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♢
The next morning, the moment she woke up, Asteria descended to the Common Room with her heart in her stomach. Before the billboard was already a crowd, and from the side of the boys' dormitory Asteria could see James bounding down the stairs and elbowing his way to the front of the crowd. She remained back, not wanting to confirm her suspicions - but once James let out a loud shriek of joy, Asteria felt a smile grow on her lips. He glimpsed Asteria standing there and ran up to her, but he froze right before he approached her as a voice sounded behind her.
"Little Lion, you're up early!" Asteria turned around to see Elliot Wood towering over her, and a blush grew on her face. "You're a reserve, did you see? Williams was furious when he found out a second year beat him for the reserve spot, but served him right. I knew he wouldn't take Quidditch seriously, and you're much better with a bat. Welcome to the team, kid!"
Asteria beamed, unable to muster up any words as she stared at the seventh beater with wide eyes. Eventually, he merely laughed and shook his head, walking away. The girl remained rooted to her spot, until James walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. Once again, she found herself turning around, her mouth still open in pure shock.
"That was the second time Elliot Wood has spoken to you," James said quietly, staring at Wood's back. "My Merlin, how good of a Beater are you?"
Asteria was still silent, shrugging in response. James waved a hand in front of her face, and eventually the girl blinked and shook her head to come back to reality. She looked at James and tilted her head, "Did you make the team?"
James grinned and nodded, "You're looking at the new Gryffindor Chaser!"
Asteria shrieked and enveloped him into a hug, yelling, "I knew you could do it!"
The two jumped in the air together, celebrating their success. Though Asteria had not technically made the team, she still tried to view this as a win; she would still attend every practice, and she would learn from the best of the best. In some way, training with Wood seemed like much more fun than actually being on the team - though she would never admit that to anyone, of course.
♢
The next two weeks passed by quickly, with Asteria throwing herself into homework and Quidditch practices. Though she hadn't officially made the team, Weasley still demanded that the reserves come to every practice - not to mention, she spent most weekends training with Wood as he taught her all of his tricks. By dinnertime, Asteria was exhausted, and barely had enough time to do her homework before she passed out. It was not until almost the last weekend in September that Asteria had a chance to spend time with her friends. The day before the full moon, Lily and Asteria cornered Remus in the Common Room while the rest of the boys were out and about. He'd claimed that he was too tired to do anything but read, and Asteria had popped in at the perfect moment with an excuse that got James off his back. However, the boys were getting increasingly suspicious and were slowly becoming wary of the brunet boy. Remus had noticed, and his nerves were at an all-time high as he realized he'd have to lie to them, again, when he disappeared for the entirety of the next day.
