A muggle-born Slytherin whose parents are terrified of her.
A pureblood Gryffindor whose parents are disappointed in him.
The arrival of her Hogwarts letter was meant to make everything better.
Asteria Halloway finally had an explanation for her p...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"This is messed up." Peter spoke out. The only other sound in the train compartment was that of the Hogwarts Express engine rattling as it barrelled over the tracks, taking them back to Kings Cross Station.
"You're telling me." Sirius ran a hand through his hair, holding his head in his hands and he leant forward to look down at the floor. Asteria rested a hand on his knee, "Regulus hasn't spoken to you since? Nobody has?" She questioned James.
He sat opposite Asteria and beside Lily, staring out of the window with clouded eyes. "No. I don't think Regulus has told anybody what he said. Has Remus spoken to him?" Peter shook his head, "No. At least he said he hadn't."
Lily folded her arms in thought, leaning back in her seat and glancing over to her side to carefully monitor James. "I think we should talk to Regulus about it."
"No." Sirius spoke firmly.
She looked at Asteria before continuing, "We can ask him why he said what he did. We can ask if it was a threat or a warning. Why warn us? If he isn't a Death Eater yet, maybe we can help or save him." She suggested, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Lily is right." James nodded slowly.
Sirius chuckled sourly, "Of course you think Lily's right." "Sirius." Asteria squeezed his knee gently, "Maybe it isn't a bad idea."
He finally looked up, focusing his gaze on no one else except Asteria. "If Remus were here, he'd agree with me."
"Remus would agree we need to do whatever gives us the chance to save the most people." Lily interjected.
Asteria spoke up now, "It doesn't matter what Remus would do. He's a little... Occupied at the moment. The least we can do is all come to an agreement." Sirius sighed, "He is my brother-"
"No." James said firmly, "We're your brothers. Me, Peter, and Remus. Regulus told me that we should go into hiding because the power of You-Know-Who and his followers, particularly within Hogwarts, will only continue to rise. He told me not to come back after the holidays. People could be at risk. We don't know to what extremity their plan is."
That's when Asteria realised. Suddenly all of the pieces of the puzzle had fallen into place. She'd been stumbling around the edges of this plan for nearly a year and just now was it beginning to make sense.
"I think they've been planning it for a long time." Asteria admitted, "I mean I think it's been in the works for about a year."
Peter frowned, "How come?"
Asteria took a deep breath, "Well the first thing I can think of was at a quidditch match last year. Avery said it would only be a matter of time. Thinking about it, I've heard clues from quite a few Slytherins over the past year talking about a secret or a plan or a mission. Sirius, remember what Mulciber said the other week in Hogsmeade?"
