♢
"Snowballs!" Marlene exclaimed the next morning at breakfast, grinning as she looked at the girls surrounding her. Mary had skipped breakfast in order to get ahead of schoolwork, not wanting to fall behind in classes, while Dorcas was seated with her brother at the Ravenclaw table (for the time being), which left Marlene alone with Lily and Asteria. The three girls had been rapidly spitting out ideas for their future prank, craving for a manner in which to incite revenge against the boy who had stolen the other half of Asteria's soul.
"What about snowballs?" Asteria asked dejectedly, tiredly sipping on her pumpkin juice. The entire morning had consisted of Marlene saying random words and calling them ideas, a feat which soon got not only on Asteria's nerves, but on Lily's as well. The two loved Marlene to death, but the girl was a morning person and accidentally found herself irking Asteria, who was, in fact, not a morning person.
"We can enchant them so they'll follow Avery around wherever he goes!" Marlene continued, a happy smile on her face.
"You know, that's actually not a terrible idea," Lily looked up from her jam, the mischievous smile returning to her face.
"For once," Asteria teased, to which Marlene only rolled her eyes and stuffed her mouth with eggs. "Do you happen to know said charm, Marls?"
The fork froze in Marlene's hand as she slowly turned around to face Asteria. "Er..." Marlene only sheepishly smiled, putting the forkful of omelette into her mouth.
"I'm sure we could easily find it," Lily waved her off, tapping her chin as she thought of the charm. Her expression quickly soured as her eyes landed on something behind Asteria and Marlene, but the cause was quickly explained when a familiar voice sounded behind them.
"Good morning, ladies," James slipped into a seat beside Lily, much to her dismay. The other three boys followed, Sirius sitting on James' other side, giving Asteria a small smile (which she gingerly returned), while Peter sat beside Marlene. Remus took a seat beside Asteria and gave her a side hug, grimacing slightly when her elbow bumped into his sight. Asteria thought nothing of it, for the moment.
"Long time no see, eh?" James asked.
"NO!" Marlene suddenly exclaimed, jumping up to her legs. "I spent... the entire holidays listening to you, James Potter, and, as entertaining as it was, I can't handle it anymore. I cannot!" Her dramatic statement was one that caused the boys, especially James, to laugh and shake their heads as she stomped away. Lily and Asteria simply exchanged a confused glance, though Asteria vaguely remembered Marlene complaining about James' theatrics over the holidays. Ironic, given that the two of them were the most dramatic people Asteria knew - other than herself, of course.
"You broke her, James," Asteria remarked with a grin, but it took James a moment to respond. He was much too in shock at the fact that she had willingly spoken to him, as if she wanted to hold an actual conversation and not simply yell at him for Merlin knows what. In fact, all four boys and Lily stared at her with surprise painted all over their features, but Asteria paid it no mind. She continued to lather her toast with butter, laughing slightly at her own joke.
"I don't blame 'er, though, all James did was complain the entire two weeks," Peter chimed in, his voice still wobbly but much more confident. Clearly, spending so much time around the boys had caused his self-esteem to increase, which Asteria was glad about; there was something about the boy that intrigued her, and she was happy to see him becoming more sure of himself.
"How in the world did you make it through the holidays?" Sirius asked Peter, widening his eyes to comical proportions as he shaped his mouth into an O. James reddened but all those around him laughed, staring at the scene with a delighted air.
"I didn't," Peter chuckled, before being interrupted by yet another James monologue.
"It was..." finally, James decided to play along, pretending as if he and Sirius were long lost lovers, "... really hard without seeing you everyday, my love." He reached up and placed his hand on Sirius' shoulder, aggressively blinking his eyes to stimulate tears. "Never leave me again, not for such a long time!"
"Sweetheart, I wouldn't dream of it!" Sirius batted his long, dark eyelashes at James, bringing his hand to rest atop James' on his shoulder. James laughed bashfully, bringing his free hand to cover his mouth as he did so. The two boys weren't being very quiet with their antics, and as more onlookers gathered, James played his acting up some more, aiming for laughter - which he very well received. Eventually, Sirius broke away, standing up and giving a little bow, which James followed. Their small audience laughed but clapped, before soon returning to their breakfasts. Instead of saying anything, however, Asteria only laughed.
"You two are ridiculous," Lily shook her head, but she was smiling as she began packing up her things beside Asteria. The little scene had brightened Lily's mood, who had previously been sulking because of a lack of sleep as well as stress from coming up with ideas to prank Avery. She needed an outlet in which to let out her anger, given that the holidays had been nothing but stressful occasion after another; what with her sister still being a git and her parents incessantly hovering about her and making sure that Hogwarts was going well, Lily was feeling rather suffocated. Pranking Avery would be precisely what she needed to feel more relaxed. Evidently, she had been hanging out with Asteria far too much; it's concerning when it comes to a point where pranking is a way of coping.
"I want to get to Potions early," Asteria said to Remus and Lily once the conversation had lulled to a natural stop. "I've got a few questions I want to ask Slughorn."
This was the first time the three of them had had a proper chance to converse, a chance which Asteria was happy to finally have. She was excited to discuss The Catcher in the Rye, which she had only recently gotten a chance to read but had enjoyed very much. Remus had sent the book to her as a present, to entertain her while she was locked away like Rapunzel in her tower. A thoughtful gift, one that Asteria had scarfed down in a matter of hours.
"Questions?" Lily asked in confusion, yet nonetheless began to pack up her things.
Remus chuckled but followed as well, standing up with a bit of effort, but knowing that this was Asteria's wordless way of asking him to walk to class with her. "We had no homework over the holidays, what could you possibly have questions about?"
Asteria withdrew a book from her bag, grinning. On it was a detailed drawing of a cauldron and various potions, giving the assumption of it being a potions book. "I did some light reading," she explained, stuffing the book under her arm.
"Of all subjects, I don't understand why it's potions that you're so enthralled by," Lily stated, slinging her bag over her shoulder as she got up from the table, Asteria following suit. James, Sirius, and Peter looked up, as if confused as to where they were going - which they were, considering they had been deep in their own conversation and were not paying attention to anyone else.
"We'll see you in class," Asteria gave a small wave to them, which caused Lily and even Remus to look at her incredulously. She was clearly making an effort to be nicer, for whatever reason. James had initially thought she was looking for a way to trick them, but Sirius had convinced him that was not the case. He believed that Asteria was simply trying to be nicer, with no ulterior motives. Which was something he was happy about. Thus, Sirius and James waved back at the girl, while Peter did so as well but in a much more eager manner. Asteria couldn't help but stifle a giggle as Lily and Remus followed her out of the Great Hall, both of which were staring, surprised, at her.
"You act like I've committed some sort of heinous crime," Asteria rolled her eyes, getting sick of their staring. Who knew that her trying to become a better person would cause her friends to be so surprised? Frankly, Asteria couldn't help but feel offended - she wasn't that rude of a person, not really.
"It's just rather strange to see you acting so friendly with them," Remus explained, breathing heavier than normal as he tried to keep up with Asteria and Lily's quick pace. "We've gotten... used to your constant little fights with them, that's all."
Every word seemed to be an effort for Remus, and being the great friend she was, Asteria couldn't help but notice. She stopped in her tracks, turning around and setting her hands on Remus's shoulders. "You alright?"
"M'fine," he brushed her off, then grimaced as Asteria patted his shoulder comfortingly. Both girls exchanged a look with each other, dots connecting as they remembered Remus's mysterious illness. A telepathic conversation ensued between Asteria and Lily, in which it was decided the blonde would drag Remus, against his will if she had to, to the Hospital Wing.
"I'm taking you to see Pomfrey," Asteria said, shaking her head when she saw Remus begin to protest.
"You'll be late to Potions," he grimaced again as they descended another flight of stairs, which Asteria noticed.
"Slughorn likes me, he'll let me off easy," her words were said confidently, but Asteria wasn't so sure. But, she was willing to risk detention if her friend's health was at stake.
"You know how stubborn she can be, just go with her," Lily added, crossing her arms. "Besides, we don't want you passing out in Potions. I'm sure you won't learn much if you're unconscious."
Remus faltered, before sighing and nodding. "Yeah, alright. Let's go."
The trek to the Hospital Wing took much longer than it usually would, with Remus leaning upon Asteria's shoulder for practically the entire way there. Every step extracted a heavy breath from the boy, only increasing Asteria's need to get him to the Hospital Wing as soon as possible. With the doors coming into sight, Asteria grabbed his shoulder and practically pulled Remus into the room, before settling him into a cot and going to find Madame Pomfrey.
"My friend, Remus Lupin, he's feeling a bit under the weather-" the blonde started, entering Pomfrey's office.
"Remus? Ah, yes, he's erm... due for his checkup," the nurse stated, grabbing something from one of the drawers in her desk and allowing Asteria to lead her to Remus. "Thank you, young lady, I can take it from here. Get to class!"
"You sure you'll be alright?" Asteria turned her attention to Remus, deigning not to leave until she was sure he wasn't in pain. He nodded, and Asteria made her way back down to Potions.
♢
"I can't believe he gave me detention!" Asteria wouldn't stop complaining at dinner, given that her good deed had been rewarded with a detention. "He wouldn't even listen to my explanation - I was trying to be a good friend! But no, Slughorn is biased and hates friendships. Maybe he just doesn't want me to have friends! That has to be-"
"For the love of god, Asteria, shut up," Sirius finally interrupted, looking up from a few seats down. The table immediately quieted down, waiting for Asteria to fire something right back at the Black heir. Instead, however, she simply narrowed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him.
"Anyways, as I was saying," she continued, causing Sirius to roll his eyes and return back to his conversation with James - who wasn't even paying attention to him, but to the redhead girl next to him. "I was supposed to talk to him about what I read over our break, and I thought I'd have a chance to - but nope! 'Detention, Ms Grey, come see me after dinner.' The audacity of that man!"
"I'm going to throw pie at you if you don't quit complaining," Sirius tried again, but before he could have a chance to say anything, pudding covered his face instead. Asteria giggled, placing her pudding cup down and standing up.
"Well, I'm off! See you guys later!" a wicked smile remained on her face as she looked at the pudding dripping off of Sirius' chin, and she quickly scurried out of the Great Hall to the dungeons before he could retaliate.
"Yes, alright, I deserved that," the long-haired boy wiped the food off his face with a handkerchief, before glaring at everyone who was laughing at him. "I hate you all."
Asteria was long out of the Great Hall by then, quickly making her way down to the dungeons. She was dreading having to spend the next two hours scrubbing cauldrons, and remained furious that Slughorn had actually assigned her detention. Part of her simply believed that the old professor wanted someone to clean them for him, and had used her tardiness as an excuse.
The halls were practically empty as the young girl made her way down to the dungeons, an incredibly rare occurrence. Asteria sulked the entire way there, wanting nothing more than to aid Marlene and Lily in their research for the snowball charm; however, she was stuck in the dungeons for the majority of the evening. Upon entering the Potions classroom, the blonde immediately rearranged her features into a smile. Despite her sour mood, she still wanted Slughorn to like her, as he did teach her favorite subject.
"Ah, Ms Grey!" Slughorn exclaimed, ushering her into this classroom. "I have work to attend to, but I would appreciate it if you took care of these cauldrons here. Once you're done, you're free to go."
Asteria looked at the assembled cauldrons. There were only three. Immediately, her mood lifted, as she knew the chore would take her no more than thirty minutes. She nodded at the professor, who then immediately left, and got right to work.
A mere twenty minutes later, Asteria was brushing her hands off. She looked back at her handiwork, the cauldrons gleaming, so polished she could see her reflection in it. Gathering her things, Asteria left the classroom in a hurry, rushing up to the library where she knew she'd find her friends pouring over books.
"Asteria!" she suddenly heard a high-pitched voice exclaim from behind her. She immediately whirled around, eyes brightening when she saw it was precisely the two girls she was looking for.
"You got out early," Lily stated, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
"We were just on our way to help you, so you could get out early. We found the charm!" Marlene explained, grinning excitedly, "Now come on, no time to waste. Avery's in the courtyard," Marlene grabbed Asteria's hand before the latter could say anything, dragging the three of them outside.
"You scare me sometimes, Marls," Asteria said, out of breath, as they reached a stop behind a tree. In the distance, she could spot Avery and Mulciber whispering to each other - probably about who their next victim would be. Magnolia was nowhere to be seen, and Asteria only hoped the raven-haired Slytherin was in her dorm.
"Shh," Marlene waved her off, narrowing her eyes as she glared at the offending Slytherin. "This is for you, Magnolia. Ready, Lils?"
The two girls exchanged a look, Asteria merely standing back and observing. With a muttered incantation, a flurry of snowballs left their wands and began their attack on the two boys. The Slytherins yelped, clearly startled, and attempted to run away from the snowballs - but they only multiplied, following Avery wherever he ran and covering him head to toe in snow. Asteria could barely hold her giggling in, but Marlene had already sprawled out on the floor, laughing like there was no tomorrow.
Deeming the snow on the ground to be the cause of the snowballs - clearly, the two boys were not Ravenclaws - Avery and Mulciber retreated into the castle. Waiting a moment so as not to be suspected, the three girls followed after them, keeping their giggles quiet as they recast the charm over and over again. Avery cursed at the snowballs, punching each one as it appeared, but to no avail. Mulciber had given up a long time, letting the snowballs hit his back.
"Whoever's responsible for this, you're gonna regret it!" Avery exclaimed into the empty corridors. "My father will hear about this!"
Asteria snickered, before a snowball dropped on her head. Then another.
"What the-" her voice was cut off by a mountain of snow dumped on her, Lily, and Marlene's heads. The girls looked up, eyes widening when they saw a ghost-like being floating above them. It shrieked in joy, before coming down so it was at eye level with them.
"Are you laddies the ones responsible for the snowballs?" it asked them, getting real close and personal. Asteria hesitantly nodded. "Wonderful! A magnificent prank if I've ever seen one. Here, let me help you."
Without waiting for a response, the ghost flew away, holding snow in its arms and dumping it on Avery and Mulciber. The boys exclaimed in protest, shaking their fist at the ghost as it flew away.
"ALL HAIL PEEEEEVES!" the ghost's voice echoed throughout the hallway, cackling as he disappeared into a distance.
Asteria blinked in confusion, wondering what that was all about. The ghost had disappeared as soon as it had appeared, frustrating the Slytherins even more and causing even more chaos. However, none of the girls appreciated the snow that now dampened their clothes. Asteria brushed the snow out of her hair, scrunching up her nose at how freezing it was.
"What the bloody hell was that?" Marlene asked, voicing all of their thoughts. Asteria shrugged, but her eyes widened when she made direct eye contact with Maximus Avery.
"Run."
Without saying anything else Asteria took off in a sprint. Marlene and Lily faltered for a second, but quickly followed after their blonde friend when they heard the exclamation of anger that Avery had let out.
"That's right, Grey, run with your little friends!" Avery yelled after them, running as fast as he could. He tried to cast spells but neither his aim or skill were up to par; he missed every time. Asteria shrieked in joy, skillfully dodging every spell he cast, a wide smile on her face. Trying to throw the Slytherins off their tracks, Asteria grabbed Marlene and Lily's hands and ducked behind a tapestry, holding her breath as the boys ran by with absolutely no suspicions. She exchanged a look with her two friends, biting her lip to stop from laughing.
"We've got a target on our backs now, don't we?" Lily whispered, and Asteria merely nodded.
"Worth it," she said.
"So worth it," Marlene added.
Finally, after hiding for quite some time, the girls deemed it safe to return to their common room. The walk was brisk, as they didn't want to risk bumping into Avery or any of his posse on their way there. The entire way back, the girls whispered amongst themselves, a giggle echoing throughout the corridors every now and then. This was perhaps their favorite prank so far, mostly because it was revenge, and there was nothing Asteria loved more than revenge on those who had wronged her or her friends.
"Did you see the look on his face?" Marlene laughed as they walked into the common room. All three girls had the widest smiles on their faces, giggling as they recalled the look of utter shock on Avery's face. "Merlin, I wish I had a camera with me."
"Why are the three of you covered in snow?" Sirius asked, looking up as the girls walked in. James and Peter were sitting beside him, of course, while Remus was presumably still in the hospital wing.
"We got Avery back," Asteria replied simply, making her way up the stairs to the girl's dormitory. A look of pure victory, pride, accomplishment was present on the girl's face; it was as if she had defeated an enemy. Which in some way, she had. Avery had been a plague on Magnolia since the beginning of the year, and in turn, had been a plague on Asteria. His presence stole from the blonde's ability to hang out with her friend, and she prayed that the prank would cause him to back off. In truth, she knew it had only enraged him; nevertheless, she had no regrets. Avery had it coming.
Marlene had already bounded ahead, tired due to the day's activities, but Asteria faltered. "I think Remus is still in the hospital wing," she said, pursing her lips, "I'm going to check on him."
"I'll come with," Lily said, making her descend down the stairs once more.
Fortunately, the boys didn't notice Asteria or Lily leaving this time, too distracted with planning their next prank. Sometimes, Asteria thought that was all they do - play pranks on other students, serve detention. There was seldom a time she saw them actually working on homework. That is, other than Remus, who preferred the company of books and the library over anything else. For that reason, he remained her favorite of the four.
"What was that creature that dumped the snow on us?" Lily spoke up, pulling Asteria out of her thoughts. "It came out of literally nowhere - it scared me!"
"My brother told me about a couple of the ghosts that haunt Hogwarts," Asteria dramatically stroked her chin, thinking, "He mentioned his name as he disappeared, didn't he? Peebes, I think?"
"Peebes?" Lily scrunched up her eyebrows. "What a strange name- AAAHH!"
The ghost had appeared out of nowhere, once again, and had smacked Lily's head with a broom. "My name is PEEVES, silly girl! What kind of a name is Peebes? Sounds like pubes!"
Asteria blinked.
Lily blinked.
Peeves cackled. "Remember my naaaaame!" he yelled, throwing the broom at them as he disappeared once again.
"What in the absolute hell," Asteria deadpanned. They were near the Hospital Wing at this point, but Asteria simply stood there for a minute in shock. "Where did that thing even come from?"
Lily shrugged, rubbing her head. "He's mean," she commented, "why'd he have to hit me with a broom?"
"No clue," Asteria shook her head, before pushing open the doors to the Hospital Wing. The two girls immediately spotted Remus, who looked like death. He was sleeping, breathing peacefully, but his face lacked color and he had bandages all over his body. The bags under his eyes were deep and dark, the scar on his face seeming more prominent. Asteria's eyes widened with worry and she immediately sat down beside him, Lily on the other side.
"He needs rest," Madame Pomfrey spoke up, approaching when she saw the two girls enter. "It's been a long day for him."
"What happened?" Asteria asked softly, looking up with nothing but innocence in her eyes. Madame Pomfrey sighed.
"He's just sick, that's all," the witch answered, "I'm sure he appreciates your concern for him, Ms-?"
"Grey," Asteria said. "I'm Asteria Grey and this is Lily Evans."
Lily waved in greeting. Madame Pomfrey nodded in understanding before walking away, seemingly to return to her office. The blonde grabbed Remus's hand, squeezing it in an attempt to comfort him. Instead, he just woke up.
"How are you feeling?" Asteria asked quietly, as soon as Remus pried open his eyes. He tried to sit up, breathing heavily with the effort, each movement taking an incredible amount of effort. Asteria tried to stop him but the boy was adamant, until eventually he was able to sit normally.
"Why are you here?" he whispered, the words clearly hard to muster.
"To check up on you, of course," Lily answered, smiling brightly.
"You look horrible," Asteria commented, which elicited a slap from Lily.
"I feel like it, too," Remus said, yawning. He was barely able to hold his eyes open.
The three of them sat in silence for a moment, letting Remus rest. In truth, the boy was grateful to simply have company; no words needed to be exchanged, and Asteria holding his hand provided a sense of comfort. It kept him grounded, preventing his mind from flying to other dimensions. He was able to exist now and in the present.
Asteria and Lily remained until Pomfrey came to kick them out. They protested, of course, having been in the midst of a splendid conversation with Remus. However, he was growing tired; his eyes were droopy, and he was taking long to utter a single word. Pomfrey claimed that he needed his rest, and begrudgingly, the two girls agreed. They promised to be back first thing tomorrow morning, though Remus prayed he'd be out before then.
"Feel better, Remmy," was the last thing Asteria said to him, before leaving the hospital with Lily in tow.
✧･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
a/n: this isn't my best chapter i KNOWW :( but good news !! we're nearing the end of first year... only 5 more chapters to go !! im so excited u guys have no idea how much i have planned HAHA
also thank u for 1k views :) it makes my day to know people are actually reading this and im not just writing into a void HAHA