Astoria Malfoy[7] (née Greengrass) (c. 1982 – 2019) was a British pure-blood witch. She also was a member of the Greengrass family, one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Astoria began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1993, two years below the famous Draco Malfoy (her future husband), and her elder sister. After her education at Hogwarts she met and married Draco Malfoy and the two had a son Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy. Astoria died during the summer of 2019, due to her blood curse.[3]
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Biography
Early life (1982-1993)
Born into the Greengrass family, among the oldest, truly pure-blooded families in Britain, Astoria was brought up in the ideals of Pure-blood supremacy. Astoria's life was cut short by a curse placed upon her ancestor long before her time, resulting in her body becoming extremely frail.
Hogwarts years (1993-2000)
Astoria attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. During the Battle of Hogwarts, she was evacuated for being too young. It is also unknown what house she was sorted into at Hogwarts.
The events of the Second Wizarding War during her teenage years made her espouse a more tolerant life view, turning back on her family's blood purity views, although her experience through the war was less than that of what Draco Malfoy suffered.[5]
Adulthood (2000-2019)
Marriage
At some point between 2000 and 2004/5, she eventually married Draco Malfoy, who was two years ahead of her and was a classmate of her older sister, Daphne Greengrass. Lucius and Narcissa had "disapproved" of Draco's choice to take her as a wife, but he chose her anyway and stood up to both of them. This was something which Astoria once told her son "was one of the most courageous things she’d ever seen."
Raising Scorpius Malfoy
Frail, and knowing she was not destined for old age due to her ancestor's blood borne curse, Astoria longed for a child so that Draco, after her inevitable death, would not be alone.
Astoria with her family on the platform
She was successful in producing a child, despite Draco telling her that he didn't care if the Malfoy family ended with him, but the pregnancy greatly weakened her and the family vanished into seclusion when Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy[8] was born. This, despite the intentions of Draco and Astoria, led to false rumours that Astoria had been unable to conceive and had used a Time-Turner to go back in time and conceive a child with Lord Voldemort - which, if she actually was unable to conceive would have been a failure anyway. The stigma of these rumours were borne by her son who, at Hogwarts, was accused of being Voldemort's child.
After Scorpius's birth, Astoria refused to teach her son the pure-blooded belief that Muggles were scum. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy therefore found her a somewhat disappointing daughter-in-law; family gatherings were, as a result, often fraught with tension.[5]
In 2017, Astoria saw her son off at King's Cross Station for his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 2017,[9] loading him up with sweets, having told him on at least one occasion, "Sweets, they always help you make friends." As Albus and Scorpius bonded over sweets, her advice was apparently correct.
Death (2019)
During the summer before Scorpius's third year at Hogwarts, Astoria died due to the toll of her family curse, leaving her son and husband heartbroken.[3] Scorpius and Albus would later on attend her funeral. Draco, having inherited a "true" Time-Turner from his father, was later urged to use it to go back in time to see Astoria, but he resisted, knowing the potential damage he could cause to reality.
Etymology
The name Astoria may be derived from the London Astoria, a music venue in London, England, or the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, a famously luxurious hotel in New York City. This hotel was named after the Astors, a very wealthy and influential American family.[10] The name may also be related to Astraea, a daughter of Zeus in Greek mythology who personified justice. Astraea is derived from Greek meaning "star-maiden"; this may relate to her husband's maternal family often naming its members after stars and constellations. The name may also be spelled Asteria, as shown on the Weasley Family Tree.[11] Like Hyperion — her son Scorpius' middle name — Asteria is the name of one of the Titans of Greek mythology.
Behind the scenes
- Astoria is played by Jade Olivia, in the epilogue scene of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.[12] She was the real-life girlfriend of Draco's actor Tom Felton at the time.
- J. K. Rowling has said that she chose to have Draco marry someone other than Pansy Parkinson, who seems to have been his girlfriend during his adolescence, because she always hated Pansy, who represented "the girls who teased me when I was at school". She has referred to Pansy as "the anti-Hermione".[13] Indeed, keeping in line with this, J.K. Rowling draws a much more sympathetic portrait of Astoria Greengrass onPottermore.[5]
- Astoria is the only character addressed in the epilogue that the regular trio do not know, although, as they know about Scorpius, they might know her, but they just call her "Draco's wife". Also, in a school context, a two-year gap is considerable, and since even her sister was barely peripheral to the central trio's world, they may well not have been truly aware of her until she joined the house of Malfoy.
- Her sister Daphne was Sorted into Slytherin, but it is unknown if Astoria was Sorted into Slytherin as well.
- Astoria's maiden name, Greengrass, could refer to the primary colour of Slytherin House, green. It may also derive from the common phrase, "snake in the grass", as snakes are Slytherin's emblem. This is somewhat ironic however, considering that the phrase "snake in the grass" refers to someone who is treacherous and venal, traits that Astoria does not possess.
J. K. Rowling
- "Draco married the younger sister of a fellow Slytherin. Astoria Greengrass, who had gone through a similar (though less violent and frightening) conversion from pure-blood ideals to a more tolerant life view, was felt by Narcissa and Lucius to be something of a disappointment as a daughter-in-law. They had had high hopes of a girl whose family featured on the 'Sacred Twenty-Eight', but as Astoria refused to raise their grandson Scorpius in the belief that Muggles were scum, family gatherings were often fraught with tension."
- — J. K. Rowling regarding Astoria Greengrass[src]
Appearances
Astoria Malfoy in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (First appearance) (Identified only as Draco's wife)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (play) (Mentioned only)
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
- Pottermore (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter: The Character Vault
Notes and references
- ↑ J.K. Rowling PotterCast Interview
- ↑ According to The Harry Potter Lexicon, Astoria died in August.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Act One, Scene Four
- ↑ Astoria's son was described as pure-blood by Ron Weasley in the Epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, indicating that Astoria would have been pure-blood herself.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Draco Malfoy" at Pottermore
- ↑ The Greengrass Family appears on the sacred twenty eight list making them a pureblood family.
- ↑ IMDB - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 - Full Cast & Crew
- ↑ TIME magazine - JK Rowling answers 10 questions about Harry
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Epilogue (Nineteen Years Later)
- ↑ Waldorf-Astoria Article on Wikipedia
- ↑ HP Lexicon: Weasley Family Tree
- ↑ http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2010/06/08/harry-potter-star-tom-felton-gets-hitched-on-screen-with-real-life-girlfriend-115875-22318222/
- ↑ PotterCast interview