The past week had felt so weird. Ast had gone from the loud and troublesome Marauders to the quiet and studious Lily and Snape. The latter would be great study partners but they were not her type. Lily had been trying to make Ast feel welcome, but Ast could tell that Snape really disliked her.
She had been trying to avoid wherever the Marauders were, deliberately leaving places if she saw them coming. She still couldn't get over the fact that Remus didn't stand up for her. She still saw them during classes and meals and they seemed to be doing fine without her.
"Lily I'm bored," Ast said.
They had been in the library for the past two hours much to Ast's dismay. Lily insisted that they should spend as much time as possible revising for their O.W.L.S, which were only a month away.
"Then what do you suggest we do then?" She asked, closing her book and turning towards Ast.
"Let's just say that I know a way to get into Honeydukes without getting caught."
Lily raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not doing that,"
She turned back to her book and opened it again. Ast leaned forward and grabbed the book from her.
"Hey!" Lily exclaimed.
"Lily come on, we've been in this library everyday for the past week, let's just have some fun."
"This is fun,"
Ast glared at her.
"Okay okay, but how will we get there?" She asked.
Ast brought her voice down to a whisper. "I may or may not know of a passage will lead us right into the cellar of Honeydukes."
Ast smirked, waiting for her to answer. Lily contemplated it for a few seconds. Then Lily smiled back.
*****
"Are you sure it's here?" Lily hisses.
"Yes, it's just down this corridor," Ast hissed back.
"Ast I really don't like this, and we're out of bed as well this is horrible."
"Shush or else we'll get caught,"
Footsteps echoed in the empty corridor. Ast shoved Lily behind a suit of armour and covered her mouth with her hand. Lily whimpered and Ast had to press her hand tighter against Lily's mouth to muffle any future sound. The footsteps grew louder. Ast held her breath and could feel Lily shaking next to her.
"Ast?" A familiar voice said.
A bright light appeared in front of their faces so she shielded it with her free arm. She realised that it was coming from a wand and the speaker came into the light.
"Ben?"
His full face came into view. His dark brown hair was all messed up and his blue eyes had dark circles underneath them. When he saw the two girls, he raisesd his eyebrow and an amused smile appeared on his face.
"Why do I always bump into you when you're up to no good?" He chuckled.
"I really don't know," Ast said, coming out from behind the suit of armour, pulling Lily with her.
Ben noticed Lily. "Well I never, a fellow prefect causing trouble,"
"You're a prefect?" Ast asked.
He pointed to a small badge on his robe. It was hard to make out but there was no denying what it was. She had seen the same style of badge on Remus and Lily countless times.
"Head boy? Impressive."
He smirked, but then his expression hardened.
"Ast I'm sorry about what the Prophet said about you, I want you to know that I believe you."
"Thanks, it seems that you and Lils are the only ones who do. Anyway, we're sneaking into Honeydukes, want to join?"
"Hell yes."
"I still feel like this is a bad idea." Lily interrupted.
"Quiet down, princess," Ast teased. "It's an adventure, it's good for you."
*****
Ever since Asteria left, it felt like a missing piece with all of the Marauders. It was funny how you can know someone for a short time yet they can leave a massive impact on your life. Her departure had affected Remus the most. He'd been sulking around the castle and dark circles had taken permanent residence underneath his eyes.
They messed up badly, Ast had been nothing but nice to them and they were too quick to judge. They had been trying to get her alone so they could apologise but the only time they ever saw her was during classes. And she always flew out the second they were over. Merlin knew where she'd been going.
"Remus, can you help me with this question?" Peter asked.
The four boys had been sitting by the lake for the past three hours doing homework. It seemed like every man and his dog were out there though.
"Yeah sure," Remus said, not sounding motivated at all.
James, who was doing his own homework, looked up at Remus in concern.
"Mate, did you even sleep last night?" He asked.
"Yes," Remus said, without hesitation.
"Remus we know you didn't,"
"Who cares anyway."
"We do," Sirius piped up.
"Yeah, Remus it's not your fault okay. Please stop blaming yourself," James urged.
But it was obvious that Remus wasn't listening. His eyes were fixed on something behind Sirius. Remus tensed up.
Sirius turned around to find Ast, Lily and that git, Ben, not far from them. Ben said something, causing them all to roar with laughter. There was a radio playing next to them and they were all dancing. Ben pulled Ast into a dance, spinning and twirling her around dangerously close to the edge of the lake.
Ast took a step too far and both of them fell into the lake. Lily almost peed herself from laughing when they both emerged from the lake soaking wet.
Sirius looked back at Remus. He was now glaring so hard at Ben it felt like he was about to shoot lazers at him from his eyes. Remus had always hated Ben, he never said it out loud, but the others could clearly tell. Every time he saw Ben with Ast, it filled him with so much rage and jealousy that he just wanted to hit Ben. He didn't like how they had been growing increasingly close and he especially didn't like how Ben looked at her.
James noticed them too. "Mate, they're probably just friends,"
"Yeah, and I would be fine with that, except for the fact that he's asked her out twice now," Remus spat.
Ben said something to them again, causing them to laugh even louder. Sirius had never seen Remus look so angry before, especially over a girl.
"Moony no!" Sirius shouted.
But it was too late, he had already stood up and was now walking towards them.
Ast turned to the source of the sound. The next thing she knew, Remus was walking up to her. He looked like he was about to kill someone. The other Marauders were calling out to him, telling him to come back but Remus didn't seem to notice their pleas.
"So you're with him now?" He asked, eyes ablaze, once he finally reached the three.
Ast stood up so she could get a good look at him. There were rings under his eyes and his face was extremely pale. His usual curious expression had been replaced by a grim one. His eyes however, meet hers with determination- and maybe jealousy.
"Finally noticed me have you?" Ast shot at him, folding her arms across her chest.
"What?"
"You heard me. You don't even look at me when I'm by myself, yet when I'm with Ben you somehow seem to notice me."
"Well you're the one who's always running away every time we try to talk to you!"
"And who's fault is that?"
Ast looked at him expectantly. When it seemed like he couldn't give her a sufficient answer, she walked back up to Lily and Ben.
"Let's go, I need to dry off," she said.
Ben, who was watching their little argument, pulled Lily up. He glared at Remus before packing his things away.
"Good one, Ast." Ben said, giving her a high five as they walked off in the opposite direction.
Remus, who was still standing there, took a deep breath. If Asteria didn't want anything to do with him, then he wasn't going to waste his time on her. Whether he was still longing for her or not.
*****
Mrs. Norris crept around the corner, causing Ast to almost jump out of her skin, Lily to gasp, and Ben to take a few steps backwards.
"I'm gonna kill that bloody cat," Ast muttered, drawing her wand out.
"Shush, Filch will hear you," Ben hissed, pushing her hand back down.
"I'll kill Filch too while I'm at it."
Lily and Ben both snorted. They covered their mouths to muffle any sound.
"Who's there?" Filch's voice rang down the hallway.
Ast's stomach dropped. She should've known, wherever Mrs. Norris was, Filch wouldn't be too far behind.
Ben pulled them through a door. Behind it was a narrow staircase. The steps led to another corridor. All the lights were out in this one so they lit their wands and tried to make their way through.
They walked down it in silence, trying to find their way out when Ast spotted something. The outline of a body was lying on the floor. She put her hands out to stop the other two from going any further. Had someone been murdered?
Ben walked forward, lowering his wand so he could see the figure better.
"It's a person," he said, kneeling down.
"Yeah no shit," Lily said, kneeling down next to him.
Lily's eyes widened, all colour drained from her face. "It's Remus."
Ast felt her heart sink.
"What?" She choked out.
Ast knelt down next to Ben and Lily, and just like she said, Remus was lying face up on the floor. He seemed to have fainted. Lily put her ear to his chest.
"He's alive," she said.
Ast let out a breath.
Something shiny caught her eye. She looked up at the window and found the moon gazing back at her. It was almost full. She put two and two together.
Remus usually felt weaker when it was almost his time of the month. His hormones also tended to go crazy, making his mood change constantly. It all added up.
"C'mon let's get him to Madam Pomfrey," Ast said, grabbing one of Remus's hands and pulling him up.
Ben grabbed his other hand and they both carried him to the hospital wing while Lily looked out for teachers. Madam Pomfrey met them at the hospital doors and ushered them in. They laid him down on one of the beds while Madam Pomfrey fussed over him.
"What happened to him?" She asked while surveying Remus.
"He fainted," Ast explained.
"Do you have any idea how?"
Ast thought for a second, how would she tell her about Remus's condition without letting the other two know? She tried shifting her gaze towards the moon then back to Madam Pomfrey without trying to look suspicious.
She seemed to understand, then said something about him needing a Pepper-up potion.
"I'm on it," Ben said, rushing towards the hospital's supply of potions and remedies.
He grabbed a goblet full of potion and placed it on the bedside table that was next to Remus's bed.
"What will I do without you Ben?" Madam Pomfrey asked, gazing fondly at Ben.
She turned to Ast. "Where did you find him?"
"Oh...um...we found him in... in the common room, and um, Ben was on prefect duty so he offered to help us," Ast lied.
Madam Pomfrey gave her a look, clearly not believing her. But she didn't press the matter.
"And this may have happened because of his um... condition," Ast whispered.
Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Yes that seems to be it,"
"Remus!" Lily exclaimed.
Ast turned to find Remus rubbing his eyes. He looked around the room curiously before laying his eyes on the four faces anxiously looking at him.
"Here mate," Ben said, giving him the potion. "This will help."
Remus muttered 'Thanks' and then took a swig of his potion. Colour instantly rushed back to his face and he looked more awake.
Madam Pomfrey asked if Remus needed anything else, to which he replied 'no', before heading back to her office. Leaving the three of them to take him back to the common room.
Ben dropped them just in front of the picture of the Fat Lady bidding them goodnight. Once inside, Lily dashed up to the dormitory, leaving Ast behind with Remus. She made to follow her but Remus stood in front of her.
"Asteria wait,"
"What do you want Remus?"
"I wanted to apologise, for not believing you and for my stunt earlier."
Ast took a step back and sighed. How come he wanted to apologise now? After he had a whole week to do it and only now had he realised that she was not a Death Eater.
"Oh-" She said.
"Listen, I know you're mad, and you have every reason to be. We were to quick to judge, you've done so much for us and then we go and accuse you of being a Death Eater. It's not right. So I'm sorry,"
She stayed silent, knowing that there was more to come from him.
"And I don't know why we accused you in the first place, I guess we were just shocked and-"
"Remus-"
"-And you didn't have to help me. I only fainted, nothing horrible-"
"Moon-"
"-It's okay if you don't forgive me, I understand. Well not really. But I can live with it. Okay that was a lie but-"
"MOONY!"
He jumped. Finally realising that he was rambling, a blush crept onto his cheeks. He lowered his head and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Sorry,"
"Relax, I forgive you dummy,"
"You do?"
"Unfortunately, I do. I always knew you lot were idiots. Anyway, I suggest that you get some rest."
"Yeah I probably should- wait, does this mean that we're back together?"
Ast nodded. "Now goodnight, Moony."
"Goodnight, Vix."
Lily was awake in bed when Ast arrived at her dorm.
"Thanks for leaving me behind." Ast said, lobbing a pillow at her.
*****
"What are you two idiots doing?" Remus asked.
"Shush Moony, we're trying to turn Snivellus's robes into Gryffindor ones," Sirius said.
Remus looked at Snape, who had been following Lily around the library for the past five minutes. A bit creepy really. When would Lily notice how much of a weirdo he was?
Remus put his hand to his temple. "You're not turning his robes into Gryffindor ones. Anyway Ast, you should read this,"
He handed her a copy of today's Daily Prophet.
Dorian Nott, brother of William Nott, caught two Death Eaters late last night. Dorian made a statement saying that he thought they were trying to break into his house in Bulgaria. He suspects that they wanted to get revenge on his brother, who was sent to Azkaban last week for murdering a muggle family. Dorian immediately alerted the auror office and they were sent to arrest the two Death Eaters-
Ast smiled. At least her family was okay, that was all that mattered. People were bound to believe that she was not a Death Eater now. She made a mental note to write to her parents later that day.
"That's good news," Sirius said, peering over her shoulder to read the paper. "I always knew you were innocent."
She raised her eyebrow at Sirius. "Really? Because just last week I'm sure you didn't want anything to do with me."
"We don't talk about that. Plus, let's focus on the matter at hand."
"You're not hexing his robes," Remus warned.
"C'mon Moony, you're no fun," Ast whined.
"You didn't let me finish. I was going to say, you're not going to do that because there's a spell to make his robes see-through."
"Ooh, do tell,"
He smirked and gave them the spell. Sirius suggested that Ast should do it since she was 'better' at spells. She aimed her wand and muttered the incantation. And sure enough, Snivellus's robes turned transparent. It took him a while to notice but when he did, he shrieked and ran out of the library.
Lily, who was deep into a book, looked up in confusion. She spotted Remus, Ast and Sirius lurking nearby and marched towards them, ready to chew them all out.
"Shit...Run," Sirius said.
They took off in the opposite direction. They bursted out in laughter as they ran down the corridors, causing passerbys to look on in confusion. They nearly collided into Peter and James as they ran past the Great Hall.
"Did you- did you see Snivellus?" James panted.
"You can thank Ast for that," Remus said proudly, ruffling up his girlfriend's hair.
"Well done Nott," James said, raising his eyebrows.
"Always the tone of surprise," she panted. "How's the map coming on?"
Peter pulled their map out of his cloak pocket and handed it to her. She tapped it with her wand and said "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." A blob of ink appeared on the map, which expanded to words saying:
Messrs Moony, Vixen, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs.
Are proud to present
The Marauders Map
"Wicked!" Ast said.
The map opened up to reveal Hogwarts, almost all of it was filled up except for the Ravenclaw side of the castle and a few blank spots here and there. Tiny dots were moving around the castle, each with their own name attached to them. She watched as their group of five dots stood by the Great Hall.
"Where's Snivellus at then?" James asked, peering over her shoulder to look at the map.
"He's already in the dungeons," Ast said. "You won't be able to catch up in time."
"Bugger."
"Let's head back to the common room before Lily finds us." Sirius said.
All five of them began walking. They arrived at the moving staircases, Remus and Sirius were in front while Ast, Peter and James lagged behind. Peter was looking nervous and he was constantly fidgeting with his fingers. James noticed and asked what was wrong.
"I've had a meeting with McGonagall..." he said. "About my grades."
"What about your grades?" Ast asked.
"They're not looking good, she said I might fail the year if I don't pick them up."
"What? But I thought you're doing fine in your classes." James said.
"It's my bloody Transfiguration and Defense classes that are bringing me down."
"Well, I'm quite good at Defense and James is good at Transfiguration, we could help you." Ast offered.
"I feel like an idiot though."
"Well you're not," James said sternly. "Your grades don't determine your success. And besides, if Ast and I help you then you'd get outstandings in all of your O.W.L.s!"
"I don't know James,"
"Well I do," Ast said. "You'll be excelling in no time."
They arrived at the common room. Peter was looking a little bit better but he was still feeling nervous. They all fell down onto the sofas and reclined back. Sirius's head was laying on Ast's lap and all was well until the common room door swung open. Alice and Lily came bursting through looking for Ast.
"What on-" Ast began.
"Dorcas and Marlene are dating!" Alice exclaimed.
A/N: hey everyone! I apologise for the lack of updates again. I keep saying I'll try to have a consistent schedule but I always end up neglecting it. Anyways I started college a few days ago and I've been busy making new friends and getting settled into my classes so hopefully once I've sorted out a routine I can actually start uploading more.
Anyways stay safe + love y'all <3