𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞 || 𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒖𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌

chapter 11.

The blonde only sighed, zipping up her trunk. "It doesn't matter. Whatever I do isn't going to change her opinion of me. Now let's go, I don't want to miss the train."

"Of course, Miss Asteria," Queenie then grabbed onto the girl's hand and the two disappeared with a pop.

The Hogwarts Express never did get any less magnificent as the first time Asteria had seen it. As she stood before it, the girl couldn't help but be enraptured by the smoke, the color, the crowd, all of it. But most of all, Asteria couldn't help but notice the familiar feeling of home.

She was going home.

"Thank you, Queenie," Asteria knelt down beside the elf, grabbing her trunk. "I'll see you soon, alright?"

The elf nodded. Asteria gave her a kiss on the cheek, which caused Queenie to look up with wide, loving eyes. Asteria only smiled sadly, an action which the elf returned before Disapparating.

There was only one thought on her mind: find her friends, and forget about the events of the holidays.

Magnolia had most likely been dragged off by Avery, a fact which caused Asteria to grimace. Remus was probably resting, he always did seem rather tired. That left Lily Evans, given that Asteria wasn't sure whether her and Sirius could be considered friends yet. It was rather hard to miss a girl with striking red hair, which Asteria immediately bounded towards. The ginger seemed to spot her and grinned as well, meeting Asteria halfway. It was quite a dramatic moment for both, embracing as if they hadn't seen each other in years.

Everything was finally right in the world, for Lily Evans and Asteria Grey were back together.

"You'll never believe who I ran into at the gala," Asteria began as soon as they were in the safety of a compartment.

"Who?" Lily's eyes were wide as she sat across Asteria. The pair had searched for Remus but, after a long period of not finding him, had decided that he'd gone off with Sirius.

"Sirius, of people," Asteria sighed, shaking her head. "And he's not half bad, you know. I managed to survive the majority of the evening with him. Did you know he had a younger brother?"

"Yes, he's mentioned him several times," Lily said casually, before tilting her head at Asteria's confused expression. "You've been too busy hating him to notice. He talks about Regulus a lot, you know."

"I don't hate him," was the only response Asteria could muster up. She frowned and looked down at her lap, realizing only now how cloudy her temper caused her vision to be. "Do I do that a lot?"

Lily bit her lip. "Only sometimes."

"Sorry," the apology came out fast and quiet, but Asteria still smiled. Better than nothing, in her eyes. "Now, I was thinking. You know who our next prank should be against?"

The redheaded girl cockeed her head, gesturing for Asteria to go on. The blonde rubbed her hands, looking like a beady goblin, before smiling an award-winning smile. "Avery! He's been stealing Magnolia from us and that simply won't do." Her words rang true, for even a daft fool could notice the changes in the Slytherin girl's demeanor. Like a thief drawn to glimmering gold, Maximus Avery stole his sister away from those who truly cared about her well-being (in this scenario, that was Asteria). Lily was hesitant, at first, the creeping tendrils of doubt plaguing the girl's mind. And yet, like the hard-headed Gryffindor girl she was, Asteria was successful in convincing Lily to join in on the fun; the two spent the remainder of the ride to Hogsmeade whispering, spitting out one idea after another as they sought to find a manner in which to make Avery pay.

"We'll ask Marlene for her opinion too, I'm sure she'll be able to come up with a ridiculous idea," Lily commented as the train drew to a stop, the two girls having just changed into robes. Asteria's Gryffindor tie carelessly hung from her neck, despite Lily's offering of knotting it for her. She preferred the rugged look that came with her messy tie, wanting to give off the most intimidating aura she possibly could at the measly age of twelve. Perhaps, the interior workings of her mind would soon come to reflect her much more confident-looking exterior.