/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝟒.𝟠.𝟣

"beauty is an enormous, unmerited gift given randomly, stupidly." ~ Khaled Hosseini

~february 1975~

Snow crunched under Artemis's boots as she crept through the Forbidden Forest in the early morning fog. Remus was at her side, Peter a few steps behind, as they followed James and Sirius further into the forest. All of their wands were lit, but the light hardly did anything in the darkest depths of the trees. Artemis wasn't scared by much, but her heart pounded out of her chest with every snap of a branch or movement in the trees up ahead. They'd been warned countless times about the forest, and at that moment, they were ignoring every warning.

James, Sirius, and Peter hadn't said a word all month. None of them had slipped up with the mandrake leaves, something that thoroughly surprised Artemis and Remus. They walked a few more minutes deeper into the forest, and then James stopped and turned to make sure the others were following. He motioned to the ground beneath him. Artemis hadn't even noticed the snow give way to wet dirt beneath. They were so deep in the forest now, the trees sheltered the ground from snow and ice. "This is it," she whispered. James nodded.

"A silver teaspoon of dew from a place neither sun nor human feet have touched," recited Remus, pulling three silver spoons they'd swiped from the kitchens from his pocket. "Artemis and I will do the honors so none of the dew slips out," he said, handing a spoon to Art. The two of them crept to a nearby patch of grass and Artemis was taken aback by how damp it was with dew. "It's because of how deep into the forest we are," Remus said, reading her mind. "No rain can touch these plants so they gather more condensation to compensate."

"Ah," Artemis said softly, and carefully started collecting the droplets on her spoon, careful not to let any of them touch her skin. When she had a full spoonful, she straightened up, holding it with careful reverence. "Okay, who's first?"

The boys all looked at each other, and then Sirius pushed Peter forward. Artemis gave him a soft smile, trying to comfort his overwhelmingly nervous expression. "Alright," she said, taking him by the shoulder. "Remember, you still can't open your mouths after this until the potion is brewed, so... don't fuck it up now."

Peter nodded solemnly.

Artemis carefully took the back of his head in her hand and brought the spoon to his lips, which he parted just enough for the dew to trickle into his mouth. He quickly closed his lips and made an uncomfortable expression. Artemis tried hard not to laugh, knowing that if she did, Peter might too. "It's only for a week, Pete. You made it this far already, you can do it."

A few feet away, Remus was depositing dew into James's mouth. He made a similar expression. Artemis headed back to the patch of grass with the third silver spoon, gathering the dew just as carefully as before. "C'mere, Sirius," she said begrudgingly. Sirius went to her side. He was taller than her now, which made things a little more difficult. She missed the days when she could ruffle his hair like he was a younger brother, something that annoyed him to no end. He gave her an expectant look and she sighed.