Moon and Stars

fourty two

As soon as it was time for their other classes, Ginny left in a hurry, with Luna trailing behind after sadly waving at Aurora one final time. Hermione sighed while rubbing Aurora's shoulder before getting up herself, having to go to her next class.

With her newfound alone time, Aurora took the time to search for her chamber to settle in properly. She took the long way, waving to the paintings who remembered her on the way, and managed to only trip once on the moving stairs before she made it.

Her mind was racing after speaking with Ginny, and she would definitely have to clear the air before she left, but in the mean time, the two needed time away from each other. Ginny was basically her sister, and she loved her as if she actually was, but that meant the two of them fought like sisters. They've fought before, and they always reconciled in a few days, so Aurora was hopeful that she wouldn't stay mad at her for too long.

The difference between their other squabbles and this one was that it involved hurting her brother. Ginny had every right to be angry, and even when she was angry, she still managed to help Aurora.

She found herself in the courtyard, where miscellaneous students spent their free periods conversing or playing Gobstones with each other. In the sky above her, a few players on the quidditch team soared on their brooms, knowing they wouldn't get reprimanded, since they're of higher status, of sorts.

It was Aurora's favorite unofficial privilege of being on the team. She would always fly above the other students and drop water on them from above with the twins and Lee, and no one ever made them touch back down.

She sighed as the happy memories flooded her head, making her way over to an empty bench under a tree. The sounds of laughter and young voices filled her ears, and she pulled out her wand to enchant the fallen leaves on the ground, rejuvenating their liveliness and reattaching them to the tree above her, a trick Neville had taught her during her sixth year.

Neville was younger than her by two years, yet he always surpassed her in Herbology, and even knew a few tricks that Professor Sprout herself couldn't master. He was destined to become the Herbology professor, and she was both excited and honored to be able to work alongside her close friend.

"How'd you do that?" Asks a young boy, looking no older than a first year. She smiled at him before setting her wand down beside her, looking up at the bare branch with a few green leaves reattached.

"A close friend taught me when I was a student here, a sixth year." She replied, and he nodded, looking down at the dead leaves.

"They're not supposed to be on the tree around this time of year." He pointed out, and she chuckled softly, shrugging her shoulders.

"Naturally, they aren't, yet there they are, alive and healthy on the tree." She said, and the corners of his mouth pulled up into a slight smile.

"I'm James Tuckett, third year." He said, extending a hand. Aurora shook it with a confused look on her face, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Third year, you said?" She asked, and he scoffed, rolling his eyes at her.

"I'm not as big as the other kids, I get it. I'm no quidditch player, so it doesn't matter too much." He said, and Aurora nodded, smiling at him.

"I wasn't as big as the other kids, either, but it didn't stop me from being on the team." She said, making his eyes light up, and he raised a brow in suspicion.

"If you were a quidditch player, then your name must be somewhere in this school." He said excitedly, and Aurora chuckled at him, nodding slightly.

"My name is in a few places in this school, yes. Aurora McGonagall." She said, and his jaw dropped, presumably at the last name.

"Professor McGonagall has a kid?" He asked, and Aurora laughed in response.