We Will Shine {Book 6 in the Star of Gryffindor Series}

Chapter 10 - Decisions, Decisions

~Wren~

"Eris tried to schedule me for patrolling tonight," Albus said as we climbed the Astronomy Tower stairs. "I just went to Emmanuel and told him I had class. But she has my class schedule. She knew I had class."

"Are you surprised?" I asked, raising en eyebrow. "She's probably regretting pairing you with Scorpius. Wishes she could've made you miserable, too."

Albus rolled his eyes. "At least Emmanuel's pretty nice. Wish you had a legitimate reason to get your patrol switched..."

I shrugged. "It's not so bad. We just don't talk."

"Sorry." Albus grinned. "Think it would help if I snuck out after curfew and caused some trouble?"

"Absolutely not," I said, chuckling. "That would make things worse."

There weren't a lot of people taking N.E.W.T.-level Astronomy. A couple of Ravenclaws and Slytherins, and Albus and I. That meant we could set up our telescopes as far away from the others as we felt like.

The one thing I was worried about tonight was the fact that Nico Jasper was taking this class, for some reason. I wasn't sure that Albus had gotten over the fact that Nico had erased his memory. We'd agreed it was best if we acted like nothing had happened, and he hadn't noticed, but every time he'd seen Jasper lately I could tell he'd gotten angry, clenching his fist and growing very quiet. With so few people around to overhear tonight, I was a little worried he'd try to confront him.

Luckily, he hardly seemed to notice him. We set up out telescopes in the far corner of the tower as Professor Sinastra handed out blank star charts. Albus had fallen silent, yes, but he looked more introspective than angry. I tilted my head. "What're you thinking about?"

"Just..." He sighed. "I need to get over Astra."

I looked down. Here was a delicate subject, for sure. "Yeah. Probably..." We'd had this conversation multiple times since Astra had gotten with Marcus, and it had never gotten anywhere. I felt bad for Albus, because he really liked her a lot, but Astra was oblivious. More importantly, though, she did not reciprocate his feelings. And after almost three years, it was pretty clear she never would. I didn't really know how to tell him that, though, so our conversation always went in circles.

"Do you think it's a good idea to... I don't know, try to move on?"

That was new. I blinked. "From Astra, or to someone else?"

Albus bit his lip and turned towards the edge of the roof. "Both?"

I pursed my lips. "Well, I do think you should move on from Astra, yes. She doesn't like you like that. I don't know that she ever will."

Albus nodded. "I know..."

"But... Are you ready to move on to someone else?"

Albus glanced back at me. "I... I want to be. It's long past time. I just don't think anything else will work."

"Is that a good motive for... What exactly are you wanting to do?"

"Ask someone to Hogsmeade, I think."

"Is moving on from Astra a good motive for that?"

Albus shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know if that's even all it is. I'm confused."

I patted his arm. "I know. I'm sorry."

He sighed. "It's just... Maybe it'll help? Asking someone to Hogsmeade isn't even a big deal, is it? People do it all the time. It doesn't necessarily have to go anywhere. Just, as long as it helped... And I think it would?"