Wixen. Second, not here for trouble just knowledge. Third... I will get back to you on that one"
"Wixen" Marcel mumbled just loud enough fit said Wixen to hear, which was after a short pause since all of the vampires didn't expect her reaction to their King. Before telling Astrid "Never heard the term before"
"Not that surprised" Astrid mused lightly as all the times she had to explain the simplest things like electricity or money to the strangest like stopping Draco from using a pair of her straighteners to iron his clothes, they had come that little nugget of wisdom because of the decision to get ready for a night out the muggle way Yule of 6th year.
When seeing the confused face Marcel had, Astrid calmly explained the short version since they were technically in the open even if most of the occupants were vampires "My community has been in hiding for over a thousand years, but it definitely got worse after the witch trials, so we were cut off to the natural world"
"Understandable" Marcel nodded thinking of all the lessons he learned from Elijah about the topic, just over 12 decades before his birth
Astrid nodded alongside him before a small smirk appeared on her lips telling the elder immortal "Just think of us as extremely paranoid and trigger-happy"
Marcel laughed at the emerald eyed Wixen across from him, which made a few of his daywalkers turn their heads with small smiles of their own towards the odd woman. Astrid didn't know what was so funny. Yes, her attitude and sarcasm were to the highest calibre but not side-splitting funny which apparently Marcel found.
Looking at her confused pout, Marcel told her "You are something, I'll give you that"
"Thanks, my teacher told me that too" Astrid flippantly spoke as she ate another mouth-watering spoonful of Gumbo
"Really?" The dark-skinned vampire asked interestedly not even bothering that he lost the reason for why he came over since he was genuinely enjoying himself
"Oh, yeh" Lady Black grinned madly, forgoing any and all etiquette as she pushed aside her food and happily told the King of the Quarter "If she glared any harder, I would have spontaneously combusted" You could feel the anticipation rolling off him in droves, so Astrid unabashedly with a wicked smirk "I may have accidentally finished what my parents started and replaced all the furniture to cat-friendly apparatus"
"Hate her then" Marcel mused with a smile at her playful nature, yet there was a predator ready to take over from playful too dangerous in seconds
This was proven by Astrid's next words "Oh no, she was my favourite teacher"
They sat in comfortable silence for a bit as Astrid carried on eating greedily, as Marcel went to order another drink. Just as the Mistress of Death finished her final spoon, she noticed the tilt of her companion's head and took a guess asking "What are they saying about me"
"How did you—" Marcel once again asked with nothing but curiosity running through his veins. At this point, he was starting to believe she was a mind reader who had super hearing on top of everything else, which wouldn't be the oddest thing seen in nature
Shrugging her shoulders without a care in the world and told him with a grin "Your body langue is telling me you are not here mentally, so out with it" Before dramatically placing her hand on her heart and asking as if she was on the stage in a play "Tell me, if not my mind will start to twist. I cannot have that, please for the sake of my sanity"
Marcel started to roll his eyes when Astrid fluttered her eyelashes and wiped away a fake tear, before sitting forward and asking, "You done"
Once receiving a definitive nod, Marcel told her "Well some like your sarcasm, others think we are hitting it off, but the most important part is that you apparently don't exist"
"Well, that's not true, I'm sitting right here" Astrid breathes out without thinking as an adorable pout takes over her face, making Marcel chuckle before taking a drink of Amber liquid in his glass. Once she realised, she spoke out loud, the petite witch speaks clearly at normal volume which no one would really hear if they were human as the constant chatter drowned out Astrid's voice "Also thank you, members, of the undead the sarcasm is hereditary" Before directing her words back to Marcel, who was spectacularly enjoying her company "Don't worry egomaniacs that happily play dictator, aren't my type"
Nodding his head at the young woman who hasn't lied once since he sat down, Marcel mused with a slight nod "Noted" Seeing the dopey smile adorning her pale skin, the King of the Quarter had to remind himself of why he was here and once he did, Marcel asked "You said knowledge, before and perhaps I could help"
"Sure" The Immortal Wixen mused lightly after contemplating what was the harm of getting the help of the King who seems to be very well informed, like a good king should be. Seeing the surprise on the charming vampire's timeless face, Astrid just carried on if she hadn't "Um well my uncle died, but he lived here for a while, then moved back to Britain, had a son, and now I'm here"
"Any more information would be useful" Marcel pressed wanting to know if anything the lively Wixen needed would hurt either him or his empire
Astrid wasn't impressed.
Yes, she needs help as research isn't her strong suit, however, she isn't going to give up her life story or in this case, Remmy's to a complete stranger.
If her life thought, her once thing it was Trust is a special gift given to the people closest but is amazingly fragile and can be broken in one wrong move.
With an unimpressed look, Astrid told him "Perhaps, I will when you aren't someone I have met for about 30 minutes. Nice try though"
"I would most likely know the guy, how long did he live here" Marcel offered knowing that any more information he wants will just have to wait, but was impressed by the emerald-eyed teenager who look at him as if he was an idiot
Astrid hummed as thought about all the times Remus would make beignets for her and himself in Grimmauld back in the summer before 5th year, as well as gush about the little bites of heaven that came from Café du Monde
Knowing her uncle had to enter the quarter she told the charming vampire "Well I'm not sure but it was at least a decade, but your kind don't like there's"
"Wolves" Marcel chokes out as he had to clear his throat as he was drinking at the time, Astrid did give him her napkin but also found it a tad funny at the reaction.
When the King of the Quarter figured it out, the bar nearly went silent as all the daywalkers froze knowing what happened to them 8 years ago. All the diplomacy Marcel held seemingly disappeared when he spat "Your uncle was a wolf"
"Hey, he couldn't help what he was" Astrid seethed, she didn't want to have the same prejudices that Wixen have here. Also, it was quite a shock knowing the home Remus had only a few years ago, but happily defended with hardened chips of emerald cutting the Vampire "Remmy was the least threatening wolf I've ever met, he folded his socks"
The dark-skinned vampire snorted with a cocky smirk telling her condescendingly "If that is how you scale threats, this is the wrong place for you"
"And here I was going to help my soon-to-be community" Astrid drawled with no emotion on her face which was something she had been perfecting since 4th year.
All before her eyes began to glow and the air chilled around them so much so ice crystals began to form on her glass. A sickly-sweet smile appeared on her rose-coloured lips and airily spoke making a shiver go down Marcel's spine at the madness present in those haunting eyes of hers "Careful, you never know who you threaten"
Marcel had never seen anything like the woman sitting opposite him. When he got a call from Thierry about a woman entering his city that was surrounded by the chill of death, he hoped it wasn't one of the Mikaelsons or their old enemies.
It had been virtually 70 years since Mikael tried to kill his family and subsequently burn him in the Opera House. But after what he did to the Wolves, word must have gotten around that he reversed their nature.
Yet sitting here with Astrid, no last name, no history, nothing that would get the king to trust her. And what's worse her uncle was a werewolf who lived most likely in the bayou for at least a decade. The evidence he is collecting was exponential for her to leave and never return.
However, there was something about the Wixen, a term he had never come across, making him calmer when she just smiled. If one thing he learned from his family, it was his paranoia. What was better than having someone who could kill him, which was a great big feeling he had, nowhere better than by his side.
And when her eyes glowed like a green fire there was only one thing he could say
"We're definitely going to have fun"
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