It was now Halloween at Hogwarts. The candles, which once floated around the hall, had become jack'o lanterns and several giant pumpkins were behind the Professor table which Hagrid had proudly grown.
The Halloween feast was considered to be the best food the school served the students. There were ebony cauldrons filled with lollipops and chocolate frogs. The silver ghosts of the castle provided entertainment by flying around the hall doing flips.
Asteria sat at the end of the Hufflepuff table closest to the door with a single slice of pumpkin on it. Carefully, she lifted a spoonful up to her mouth. Although the elves in the kitchen were excellent chefs, Asteria found that the pumpkin pie was not as good as her mother's recipe which she had memorised off by heart.
Throughout the feast, she noticed Alice smiling at the Hufflepuff which made her awkwardly grin back and wave.
After the feast ended on the piles of food had been destroyed, Asteria headed back to her common room to get changed for the party which was taking place in the Room of Requirement, a place she wasn't familiar with.
She scanned through her wardrobe but couldn't find any costumes so she wore her usual knitted jumper with a pair of jeans which had been distressed due to the fact she constantly wore them.
During the day, the Professors has forced her to take her septum piercing but she would put it back in as soon as lessons ended. She then leaned in closer to her mirror to do her eyeliner which took a few attempts before she left for the Room of Requirement.
She walked into the room to see the crowds of dancing students and tables filled with bottles and cups which students stood by, filling up their cups.
Then James noticed the Hufflepuff walk into the room and wandered over. "Who invited you?" He asked as he glared at the girl with a look of disgust. "Alice," Asteria replied. "What's your costume?" The Gryffindor, who was dressed up as Filch, asked. "Oh, I don't have one." She replied.
"Boring," She overheard the boy mutter as he walked back to Sirius. Afterward, she headed over to a wooden table and picked up a clean cup, and poured a small amount of vodka in with the juice.
Suddenly, Alice hurried over and grabbed her hand which made her drop the cup on the floor as she dragged her over to Lily and Marlene who were dancing in the middle of the room but stopped when they saw her. "Why did you invite her?" Lily asked the brown-haired Gryffindor. "I just thought it would be nice," Alice replied.
"It's alright, I'll just head back to my dorm," Asteria announced, sensing the tension she had created. "Boo! Losing to a mudblood!" Random students shouted at the Hufflepuff as she started to walk away.
She quickly spun around, her fist clenched which she threw at the boy, hitting him in the nose. He started to stumble backward whilst holding onto his nose. "Um...thanks." Lily thanked. "For what?" Asteria asked. "Punching him for calling me a mudblood."
"I shouldn't be thanked for that. It was a decent person would do." She replied before turning around and leaving the Room of Requirement.
As she walked to her dormitory, she looked down and inspected her hand which was already starting to bruise with a slight cut. She then stopped at the kitchens to clean her hand in the sink.
Throughout the years, it became normal for her to clean her own injuries as a young child. She was extremely clumsy and would often fall over and needed to clean her own leg as her father didn't care for her at all.
After running her hand under the tap for a bit, she dried it and headed to the Hufflepuff common room at the end of the hallway. She tapped on the correct barrels in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff'.