"We weren't saying anything like that, Harry." said Astra calmly, "Don't you see? This is exactly why we need you. I may have aced every single test but I've never had the experience you've had. You're the one who's faced him nearly every year. You're the one who has the battle reflexes, who's gotten out of every fight alive. It's not learning spells; you're right. The most talented witches and wizards in the last war who learned more spells than anyone else still died. They still lost because war is different than OWL's and NEWT's and other exams and you're the only one who knows it."
Harry was shocked, gaping at Astra.
"Well . . . think about it," said Hermione quietly. "Please?"
Harry could not think of anything to say. He was feeling ashamed of his outburst already. He nodded, hardly aware of what he was agreeing to.
Hermione stood up.
"Well, I'm off to bed," she said, in a voice that was clearly as natural as she could make it. "Erm . . . night."
Ron had got to his feet, too.
"Coming?" he said awkwardly to Harry.
"Yeah," said Harry. "In . . . in a minute. I'll just clear this up."
He indicated the smashed bowl on the floor. Ron nodded and left. Astra stayed behind and watched as Harry muttered, "Reparo," pointing his wand at the broken pieces of china. They flew back together, good as new, but there was no returning the Murtlap essence to the bowl.
"Harry..." she said quietly, "I may not have been there every year, actually none of the years, but I know all that you've done. It's crazy how much you've accomplished and I'm sure... I'm sure that they'd be proud of you if you shared that."
She took a deep breath and stood up. She walked to the stairs before turning around to Harry.
"We don't want this generation to end up the same as the last one."
***
#17: exploding bonbons can't explode - but they can make loud noises
***
Astra worked with Fred and George to replicate the sound of exploding bonbons, casting a spell that worked the same as the explosions- only this time, just adding the sound.
She, once again, sold them to the rest of the school, enjoying the shock on Umbridge's face after realizing there was no explosion and the rules were not broken.
***
#18: tagging school owls - another owl prank, no bending rules but just rebellion
***
It was quite similar to the Yule Ball prank, seeing as Astra was using all of her creative energy to find loopholes in the system, only this time, they were dropping extra tags that Astra had duplicated around the Great Hall.
Umbridge was furious, but there was no evidence that lead back to Astra.
***
#19: pets in dorms and owls in owlery - I'll be flying all over the place
***
The pets were restricted to the dormitory, but Astra found it much easier to transform and fly around the castle to every single class and meal. Of course, Umbridge had never seen her animagus form and was never able to pinpoint whose pet it was.
It drove her insane.
A/N: I know, this chapter is shorter than most of my other ones. I'm sorry. I just couldn't really split this and the next chapter at a good point, so...
I really liked this chapter, just for the Astra and Harry bonding and also one of my favorite lines that I added 'We don't want this generation to end up the same as the last one.'
I am going to rant a bit about that just because I love it. Obviously, Harry doesn't know it, but Astra knows the consequences of what happened in the last war more than anyone else. She knows their stories, the details of their deaths, their lives, how they were trained.
That's also one of the reasons why she's one of the first to realize Dumbledore's manipulative tendencies: She saw both generations from an outside perspective. She's obviously come to terms with her friends' deaths, but she also knows what the grief did to family members, especially Sirius (The stories that James and Regulus used to tell about him don't match up with his energy, and she can see that).
So, that's why she's going to be so adamant about the rebellion and the DA.
She knows the results when people didn't take Voldemort seriously the first time, and she's not going to let that happen with her own generation.
Ted Talk over, hope you enjoyed the chapter!! <3
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Astra
FanfictionAstra Titania Black Astra has lived in an orphanage since her father was wrongfully imprisoned and her mother abandoned her. She used to be alone, but she didn't mind. That is until she makes true friends that she would die for and meets the people...
XCIII - The New Generation
Start from the beginning
