Pascale Astor

Pascale Astor
Full name	Pascale Heloise Astor
Born	18 October 1925
Birthplace	Auvergne, France
Residence	Astor House
Nationality	French
Family	The Astor Family
Blood Status	Pureblood
School	Beauxbatons Academy of Magic
Ecole	Humanities
Parents	Barthélmy Astor & Caroline de Luca
Siblings	Roland Astor, Charles Astor

Biography

They say that the gods are not kind, but I do not believe in gods.

Mother does. She uses them to corral Thing 1 and Thing 2 (my brothers, you see, aged 14 and 16, ruddy-faced and bleating) when they've made a mess or offended the neighbors. She threatens them, in that silent, clicking way that she threatens everyone, her watery cheeks sallow and shaking as she blinks from one to the other.

Then she sends them to church, which is a silly thing to do as we are too far from a town for a church, and instead have a small chapel in the east annex. It's a pitiful thing, for the annex was never completed (the manor is drafty, you see, and unkempt) and Thing 1 and 2 are forced to pray amidst a thatched roof and weak candlelight.

But they deserve it, of course.

Boys are meant to be punished.

Meddlesome things, and my mother is not a strong woman (of course not! you say, and I agree). Any woman who must lean on gods to do her bidding has far greater cause for concern than two troublesome boys. Their blood runs hot, naturally, and they cannot help but find themselves in all manner of trouble. She's a small thing, my mother, and my father is a simple man.

He likes her, and that makes him weak, too.

I am not weak. I have no interest in Thing 1, Thing 2, not mother, not father - I have no curiosity in mud or trees or climbing through craggled rock. Their feet come back ruined, their hands scraped, and my hands are delicate tools - built for fine work, cartography, the study of texts or better.

Better, of course, you see, quite naturally. I need no gods. I have my own.