We Will Shine {Book 6 in the Star of Gryffindor Series}

Chapter 47 - Secret Keeper

But the few times we were all together, I felt like there was something that had been missing, some ease, some sense that the four of us belonged together that I'd probably noticed was gone but hadn't been able to identify until it was back.

One of those rare times had arrived, a Wednesday night when Poppy had prefect duties and James was off with Colin pretending to study for their N.E.W.T.s. At dinner, Albus asked if anyone had plans tonight, and we all said no.

Colette frowned. "You're already two weeks ahead on all your homework?" she asked Wren.

Wren made a show of being indignant, then laughed. "I don't know that I've ever been two weeks ahead on my homework. I'm not insane."

"She's not Rose, Colette," Albus pointed out, laughing.

I laughed too, then tilted my head. "I feel like we should do something crazy."

"What kind of crazy?" Wren asked, frowning.

"I don't know. Just... I feel like we used to constantly be stealing James's Cloak and sneaking out after curfew and breaking all sorts of rules. I miss that."

"I mean, we're sneaking out to Hogsmeade this weekend," Albus said, shrugging. "I'd say that's pretty crazy.

Colette nodded in agreement, but Wren's mouth dropped open. "You're what?"

I opened my mouth to explain, then glanced at Albus, who was looking at me with wide eyes, and Colette, who was glancing back and forth between us with a raised eyebrow. "Um..."

Wren glanced around at us. I could see the wheels turning in her head, it felt like. After a moment of none of us explaining ourselves, she shook her head. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, just this once, and trust you're not planning on doing something incredibly stupid." She hesitated, then looked at me. "You're not planning on doing something incredibly stupid, are you?"

Sneaking out to Hogsmeade was probably incredibly stupid already. I glanced at Albus, whose face had scrunched up as he tried to think of a way to answer. "It's... it's important."

"We'll tell you about it after, I swear," I added quickly.

Wren nodded, seeming thoughtful. "Just out of curiosity, why didn't you tell me before?"

"We knew you wouldn't be on board with it," Colette said.

Instead of getting upset, Wren shrugged. "I guess that's fair." She seemed about to say something else, then shook her head. "Anyway, what were you thinking of for tonight, Astra?"

I shrugged. "I'm not really sure. Something fun. Maybe sneaking into the library after hours and moving all the books around."

"Or w could sneak into the restricted section and see who's the first to find a book on how to do something definitely illegal," Albus suggested, grinning. "You know there's loads of books just sitting back there that no one's bothered to go through."

"Oh, there definitely are," Colette said, shaking her head. "Lucky thing second year me was only interested in theory, or I could've learned some very dangerous spells when Mr. Potter gave me a pass for the restricted section."

I grinned. "Okay, cool! Let's do that. What do you say, Wren?"

Wren shook her head, smiling. "I guess I won't be able to convince you not to sneak out after curfew?"

"Absolutely not," I said, still smiling.

"Then that sounds incredibly fun," she said. "I'm in."

"Okay, let's set some parameters," Albus said, leaning forward. "Colette isn't allowed to find any books she's found before—"

"That is not fair," Colette said, rolling her eyes. She was smiling, though, so Albus ignored her.