☽☽☽
"MARLENE THINKS IT'S WEIRD" Dorcas complained as the two of them walked down to the outskirts of the forest, "I tried to explain it was just because of how I presented myself but I don't think she believed me"
"That doesn't mean she'll figure it out" Athena assured her friend, "there could be thousands of other reasons why that was your boggart".
"Yeah but none that she'll believe".
Remus and Mary were walking a way in front of them with their hands entwined. Athena had decided to believe her friends story about being afraid of the dark because he'd made the promise. Sure she'd broken a promise before but she didn't expect him to.
Behind them walked Sirius, James and Lily. Peter and Marlene didn't take care of magical creatures as they instead took arithmancy which sounded dreadfully boring. It was the study of numbers and the use of these to predict the future but Athena believed she had enough predictions made in divination.
Professor Kettleburn was already waiting outside of the forest, he was a peculiar teacher with blonde hair and an extravagant moustache. However the most interesting thing about him may be the fact that he had two mechanical limbs where his right leg and left arm used to be.
He never talked about how he lost them however it was presumed that it had something to do with his obsession for dangerous beasts.
It was also a well known fact that he cared a lot more about the animals than the students.
As the group piled together Athena finally noticed that there were three of the skeletal black horses standing rustling their leathery wings in the sunlight.
Despite seeing them every year since she started school, Athena still didn't know anything about these horses, though she found them completely fascinating.
"They're weird aren't they" Athena laughed to Dorcas who just frowned at her in confusion,
"Who?"
"The horses" Rena laughed as she pointed at the clearing where they were standing.
"Where are the horses?" Mary asked as she turned around,
"Remus tell your girlfriend to stop being an idiot" Athena laughed and Mary seemed quite disgruntled,
"Rena" Remus drowned, "there are no horses?"
"Yes there are they are right there" Athena snapped,
"Well nobody else can see them" Mary huffed, "maybe you're losing your grip, not going to pass out again are you?"
Athena raised her eyebrows in shock at Mary's words as Sirius, James and Lily made their way over.
"What's going on here?" Sirius asked upon seeing Athena and Mary glaring at each other while Remus and Dorcas seemed quite confused.
"They're making me look like an idiot" Athena scowled in exasperation, "aren't their horses over there... in that clearing"
Sirius, James and Lily looked over to where Athena was pointing.
"No ... there's no horses Athena, are you feeling alright?" Lily asked gently,
"They're right there" Athena practically yelled, "please tell me you can see them"
"Sorry Rena" Sirius muttered, "but there's nothing there"
"There is" she pleaded almost feeling close to tears because of the frustration she felt.
"They pull the carriages... every year they pull the carriages"
"Nothing pulls the carriages" James sighed, "everyone knows that"
"Stop messing around" Athena snapped, "it's not funny"
"Athena no ones joking" Remus consoled her, "the carriages pull themselves".
"No they don't!"
"Right class" Kettleburn called cutting their discussion short.
"Today we're going to be doing thestrals" Athena saw her vision blur as she blinked furiously trying to remain calm.
"Can anyone tell me what a thestral is?" Athena turned to Lily who had placed her hand in the air, she was also looking very sympathetically at Athena.
"They're like horses" Lily explain, "black, leathery with big wings"
All eyes were on Athena now.
"Now, put your hand in the air if you can see them"
Even out of the large class, the only hand the reached up was Athena's.
"Why can I see them but no one else can?" She muttered considering that she might actually be going crazy,
It seemed the only ones who knew what this meant were Lily and Remus who were both looking incredibly sympathetic.
"Those who can see thestrals" Lily continued, "are people who have... who have seen death"
Athena froze as the entire class turned to her. She felt as though she was going to pass out again, blood was rushing through her ears as she stared at the big Black Death omens lightly grazing the grass in front of her.
"Athena?" Kettleburn smiled sadly, "do you need a moment?"
Athena shook her head as she felt Sirius' arm wrapping around her side, pulling her close to him. She let him do it and felt rather comforted as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"The Thestral is a breed of winged horse with a skeletal body, face with reptilian features, and wide, leathery wings that resemble a bat's".
"They are native to the British Isles and Ireland, though they have been spotted in parts of France and the Iberian Peninsula. They are very rare, and are considered dangerous by the British Ministry of Magic".
"Thestrals are, undeservedly, known as omens of misfortune and aggression by many wizards because they are visible only to those who have witnessed death at least once or due to their somewhat grim, gaunt and ghostly appearance".
"Due to Thestrals' classification as XXXX, only experienced wizards should try to handle Thestrals. Breeding as well as owning these beasts may be discouraged or even illegal without Ministry consent; in fact, wizards that live in areas not protected against Muggles are forced by law to perform Disillusionment Charms on their Thestrals regularly"
Professor Kettleburn picked up a large lambs leg that he'd been resting against his missing limb. He threw it with ease into the centre of the three horses who rushed to it quickly.
Many of the students gasped as the thestrals began tearing parts of the carcass off and eating it. Athena wondered how weird that must be for them. She also wondered how after all these years she'd never noticed that no one else could see them.
The group broke off from the forest and began walking back up to the school losing some of the happy energy they usually carried with them. Sirius still had his arm around her waist but Athena had hardly noticed her mind was filled with questions and confusion.
"So" Mary muttered, "who did you see die?"
"Shut up Mary" Dorcas rolled her eyes, "don't you think that's a bit insensitive"
"Sorry" murmured the brunette, "sorry I just—"
"Don't worry about it" Athena shrugged, "I actually haven't seen anyone die but ... I guess I ... well I don't know how it works"
"You don't have to tell us Rena" Lily smiled, "it's your business not ours"
"My brother died" Athena continued regardless of whether she thought it was the right thing to do, "I ... I didn't see it happen I was standing outside ... watching the house"
"Fire" Dorcas muttered, "you're scared of fire"
"Because the house burnt down" James added in realisation, "your house burnt down"
"While my brother was in there... yeah that's right" she grimaced,
"I'm sorry Rena" Dorcas muttered, "I'm so sorry that just have been awful.
"Yeah... yeah it was"
☽☽☽
The group made their way up into the tallest part of the school, James and Dorcas broke off from the group as they took muggle studies instead of divination.
The entrance to the divination classroom was up a ladder leading to a trap door. Sirius went first shortly followed by Athena.
The classroom itself was a circular room with small clothed tables and bookcases filled with tea cups and crystal balls.
It always smelt faintly of lavender in there and was often so sickly sweet that many students could find themselves drifting off.
Groups sat on tables of four, Peter and Marlene were already seated at one so Sirius and Athena joined them.
Mary, Lily and Remus therefore sat on the one parallel to it.
"Why does everyone look like someone's died?" Asked Marlene causing Lily to wince slightly,
"We just had a lesson on thestrals" Remus explained quietly while keeping an eye on Athena who was deliberately ignoring him.
"Oh I've heard of them" Marlene beamed, "they're those weird horses that people see if they saw someone die"
"Not now Marls" Sirius muttered as he looked down at Athena who was now running the silken material of the table cloth though her fingers.
"Wha— oh shit" Marlene gasped. Athena had told Marlene about the fire and the death of her brother. In fact before Sirius she and Remus had been the only people she'd told,
"I'm sorry" she muttered softly flushing pink from embarrassment.
"It's alright" Rena smiled, "where's Perkins anyway?"
Professor Perkins was the divination teacher, he was often late to the lesson and came in looking as though he'd just been doing some sort of magical drug. Though Athena wouldn't be surprised if he did need something to keep him going while teaching this lesson.
Sybil Trelawney seemed to be the only student who actually enjoyed divination though apparently that's because she could actually see things in her tea leaves and crystal balls rather than just sludge and white clouds.
"Morning all" Perkins called as he clattered through the trap door, he stumbled forward dressed in flowery robes of pink and green, "today—hiccup—we're going to be doing—hiccup—looking at—hiccup—crystal ball"
Sirius and Athena shot each other a comical glance before the students moved towards the book cases holding the dozens of shining orbs.
"Partners?" Sirius asked as he reached up and took once from the top shelf effortlessly.
"Yep" Athena nodded.
Marlene ended up working with Lily leaving Peter to move next to Trelawney who was so engulfed in her own crystal ball she didn't even notice him.
"Look into the ball" Sirius called in a dramatic and dreamy voice, "and tell me what you see"
Athena laughed before she rested her chin on the table in a lazy fashion and stared into the white clouds,
"I predict the weather will be cloudy for the next... hundred years" she smirked as she continued to stare at the wisps of nothing.
Suddenly to her amazement the clouds began to swirl, Athena's eyes widened causing Sirius to frown,
"Rena?" He asked in concern, "what's up?"
"Sirius ... I'm seeing something" she murmured softly as the images began to change,
the handsome boy just smirked obviously believing that she was joking around,
"You see me becoming even more handsome and incredibly famous"
Athena gazed as she saw the moon come into focus, a figure was running towards it illuminated by the bright light. Then there were two figures approaching the whomping willow carefully.
"It's Kennedy and Snape" Athena muttered as she squinted at the image, "they're going to the whomping willow"
"Wait you're actually seeing something?" Asked Sirius in confusion.
The figure of Snape used his wand to levitate a tree branch, hitting a knot on the trunk causing the tree to cease moving.
"Snape's got the tree to stop moving... how'd he do that?" Athena mused.
The figures slipped down a passageway running softly as they shot each other nervous glances. They finally reached the door at the end but something called them back.
"They've found a door" Athena explained, "there's a passage under the whomping willow... it leads somewhere"
"I just see white clouds" Sirius muttered.
Snape and Kennedy were talking to someone, someone that Athena couldn't see. Suddenly Snape shook his head and raced up the final stairs, wrenching the door open.
Athena gasped as she saw a fully grown werewolf lunge towards Snape who fell back, hitting his head off the bottom stair. Kennedy raised her bat in the air as the creature approached but the third figure was trying to stop her.
Then all of a sudden a stag darted out of the room and hit its antlers against the wolf who cowered back in distress.
The deer continued to distract the wolf as the third figure and Kennedy grabbed Snape and ran the other way.
"There's a werewolf in the.. under the whomping willow... it attacked Snape but then a stag stopped it"
Sirius laughed nervously as she looked up to him,
"I think the fumes in this room are getting to you" he sighed, "anyway it's my turn"
"No wait" Athena frowned, "what do you think this means?"
"Honestly Rena?" Sirius smiled, "I don't think it means anything, divinations always been a crap subject everyone knows that, I wouldn't worry about it"
Athena just nodded as she leant back in her chair watching Sirius stare into the apparently empty crystal ball. All the while she was pondering what this vision meant and whether it would come true.
☽☽☽
Athena rather loved sitting by the window seat in the Ravenclaw common room reading. She would rest the book out and let the moonlight illuminate the pages as she traced her eyes over them.
The book she was reading was a muggle book gifted to her by her father who was after all muggle born. Due to his blood status Athena's life growing up had been a combined understand of the wizarding world and the muggle world.
The book was called The Great Gatsby and despite having read it a few times, Rena had decided that it was her favourite. Therefore she was re-reading it as she curled up looking out over the now shadowed hills.
As she flicked over a page the girl began to hear a light tapping sound in the window next to her, she turned her head to see Loki (the owl) sitting on the window sill with a note clamped in his beak.
Loki usually stayed up in the owlery with the other owls so that he could fly whenever he wanted and eat whenever he felt like it.
Athena opened one of the window panes to allow the owl to drop the note.
"Thanks Loki" Athena muttered in confusion as she gently petted his head. The owl then spread his large black wings and took off again silhouetted by the shimmering moon.
Athena picked up the note and unfolded it seeing a rather tidy scrawl written on it.
Meet me at the astronomy tower as soon as you get this
The girl smiled lightly before resting her book in the coffee table and striding out of her common room. She snuck past through the corridors knowing that the prefects would still be on duty at this hour.
Athena rounded one last corner thinking she had made it without trouble however as she began to pace up the stairs she heard a voice behind her.
"Rena?"
Her head turned to see Remus still in his Gryffindor robes with his prefect badge gleaming in the light,
"Shit" she muttered, "thought I'd made it"
"What are you doing out of bed?" Remus frowned, "and why are you going to the astronomy tower?",
"You know how you're the best best friend in the whole world" Athena smiled.
"I'm not going to hand you in" Remus laughed, "and yes I'm aware I'm a terrible prefect"
"Course you're not" Athena grinned happily in return,
"So why are you up?"
"Got a mysterious note telling me to go to the astronomy tower... who knows maybe I'll get murdered" she shrugged,
"Delightful" the boy replied, "I'm presuming it's from Sirius?"
"Yes I'm presuming that too" Athena murmured, "I'm guessing it wasn't you"
"Evidently not" Remus replied, "you two are um... close?"
"I guess" Athena shrugged, "anyway I'd love to stay and chat but ... mysterious message calls".
Remus waved before striding off down the corridor leaving Athena to enter the tower on her own.
As soon as she walked in she could see Sirius sitting by one of the openings gazing out into the stars.
His head turned and he smiled immediately upon seeing her,
"Took your time" he grinned as she moved to sit next to him,
"Yeah well Remus caught me" she shrugged,
"And I'm presuming since he's such a good prefect he let you go?"
"Course he did" Athena laughed, "didn't even need to persuade him"
"Ah that's why I love Remus" Sirius beamed.
"So why the mysterious note?" Athena asked curiously,
"Wasn't supposed to be mysterious" Sirius smirked,
"Could have at least put your name on?" Athena continued.
"But you obviously knew it was me" Sirius grinned,
"So why am I here?" Athena smiled in return,
"I thought my days of sitting up here on my own should be over" Sirius admitted, "I don't know I just felt... like I wanted you here too"
Athena just smiled lightly as a blush crept over her cheeks,
"Look Rena" Sirius turned to face her as he took one of her hands in his,
"Sirius—" she sighed as she looked up at his hopeful gaze.
"Athena Sinistra" he began dramatically, "I promise from the bottom of my heart that I'm not messing you around"
"Sorry" Athena laughed, "this is Sirius black I'm talking to isn't it?"
"Will you go to Hogsmede with me?"
Athena froze as her eyes met with Sirius'. Her heart was pounding and her mouth went dry. It's not as though she hadn't expected something like this but she hadn't expected him to be so ... well... serious.
"I um" Athena looked at Sirius and didn't know how to feel. She'd been in love with Remus for so long that she hadn't expected to find feelings for anyone else however now as she stared at him, at his pale eyes Rena felt excited... she felt as though she wanted to say yes.
So she nodded. She beamed as she did so. Maybe this was it, her opportunity to get over Remus. Sirius was a dream anyway, she'd be lying if she said she didn't have feelings for him. In fact most people in the school would say the same.
Sirius widened his eyes in surprise,
"Honestly I didn't think it'd be that easy, I um... thought I'd be the next James"
"I'm sure you wouldn't be as pathetic as James" Athena joked.
Athena felt good talking to Sirius, she couldn't quite explain it but it felt... right?
"There's a Hogsmede date next Friday" Sirius smiled, "we could go to the three broomsticks... get some butter beer"
"Sounds good" Athena replied with a grin.
Sirius turned back to the stars as the girl laid her head on his shoulder. They appreciated the night sky for a moment as the stars twinkled down at them.
"I'm sorry by the way" Athena spoke up, "about your boggart... I had no idea"
Sirius grimaced as he rested his head on top of hers.
"It's alright" he sighed, "I don't really talk about it much... only James really knows about it"
"I can't even imagine" Athena muttered,
"I'm alright" he grinned, "don't worry about me... I'm even better now... I've got you"
The two of them linked hands and Athena appreciated how cool his skin felt against her.
A new beginning,
That's what this was.
☽☽☽
A/n
Words - 3197
published - 29th December 2020
(though it's only 00:08 so I'm kinda counting this as the 29th :))
You'll have to put up with Athena and Sirius for a bit :)
Tbh I like them together at least for the moment
Also top points if you can guess what Athena saw in the crystal ball.