/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝟑.𝟟.𝟣

"two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the universe or we are not. both are equally terrifying." ~ Arthur C. Clarke

~january 1974~

It was freezing cold in Professor McGonagall's classroom all winter and Artemis hugged her arms to her chest, trying to gain all the warmth she could from her dad's old sweater that she'd thrown on over her uniform that morning. She could hardly pay attention to the lesson on animagi through her shivers. McGonagall swept up and down the rows of desks, peering over student's shoulders at their notes as she spoke. "Now, don't be getting any big ideas," she said, looking over James's shoulder and frowning at his scribbles and doodles. He was so lost in thought he didn't notice, tapping his quill absentmindedly on the already filled paper. "Becoming an animagus is a long process, believe me, I know." Artemis smiled softly to herself at the memory of McGonagall changing from a cat to a human before their eyes and the shock it had induced on the class. "One part in particular involves holding a single mandrake leaf on you tongue for an entire mouth without ingesting or spitting it out. That bit made teaching just a tad harder and I can tell you the chalkboard got more use that month than it ever has since."

The class chuckled. Artemis smiled, and then from across the room, her eyes met those of Jonas Putry, a Hufflepuff boy in her year. His eyes were warm and brown and crinkled around the corners when he laughed, and his smile made Artemis's heart flutter. They only caught each other's gaze for a split second, but in that second, Artemis decided on one thing. He was going to be her first boyfriend.

"He's so cute!" she gushed to Peter as they walked out into the corridor, heading to lunch. "He has such pretty eyes, and his hair... ugh, I love him."

"Isn't it a bit early for love?" asked Peter.

Artemis laughed. "No, have you seen him? How am I going to do this, Pete? I have to talk to him. He's so pretty, Peter. I'm gonna do it. At lunch. I'm going to just go up to him and talk to him. Like how Marlene did with Jack."

Peter looked up at her in amazement. "You're really just going to go up and talk to him? You don't know him!"

"So?" Artemis said with a shrug. "We've got to start somewhere."

~

"Mitch has been insane this year," Gideon muttered, collapsing into an armchair after practice one night. "I mean, it's freezing out. Literally freezing, and we're still doing drills."

Frank grabbed a blanket from the back of his own chair and draped it around his shoulders, trying hard to calm his shivers. "Insane. Bloody insane. And then he says we might not win the house cup."

Beside him, Fabian was pulling on an extra sweater over the one he was already wearing. "We're the only team practicing in this weather, you know. The only- bloody- one."