"No don't leave me alone!" Sirius whined
"I didn't say I'm leaving you alone, you can come with me if you want," Ast said.
"Yeah alright, where are we going?"
"We're going to Lily's."
"Excellent." He said, rubbing his hands together and standing up.
They arrived at the Potter's and Lily made them tea. Ast had had enough of waiting for the baby to arrive and couldn't wait for Lily to go out and drink again.
"James is being a prat," Lily said once they were settled down.
"When is he not?" Sirius asked.
Lily smiled, "he keeps wanting to buy all these things for the baby and it's-"
Her sentence was cut off with a scream. Lily clutched her stomach in pain.
"What's wrong?" Ast asked, suddenly filled with worry.
"Don't panic, but I... I think my water just broke,"
Ast's eyes raised in alarm and Sirius started hyperventilating.
"What are we going to do?" Sirius exclaimed. "Has it been nine months yet? Is the baby ready to come? Am I going to be a good uncle? What about-"
Lily had to walk over and slap Sirius to get him to shut up. Sirius stroked his face in pain while Lily ordered him and Ast to grab her stuff and alert James. Her husband came running into the room, a look of fear etched across his face. He too began hyperventilating and was clutching onto Ast so tightly that it was cutting her blood supply in her arm.
"James get your hands off of me!" Ast shouted, peeling his claws off her.
The only one who seemed to be calm was Lily despite her being the one who should be worrying the most. Lily was stood by the door, her hand on her hips, carrying an overnight bag and waiting for the others.
"Shall we get going?" She asked.
"Coming, love," James said, quickly rushing to his wife's aid.
Ast sent an owl to Remus and Peter to tell them to meet them at the hospital. They then arrived and the nurses directed Lily to a bed while they told Sirius and Ast to wait outside.
"Everything's going to be okay," Ast said as they were ushered out.
"Yeah, soon, we'll finally be able to meet Prongslet." Sirius said.
Just as Ast and Sirius were sitting down, Remus and Peter arrived. They waited... and waited... and waited. Ast's heart had been beating like mad and her hands were covered in sweat and clammy. She could tell that Remus was nervous too, from the way he was holding her hand. All their heads turned every time they heard footsteps or voices.
Finally, around three hours later, one of the midwives opened the door and allowed them to enter. Lily was lying on the bed with James at her side. In her arms, was a small bundle of blankets. They walked up to the bed and she showed them the baby, it was the cutest thing Ast had ever seen.
"We called him Harry," James said with tears in his eyes.
"He's beautiful, Lily," Ast managed to say.
"Sirius, Ast, would you like to be his godparents?" Lily asked.
Ast's heart swelled with love; she couldn't believe it. She felt Remus place his hand on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"Yes," Sirius and Ast said in unison.
*****
"He's got your eyes, Lily," Ast said, cradling a three-month-old Harry in her arms.
"I know," Lily said, "come on, Remus is waiting."
Ast reluctantly handed Harry back Lily and said goodbye. Remus and Sirius wanted to go to Diagon Ally for some shopping, Ast kept telling them that it was a bad idea but they had insisted. They'd been acting super secretive lately. Talking in hushed whispers whenever Ast was in the room, using code names for Merlin knew what, they even got James and Lily into it.
Ast apparated just outside of the Leaky Cauldron, where she was supposed to meet the other two. She found them in the pub, drinking Firewhiskey. Ast sat down and stole some of Remus's drink.
"Um, Ast," Remus said.
"Yeah?" She asked.
"We've been thinking, and I think it's better if we all do our shopping separately."
"Why's that?"
Remus exchanged a glance with Sirius. "Well... I thought we would be quicker."
"Uh, alright then."
They stuck with what Remus said and went their separate ways. Ast headed to the pet shop first because she had been thinking about getting Iris a cat for her birthday. She'd be five this year.
Ast browsed through the many types of cats until she saw the perfect one. A pure white kitten with startling blue eyes. He was perfect. Ast didn't have any money on her now so was going to head to Gringotts to collect some.
She left the shop and took a shortcut to Gringotts, purely to avoid the crowd. She walked hastily, with her hands stuffed in her pockets when someone bumped into her. She didn't know who they were at first but then she saw their face and instantly recognised them. Greasiness and all.
"Watch where you're-" Snape began.
"Watch where I'm going? How about you watch where you're going. Or can't you see because of all that thick grease on your face?" Ast spat at him, crossing her hands over her chest.
He straightened up, "ah Asteria, wanted by the Death Eaters, has a disappointment of a boyfriend, forced to look after her sister after her family went and got themselves killed, lives with two men because she is a whore."
Her hand instantly reached into her pocket for her wand.
"How dare you!"
He took his wand out too, "dragged her own brother to his death-"
Ast forgot where she was, she forgot what she was doing. All she knew was that she wanted to harm him in any way possible. She surged forward, discarding her wand. She swung her hand forward and it met his face. She hit him with such force that he landed on the ground.
He pulled himself up off the floor, blood seeping out of his nose, his face full of malice. He lifted his wand up again, pointing it at her.
"Sectumse-" He began.
"Expelliarmus!" A voice said.
Snape's wand flew out of his hand and landed on the floor a few feet away. Remus came into view, his wand still trained on Snape. Remus stuffed something small into his pocket and Sirius appeared on the other side of Ast.
"Good to see you, Snape," Remus said. "Heard you say some things to Ast, didn't like what I heard."
"Like I'm going to feel threatened by a werewolf," Snape spat.
"Did you hear that Lily got married? She's got a child and everything." Remus said, ignoring Snape's comment.
Snape stopped for a second, "I don't care about that mudblood."
"Right," Ast said, "it's not like you were obsessed with her back at Hogwarts or anything."
"Been a long time Snivellus, almost began to miss bullying you," Sirius said.
Blood was spilling out of Snape's nose fast. Ast felt the urge to hit him again. Remus must've known what she was thinking because he slipped his hand into hers, holding it tight so she didn't move. Snape wiped his nose, rolled his eyes and walked off.
Once he was gone, Remus turned to Ast, "I leave you for fifteen minutes and I come back to find you punching someone."
"Did you hear what he said to me?" Ast asked.
"I don't blame you, he deserved it. But you have to be careful, he's one of them, he'll get revenge."
"I don't care. Anyways, are you two done shopping? I need to head to Gringotts."
Sirius nodded.
They walked to Gringotts in silence. They talked to one of the goblins and he took them to Ast's vault. She didn't want Remus to see it, he'd only feel worse. They went down deeper and deeper into the ground. Since the Nott family was pureblood and one of the Sacred 28, they were highly respected, meaning that their vault was at the bottom of the bank.
Ast hastily grabbed a few galleons and ushered both of them out of her vault. They headed back to the pet shop and she bought the cat for Iris, she decided let her name it when they get back.
Once they were home, Ast let the cat roam the house. Miles, her other cat, came up to inspect the new member of the family. He was apprehensive at first but then licked the new cat playfully. Iris was at preschool now so when she got back, a wonderful surprise was waiting for her.
Lily, James and Harry came over for dinner later that day. Iris loved the cat, Snowy, and she'd been dragging it around with her since she first came home. This was also Iris's first time seeing Harry, Ast had to stop her from hitting him when she first introduced them. She didn't know what had gotten into her sister.
"Did you hear," Ast said, tucking into her spaghetti. "Benjy Fenwick is getting married?"
Remus suddenly started coughing and James had to thump him on the back. Lily spat out her drink and Sirius snorted.
"I know right! Crazy," Ast said, clearly not noticing James shoot Remus a warning look.
"Everyone is getting married these days," Ast continued. "First James and Lily, then Alice and Frank, now Benjy and whoever his fiancée is. And Dorcas is thinking of asking Marlene."
"Maybe you should get married, Ast," Sirius offered.
Remus made a quick movement under the table and Sirius yelped in pain.
"Yeah maybe I should,"
Remus stared at his girlfriend in alarm.
"What?" She asked.
He quickly shook his head, "nothing nothing."
*****
"Okay, open your eyes." Remus said.
Ast moved the blindfold off her face and opened her eyes. They were at a beach. The cold sea air stung her nose as she breathed in. Remus wanted to bring her here for whatever reason. She looked around and spotted white cliffs nearby. The beach was empty. The sun was slowly setting behind the cliffs.
"My mum brought me here when I was younger," Remus said, "after a full moon,"
"It's beautiful," Ast smiled.
"It looks just the same," he said, reminiscing.
"Why'd you bring me here?"
He took a deep breath, "Asteria, there's something I need to ask you."
"Oh, okay,"
"Please don't interrupt me, just let me speak."
"Okay,"
"Asteria Mabel Nott, ever since you came into my life, I've been infatuated with you. The moment I saw you in Florean Fortescue's, I instantly felt drawn to you, and I think you did too. I don't know why you chose to love me, out of all people. There's nothing special about me. I don't have the looks like Sirius, I don't have the strength like James, I'm not reliable like Peter. I'm not intelligent, I'm not brave. Yet you still chose to love me. You still chose to be by my side."
He continued, "you may not think that you're much, but in my eyes, you're my whole world. From your eyes, hair, smile, laugh, the way you giggle when I kiss you, your messy handwriting, your clumsiness. To your selflessness, the fire inside of you, your courage, your ability to listen, your tenderness, and your ability to keep on fighting-"
"-I know it's been a hard year for you. You've lost many people you love, yet you still manage to remain strong. You took Iris under your wing so she could have a proper future. You have a way of making me feel at peace, even when I'm at my worst. And I just want you to know that I love you, so bloody much and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
He got down on one knee and her heart started beating faster.
"There's just one more thing that I need from you. I know that this is probably too early, but we may not have much time left." He said.
He pulled a small black box out of his pocket and opened it.
A ring, an actual ring. It was rose gold, with small diamonds studded in the shape of leaves. It was beautiful, it must've costed a fortune. Ast gasped.
"Asteria Mabel Nott, will you... will you marry me?" He asked, staring hopefully at her.
"I...Yes...Yes!" She said, her whole body was trembling.
He broke into a smile and stood up. He threw his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. Tears of joy filled her eyes as he lifted her up and spun her around. He put Ast down and she brought their lips together. She melted into the kiss, feeling the same fireworks that erupted the first time they kissed all those years ago.
"I know it's not much," he said, pulling away and rubbing the back of his neck, "I'm sorry."
"Remus, I don't care if you bought me a plastic ring from the arcade. Material doesn't measure how much you love someone. It's beautiful anyway, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way." She assured.
The sun had almost fully set now. Stars were becoming visible and the moon was lighting up the sky.
She was getting married, to the person she loved the most in the world. She really wouldn't have had it any other way. He was perfect, even if he didn't see it himself. She was going to spending the rest of her life with him, and she couldn't wait.
"Seems like you rehearsed that speech," Ast teased.
"Oh my god Ast, I try to be romantic and you have to ruin it," he said.
"Sorry, Moon Moon," she said, pecking him on the lips.
She felt Remus shiver and he wrapped his jacket tighter. She took hers off and handed it to him.
"You're gonna get sick," he pointed out.
"Foxes are known to withstand the cold," Ast remarked.
"Yeah but you're not actually a fox,"
"So?"
"So-" he sighed, "come here,"
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, bathing her in his warmth. She conjured a blanket and placed it on the sand. They lied down on the blanket and looked up at the stars. The sky decided to be generous tonight. There was not a single cloud in sight.
"There's Pisces," Remus said, pointing to a constellation.
"Where's my zodiac?" She asked.
"Aries is right there," he pointed somewhere close to Pisces.
"Zodiacs are confusing, how can a bunch of stars tell us what our personality is?"
"Not only personality, but a bunch of others things too. For example, some signs are more likely to contract a medical disease or injury than others-"
"Sounds like a load of waffle to me,"
"Well, you've always been more of a down to earth sort of person,"
"Is that supposed to be an insult?"
"No, but let's just say that you lack imagination,"
"I do not!" She protested.
"Tell that to your poems," he scoffed.
"Okay so I may not be the best of poets,"
He looked at her with an eyebrow raised.
"Okay so I may not be a poet," she corrected herself. "But I do have an imagination."
"Yeah, which is a broad as a pea,"
"Alright that's it," she said, propping herself up on her knees. "You're asking for it."
She reached forward to go and tickle him but his hands caught her arms. He flipped her over and her back hit the ground. He climbed on top of her. His necklace of the sun that she bought him for his last birthday dangled over Ast. She panted as he leaned over her.
"Are you sure about that?" He smirked.
*****
"Asteria Lupin," Ast said, waving my ring hand around. "How does that sound?"
"Will you stop that," Lily said, pushing Ast's hand out of her face. "You've been going on about it for ages now."
"I'm getting married, Lily!"
"I know! And if you keep waving that hand in my face you won't be,"
Ast immediately pulled her hand away. She was right, Ast had been talking nonstop about her engagement. It had now been two days since Remus proposed. Ast had been prancing around showing her ring off to anyone who was in a ten meter vicinity. Sirius threatened to take it away from her if she kept doing it, which only made her annoy him more.
"So any idea of when it's gonna be?" Alice asked, cradling an asleep Neville in her arms.
"Nope, Remus says he wants to get a job and earn some money before getting married. We might not even have a big thing because of everything that's been going on."
Alice gave her a sympathetic smile, "you'll get your wedding Ast, don't worry."
"And I better be the bloody bridesmaid," Marlene piped up.
A revving sound could be heard from outside of the house, followed by a "Wahoo!". James and Sirius were out on the street, taking it in turns to ride the motorcycle.
"They're like children," Dorcas laughed.
"I know," Lily said, looking out through the window. "Sometimes I feel like Harry is more mature than James."
Remus entered the living room with Peter following. A line of hovering teacups trailed behind them and landed on the coffee table. The girls looked up and stared at him.
"What?" He asked, a blush creeping onto his neck, right next to a trail of hickeys that led down his shirt.
"Remus Lupin I swear to Merlin if you even think about hurting Ast, I'm taking you one-on-one, muggle style." Marlene warned, holding her fists up so as to show she was ready to fight.
"That's my girl," Dorcas said, staring lovingly at her girlfriend.
"But I didn't even do-" Remus began.
"One complaint from Ast and you're gone," Lily hissed.
"But I- Lily! You're supposed to be on my side," he protested.
"Sorry but the girls come first,"
Remus rolled his eyes and sat next to Ast. He obliviously took her hand and started playing with her ring, spinning it around her finger.
Iris waddled into the room, clutching her blanket and rubbing her eyes. She must've woken up from her nap. She startled at the sight of all the people in the room. She spotted her sister and padded over to Ast.
Iris crawled onto the sofa then onto Ast, resting her head on her chest. She brought her blanket closer towards her and slowly drifted off to sleep. The girls all cooed at Iris's cuteness. Remus held Asteria's tea for her so she could drink it without spilling it on Iris.
Two mops of wet hair entered the room. James and Sirius were dripping from head to toe in water.
"You're not getting my carpet wet," Ast warned.
The boys quickly took their wands out and dried themselves off. James then padded over to Lily and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Sirius squeezed in between Dorcas and Marlene, earning a scoff from the two of them.
"What?" Sirius asked, oblivious to Marlene's scoffing.
"You are one of the most annoying people I've ever met." Marlene said.
"Ah but you love me, don't you Marls?" Sirius said, slinging an arm around her shoulder.
"Unfortunately I do,"