ASTRA AND LUNA THEN split up from the others, heading to their next classes. She was quite aware that she had left the group in an air of mystery, like she often did.
The Arithmancy class was a bit boring, especially with many people staring at her at times, yet she simply remained focused on Professor Vector's lecture. She headed in the direction of the dungeons, but ran into Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Cho Chang along the way.
"Is that a Tornados badge?" demanded Ron, pointing to a sky-blue badge on Cho's robes. It confused Astra how Ron was apparently so serious about this topic, as she really had no preference. After years of hearing Regulus and James argue, with the occasional input of Marlene, Dorcas, and the Prewett twins, and then a summer with Ginny, an avid Harpies supporter, she had already heard every argument.
"You don't support them, do you?"
"Yeah, I do," said Cho.
"Have you always supported them, or just since they started winning the league?" said Ron, in what Astra considered an unnecessarily accusatory tone of voice.
"I've supported them since I was six," said Cho coolly. "Anyway . . . see you, Harry."
As soon as Cho was out of earshot, Astra chuckled, bringing the others' attention to her. "Really? You don't argue with your best mate's crush about a quidditch team!"
Harry flushed bright red, and Hermione frowned at Ron, as if about to say the same thing. Ron grinned and glanced at Harry to Astra. "Oi, Astra, what Quidditch team do you-"
Harry nearly tackled him to the ground.
Astra rolled her eyes, and Hermione sighed, crossing her arms.
They eventually got up after having a sort of silent argument, even though Ron looked like he was definitely joking. However, that allowed Hermione to round on Ron, leaving them walking to class with the friends' bickering.
They filed into the dungeons' classroom to their usual table at the back.
"Morning, Professor Snivellus," Astra said peppily, a normal routine that she had started at the beginning of every Order meeting during the summer.
It infuriated him.
Which made Astra very happy.
"Settle down," said Snape coldly, shutting the door behind him. "Before we begin today's lesson," said Snape, sweeping over to his desk and staring around at them all, "I think it appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an 'Acceptable' in your OWL, or suffer my... displeasure."
His gaze lingered on Neville, who gulped.
"After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me," Snivellus went on. "I take only the very best into my NEWT Potions class, which means that some of us will certainly be saying goodbye."
His eyes rested on Harry this time and his lip curled. Astra felt a small moment of pride, knowing she would continue taking potions, not only because of its use in the upcoming war, but partly out of spite for Snape, who would surely hate having her in his class.
"But we have another year to go before that happy moment of farewell," said Snape softly, "so, whether or not you are intending to attempt NEWT, I advise all of you to concentrate your efforts upon maintaining the high pass level I have come to expect from my OWL students. Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. Be warned: if you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients you will put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep, so you will need to pay close attention to what you are doing."
On Astra's right, Hermione sat up a little straighter, her expression one of utmost attention.
"The ingredients and method--" Snape flicked his wand, "--are on the blackboard--" they appeared, "You will find everything you need--" he flicked his wand again, "--in the store cupboard,--" and the door of the said cupboard sprang open. "You have an hour and a half... start."
Just as Astra had predicted, Snape could hardly have set them a more difficult, fiddly potion. The ingredients had to be added to the cauldron in precisely the right order and quantities; the mixture had to be stirred exactly the right number of times, firstly in clockwise, then in anti-clockwise directions; the heat of the flames on which it was simmering had to be lowered to exactly the right level for a specific number of minutes before the final ingredient was added.
Even Astra could say that it was a bit more tricky than usual.
"A light silver vapour should now be rising from your potion," called Snape, with ten minutes left to go.
Astra smirked proudly as her potion was doing just that. However, looking around, not everyone was as lucky.
Harry's cauldron was issuing copious amounts of dark grey steam; Ron's was spitting green sparks. Seamus was feverishly prodding the flames at the base of his cauldron with the tip of his wand, as they seemed to be going out. Hermione's looked quite similar to Astra's if anything a tiny bit darker.
As Snape swept by, he looked down his hooked nose at their potions without comment, which meant he could find nothing to criticize.
At Harry's cauldron, however, Snape stopped, and looked down at it with a horrible smirk on his face.
"Potter, what is this supposed to be?"
The Slytherins at the front of the class all looked up eagerly; they loved hearing Snape taunt Harry. Astra felt slightly bad, but had to admit that she was still proud of her own concoction.
"The Draught of Peace," said Harry tensely.
"Tell me, Potter," said Snape softly, "can you read?"
Draco laughed.
"Yes, I can."
"Read the third line of the instructions for me, Potter."
"'Add powdered moonstone, stir three times counter-clockwise, allow to simmer for seven minutes then add two drops of syrup of hellebore.'"
Astra supposed that he hadn't added the syrup of hellebore, which was part of the reason that his was a matte, smoky, dark color, rather than a glimmery silver.
"Did you do everything on the third line, Potter?"
"No," said Harry very quietly.
"I beg your pardon?"
"No," responded Harry, more loudly. "I forgot the hellebore."
"I know you did, Potter, which means that this mess is utterly worthless. Evanesce."
The contents of Harry's potion vanished; he was left standing foolishly beside an empty cauldron.
"Those of you who have managed to read the instructions, fill one flagon with a sample of your potion, label it clearly with your name and bring it up to my desk for testing," said Snape. "Homework: twelve inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion-making, to be handed in on Thursday."
Astra did exactly that, however, she wasn't surprised by what happened next.
Because if there was one person that Snape hated just as much as Harry, it was Astra. And she knew that she hadn't necessarily done anything to make that better, only making him hate her more.
As soon as she placed the vile on the desk, a larger potion bottle next to it fell over, spilling her draught all over the floor. She could have sworn she saw Snape's wand move.
"How unfortunate," Snape drawled, but Astra smirked.
"No worries, dear Professor, I have another vial. I would hate for you to mark me lower just because of a simple mishap."
She placed the second vile on the table, tightening the cork on it an extra time, and pulled out her wand. "Evanesce," and the mess was gone.
"See ya, Professor Snivellus!"
***
After Potions came Divination, a class that Astra was at least partly excited for. Was Professor Trelawney the most competent teacher? No. Was the room filled with Divination supplies that could possibly give Astra another vision? Yes. Even though she would prefer not to get one, as it would most likely prove someone's future death.
She took a seat on a plushy chair, soon joined by Harry, who seemed in a grumpy mood. She didn't say anything until Ron sat next to them.
"Hermione and me have stopped arguing," he said.
"Good," grunted Harry.
"But Hermione says she thinks it would be nice if you stopped taking out your temper on us," said Ron.
"I 'm not--"
"Yeah, you are," added Astra. "We're on your side. Snape's always been a git, and soon enough, everyone will believe you, even Seamus and Lavender."
Ron nodded in agreement.
"I never said you weren't -"
"Good day," said Professor Trelawney in her usual misty, dreamy voice, and Harry broke off.
"And welcome back to Divination. I have, of course, been following your fortunes most carefully over the holidays, and am delighted to see that you have all returned to Hogwarts safely--as, of course, I knew you would. You will find on the tables before you copies of The Dream Oracle, by Inigo Imago. Dream interpretation is a most important means of divining the future and one that may very probably be tested in your OWL. Not, of course, that I believe examination passes or failures are of the remotest importance when it comes to the sacred art of divination. If you have the Seeing Eye, certificates and grades matter very little. However, the Headmaster likes you to sit the examination, so..."
Her voice trailed away delicately, leaving them all in no doubt that Professor Trelawney considered her subject above such sordid matters as examinations.
"Turn, please, to the introduction and read what Imago has to say on the matter of dream interpretation. Then, divide into pairs. Use The Dream Oracle to interpret each other's most recent dreams. Carry on."
Astra glanced around. Dean paired up with Seamus, Lavender with Parvati, and Ron was obviously going to be with Harry. She got up and crossed the room.
"Hello, Neville."
"Hi, Astra," he said quietly. She had to say, he had improved greatly from their first year charms lesson, when he would only stutter and run away from her. She wouldn't say they were necessarily friends, but they were close enough for being two Gryffindors in the same year.
With that, Neville launched into explanation about a nightmare he had including a large pair of scissors and his grandmother's hat.
"Well, um.. maybe there's significance in the hat?"
"No," Neville mumbled bashfully, "It's just random things that are scary, y'know? Probably talking about how I don't belong in Gryffindor." He said the last sentence so quietly that Astra almost didn't hear it.
"What do you mean you don't belong in Gryffindor?" she asked bemusedly; She didn't spend much time with him, but she knew he was definitely one of the bravest in Gryffindor.
"Nothing, nothing!" he quickly said, flipping a page in his book. "No," Astra put her hand on the book, making him stop flipping through the pages. "What makes you think you don't belong in Gryffindor?"
"Just that I'm not brave, that's all -"
"What do you mean you're not brave?!"
"I just -"
"No," said Astra firmly. "Do you remember what your boggart was?"
Neville's brows furrowed, and he looked at Astra confusedly, wondering where this was going. "It was... Snape.."
"Yeah, that means your greatest fear is Snape, right?"
Neville nodded.
"And you still take Potions, don't you?"
"Potions is required," Neville answered, but he nodded.
"Which means that you face your greatest fear every day. Doesn't it?"
Neville's eyes widened in realization, but he shook his head. "It's a foolish fear, though -"
"Being brave isn't having no fears or only being scared of dragons or whatnot -"
"You aren't scared of dragons, though."
Astra paused for a moment. No, she wasn't scared of dragons. She wasn't scared of spiders or mermaids or dangerous trees... She wasn't even scared of death. She guessed that was what happened when she knew there were no consequences of it. Her greatest fear was... it had been abandonment, hadn't it? And then it had been the dementor's kiss for her father. Not usual fears, she supposed, but they were still there, and she lived in the fear of her father being on the run every day. That was what made her brave, wasn't it? That was what put her in Gryffindor.
"I'm not," she said, "Just because my fears are deeper doesn't mean that they're any more important. What I'm saying is, that you face Snape every day, which makes you brave. One of the bravest in Hogwarts. Don't doubt yourself, Neville."
Neville nodded shakily and Astra finally let him flip the page, changing the topic. "Well, yesterday, I had a dream of..." she obviously wouldn't say Regulus, who she had missed more than ever, "Of a hippogriff, except it had bright red streaks in its feathers."
Neville chuckled, and they continued with their Dream Oracles.
Harry had to get snapped back into reality from staring in their direction, wondering if he had anything to be jealous of, before he realized that he wasn't in any place to be jealous anyway.
He had only overheard part of the conversation, but a part of him was thinking deeply about it now.
Brave? Him? No, he wasn't even brave enough to ask Astra out to Hogsmeade.
A/N: Heyyy!! Thanks for 80K reads!!!! Been trying to get out of writer's block, a bit hard, but I really liked this chapter.
Love the Neville and Astra bonding, they're a really great friendship, and I sort of had this scene planned out for a while, so I was really excited to write it!
Also, I feel like I'm running out of chapter titles... The Divination Class, The Divination Lesson, but still trying to keep them different :))