𝑬𝑼𝑷𝑯𝑶𝑹𝑰𝑨|| 𝐉𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑

~67~

Asteria lay in her bed one night in the Hufflepuff common room. But she couldn't actually fall asleep. She continued to toss and turn until she let out a huff before giving up.

She hit her mattress with frustration, her hand clenched up tightly. Asteria swung her legs off the bed and got up, her bare feet touching the cold wooden floor.

She decided to get a warm milk as it was what her mother walkway gave her when she struggled to sleep. The Hufflepuff threw a jumper over her before sneaking out of the common room and to the kitchens.

She hummed as she creeped through the halls, scanning each corner for Filch or his dreadful cat. Luckily, she made it to the kitchen without bumping into anyone.

As it was late, the kitchens were empty however embers in the fireplace still remained. Asteria filled up a kettle with milk before heating it up on the fire place which was fuelled by logs.

Once the milk was warm enough, she grabbed the kettle and poured it into a mug. In the corners of the room we're stools which the elves stood on to reach up to the cupboards.

Asteria took one of the stool and sat down on it, peacefully sipping at the drink until it was empty. She quickly washed the cup and before heading back.

But as she was about to turn the hallway to her common room, she saw the shadow of Filch. "I can't get more detentions." She quietly hissed to heralded before running up the stairs into the main floor of the school.

Filch must of heard her footsteps because he began chasing her through the castle. "Student out of bed!" He screamed loudly in his nasally voice.

Asteria was breathing heavily and she was becoming tired so she darted into a room, closing the door behind her. She held her breath when she heard his footsteps outside the door but he soon left.

She let out a sigh of relief before turning around and leaning on the wall. But she paused. She did not recognise the room which she was in at all. It was an empty room and the moonlight shone into the otherwise dark room through giant windows.

A window must of been slight ajar as she noticed a black velvet curtain moving in a gentle breeze. With a confused look, she reached her hand out to pull the fabric away.

When she did, all she saw was a mirror. The framing was good however it looks old and withered. She began inspecting the mirror which was when she saw words at the top however she didn't understand the language that it was in.

Curious, she stepped forward to get a closer look. At first, it looked just like a normal mirror. But a hand appeared on her shoulder which made her leg out a slight gasp.

She looked up to see the warm smile of her mother looking at her. She looked exactly the same as Asteria remembered, happy and beautiful.

"Mum?" She called out, a wide smile appearing on her face but she when turned around, no one was behind her. The smile on her face began to drop and she turned back to the mirror to see her mother still standing behind her.

Asteria's eyes began to turn red and glassy. She felt a single tear fall down a chin when her mother pulled the same face of disappointment when she cried as a young girl.

This made her chuckle slightly as she wiped her eye. "I've missed you mum." She said in a weak voice, placing her hand on her own shoulder. But she only felt her shoulder.

She forced herself to smile once more before she jumped at the sound of footsteps. Asteria hurried out, making sure the curtain covered the mirror, before sneaking out.

She scanned the halls but her heart stopped when she saw someone turn to corner. But it was only James.

"What are you doing up?" She asked which made him look up from the floor. "Fucking hell." He muttered. "Getting some water." He replied to her question as he walked over to her.

But as he got closer, he noticed her red and glassy eyes. "Are you okay?" He asked with a concerned look. Gently, he placed his hand on her cheek and lifted up her head.

"Yeah. Just something in my eye." She lied as she lifted his hand off her cheek and wiped her eyes. "I should get back to my dorm." Asteria quickly said before hurrying away, leaving him alone in the hallway.

-☘︎︎-

Asteria still found it difficult to sleep as she constantly thinking of that peculiar mirror that she found. Nevertheless, she fell asleep but was determined to figure it out the next day.

So that next morning, she waited outside the hall. She was waiting for the Marauders to walk in and finally they did.

Sirius was messing with James' hair so he did not the Hufflepuff girl and walked past her. Walking behind them was Remus who she grabbed.

He wore a face of confusion as she began to drag him through the hallways. "Where are we off?" He asked, her hand gripped onto his arm. "You can let go of me now." Remus added which made her apologise and let go.

"I found this strange mirror last night." She began explaining. "Are you sure you didn't just see you're face in it?" He asked with a slight snicker and raised eyebrow. "I expect that from Sirius but not you."

They continued to the door of the room. "So, why did you grab me?" The Gryffindor asked as she went to turn to door handle. "You're smart." She explained.

She then pushed the door open and walked in, Remus following after her. After ensuring that the door was closed, she pulled back the curtain to allow him to inspect it.

He stood in front of the mirror, his arms crossed. "I saw my mum in it." Asteria explained. "And that's weird because she's -you know- dead." Remus didn't know how to reply so he continued to look at the writing above.

"It's backwards." He suddenly announced. Asteria furrowed her brows as she stood beside him and read the writing backwards. "Deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts." She read out.

"Why aren't you in Ravenclaw?" Asteria exclaimed with a grin as she hit his arm lightly. "Hey! Smart Gryffindors do exist!" Remus argued.

"Debatable." Asteria replied with a shrug which made him roll his eyes. "So it shows your deepest desires?" She asked. "I guess so." Remus replied, staring at himself in the mirror.

"So what do you see?" She asked the Gryffindor how paused for a moment. "My scars are gone." He confessed slowly. "I hope that's not true because your scars are beautiful." Asteria said as she pushed herself onto her tip-toes and wrapped her arms around him.