𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑂𝑓 𝑌𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑇ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒- 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑛
𝙎𝙤𝙣𝙜- 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙎𝙡𝙤𝙬, 𝘽𝙮 𝘽𝙖𝙙𝙗𝙖𝙙𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙.
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"𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲"
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ASTRIA REGULUS BLACK lay face up on the ground of Harry's dormitory. Her curly hair was held together in the back by a big red bow that matched her red dress, the one that hugged her waist, was covered in ditzy white flowers, and ended between her ankle and her knees. Harry was sitting facing Astria, back up against his bed, and Ron was doing the same, facing the two of them.
The weather outside was unforgiving now, weeks had passed since they saw days with visible grounds and dustings of snow. Now feet piled up outside and their windows iced over so much it was hard to see through them. In every room that had one, a fireplace was running or at least some sort of heating spell. No one left the castle without layers of clothing on, along with gloves and some sort of protection from the biting cold.
The teachers had said it was to be one of the worst winters yet, lasting far into march. Which wasn't entirely unusual but it never started as soon as it did this year. The students spent most of, if not all, of their time inside. Sure heating spells could be used but it was hard to get around anywhere that wasn't shoveled outside. Which was worse for the first and second years that didn't know the spells to help themselves.
Ever since that day in the forest, a few weeks back, Astria had felt lighter, in every sense of the word. Her mind was less turmoiled, and her bones felt less heavy. But most of all mentally she felt better about her powers, she no longer had a fear of what they could do. Well maybe that wasn't completely true, she had more of a perceptive now, more things to think about but it didn't seem as looming as before.
Speaking of things that didn't seem as bad as they used to, Harry and Astria were both finding ways to benefit from the whole magic healing and bruising situation. When one was injured, the other could heal it, which was coming in rather handy. Seeing as Harry appeared to be very accident-prone. The bruises hadn't been a problem for weeks now, the two saw each other almost every day. But still, Astria wondered what it would mean in the next couple of months.
"So you both really can't come?" Ron pushed, for probably the seventh time in the last hour. His face was pleading as he stared at the two chosen ones, like that would change anything.
"Ronald, to reiterate, no we will not be attending the trip to Hogsmeade," Astria deadpanned, tilting her head a little to look at him only for him to sigh dramatically and throw his head back.
Over the last month, ever since that day on the field, Ron and Astria had built a friendship that surprised most people, including them. For some reason they worked, him being headstrong and protective, while she was whimsical and bubbly. They fit well with each other's flaws. Astria was glad they ended up fixing whatever negative emotions were between them before, and the number of times Ron had given heartfelt, common dramatic, apologies proved he was as well.
"Yeah, sorry bud," Harry said absentmindedly while he spun a black muggle pen around his fingers. Astria sometimes, very much against her will and well-being, found herself watching the way Harry would do things. The way he laughed softly, or loudly, always adapting to the mood of the room. The way he fiddled with some old-looking silver bands on his fingers, the way he flinched at certain noises, or the way he avoided meat when he ate like the plague or even smaller things like his different kinds of curls on different days or-
Yup, very much against her will and well-being.
"What if you both snuck out, I'll show you the shrieking shack. I can tell you all about it, well Hermione can, she's the smart one," Then the redhead stopped, as if hearing himself, "I never said that," He pointed at both of them, causing them to dramatically nod in response, "Anyway it's bloody haunted, its got to be,"
Astria laughed softly, bringing her hands into the air to play with her rings, "Yes very," she joked sardonically, earning herself a chuckle from Harry, and a glare from Ron.
"Didn't peg you as a nonbeliever Tria," Harry chimed in, moving his hand to poke her hands that were still in the air, taking the ring from her thumb with a smirk, before sliding it into his ring finger.
Astria didn't blame him for that; she was the type to believe in things most people never would. But when she was young and curious her dad had told her the stories of how he would transform at school. They would take him to an old shack, that was even older now, and chain him up. She didn't remember how they got there, but she did remember he said his friends used to help him, but he never did elaborate. In fact, remembering that now it didn't really make much sense.
"Guess I just know things you two don't," she teased, sitting up and raising her eyebrows at them, when she did so her necklace chain fell wrong, causing Harry to reach forward and fix it.
Ron went to say something, but Harry beat him without hesitation, "Love, I thought that was a given," he hummed as he finished fixing her golden necklace, pulling his hands away but keeping his eyes on her. Astria found herself staring right back, watching the way his verdant eyes dilated a little when her lips curled up.
A beat passed, "Are you guys done?" Ron spoke up, getting himself two eye rolls in return as Harry leaned back into his spot and Astria sat criss-cross facing them both, "You know I expect him to be oblivious, but not you Tria," he finished, pointing at them both as if showing he was talking about them.
Astria tilted her head to the side, looking between the two boys, "Wait I don't get it?"
"Neither do I?" Harry agreed.
Ron sighed even more dramatically this time, running a hand down his face, "Nevermind," He practically shouted. Astria watched, confused, as he looked at the clock then started to get up, "Well whatever you two, I have to meet Hermoine and the group that's heading down in ten minutes,"
The two curly-headed kids followed his actions, getting up from the ground and grabbing their coats. Harry was wearing an oversized lavender hoodie that he said Hermione had gotten him during their stay at the Leaky-Cauldron, along with black jeans and old black Doc Martens that looked like they had been passed down by more than a couple of people. And much to Astria's delight, he wore his lily necklace outside his hoodie. The Lupin-Black girl on the other hand had a matching red overcoat that wrapped around her dress and tied around her waist, an old gift from Neville's grandmother.
"We'll walk you there," Harry told his friend, going to hold the dorm door open for the two kids.
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"What if I used the invisibility cloak," Harry spoke from where they watched the group begin to walk away, his curly hair topped with snowflakes and shoulder pressed up against Astrias.
"And leave me here?" They both knew how hard it was to keep two people under the invisibility cloak and stay hidden. Plus Astria didn't think the idea was the best anyway, seeing as the snow would track his footprints as he went, and she'd be left alone. Selfishly, not that she'd admit, she wanted to hang out with him.
The green-eyed boy smirked, turning to watch her as she stared ahead, "Of course not," and Astria fought the urge to turn and stare right back at him.
But suddenly an arm was thrown around her shoulder, "Couldn't help but overhear you," George popped up from where he stood facing Astria, Fred who was the one with the arm around her shoulder, and Harry, "And side note, still getting used to the whole you both being friends,"
"It's bloody strange alright, and as clever as that idea is Harry," Fred continued his brother's words, moving to stand next to the other redhead.
George made a movement with his hand, signaling them into the entrance hall next to an old stairwell, and once they entered the air was warmer but almost muggy compared to the sharp freshness from outside. Harry and Astria shared a look of confusion, both waiting for the twins to explain.
However instead, Fred slapped a worn-looking roll of parchment into Astria's gloved hand, "May I ask?" she said with a tilted head, slipping her red gloves off to unwind the paper, only to find it blank.
The girl flipped it around, still finding nothing she passed it over to Harry, "It's a wrench giving it to you believe me," George admitted, cheeks red from the cold.
"But we've decided your need's greater than ours, George if you will," Now both Harry and Astria were more confused than before, watching as George pulled out his wand.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," the redhead touched the parchment with his wand, and right away ink lines started to form all over the paper. They weaved around, painting a picture and spelling out words, reminding Astria of veins as they did so. But once they finished and Harry examined the picture for a second the Lupin-Black girl stopped blinking, and she did her best to tug her eyes away from the paper, head filled with small memories.
Harry gave her a curious look, before fixing his glasses and reading the words, "Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs, and Misses Ashes are-"
"-Proud to present the Marauders Map," Astria finished for him, remembering the stories Remus told her as a kid, even though some of them never really made sense, one being the nicknames they chose. Sure, Moony did, but the others didn't. She was positive her dad had told her those stories when she was so young in hopes she'd forget them all. Or possibly think they were make-believe. But unfortunately for him, Astria remembered things well.
Fred, George, and Harry stopped altogether, turning to look at her, "Wait how did you know that?" Fred asked, looking at her strangely.
Astria spared the redheads a glance, before putting her hand out in a silent question, waiting for Harry to hand her the Map. Once he did, she looked at it carefully, wondering if she should tell the Potter boy about Prongs, or even worse, if she should tell her father about the map.
Astria handed it back to Harry, not wanting to hold it any longer, "I knew Moony," was all she gave, and once a second passed the boys realized she didn't plan on giving any more. Not that what she said was completely true anyway, technically she knew all of them and she still knew Moony, technically Harry once did as well.
The redhead's eyes were wide at that, "Bloody hell you did, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Ashes, and Prongs, we owe them so much," they said dumbfounded, as Harry opened up the map. They seemed to have questions about Moony, Astria could tell from just looking at them. But she was sure they could tell as well she had no intent on telling them anything.
It was haunting that three out of the two names they just said were dead now, James, Peter, Adaline, or in this case, Prongs, Wormtail, and Ashes. Furthermore, Fred and George didn't even know. She wondered if that would change the way they talked about them if they knew the map was made with help from Sirius Black. But then again They thought Sirius Black was her father, and they still kept her around.
"Hang on, Tria look," Harry said, showing her the map. It was covered in different parts of the castle, with secret passageways and everything. But along with that there were little dots, with names attached to them, "This is Hogwarts, and no, Is that really..." he trailed off, pointing at the small moving footprints called Dumbledore.
Fred smirked, "Dumbledore,"
"In his study," the other redhead chimed up.
"Pacing,"
"He does that a lot," George finished, watching the two kids examine the map. Astria took a second to scan the thing for her father, finding his name attached to a dot that was placed in his suit. Saying as the full moon was close now he was most likely resting, drinking tea, or smoking marijuana out the window as he did on some cold days. However it was something he never did when Astria was around, but she knew what the plants looked like, and he didn't keep it a secret. Remus was open about most things and left her to make her own opinions, and the girl didn't mind at all. She knew it helped with his pain when the full moon neared, along with his nightmares and heightened sensory. Which Astria could only assume how much of a struggle the last one was.
"You mean this map shows..." Harry trailed off again, looking between the three kids.
Astria smiled at him, "Everyone," she explained, watching Remus's dot move around the room a bit, before stopping by one of the big windows.
Harry looked through his glasses at her, "Everyone?"
"Everyone," George and Fred said at the same time.
"Where they are," Fred mused.
"What they're doing," The other twin smirked, tilting his head at the kids.
"Every minute,"
"Of every day," They bounced back and forth, creating a little laugh from Astria, earning a fond smile from all three boys. Which almost had the girl laughing again, she was lucky to have the friends she did.
Harry's eyes lit up a little, "Brilliant, where'd you get it?" Astria was wondering the same thing, she didn't remember where Remus said the map ended up, however he may have simply never known. His last couple years at Hogwarts were a boiling war, to full-out war. The idea of that seemed otherworldly to Astria sometimes.
"Nicked it from Filch's office, of course, first year," Another accented voice joined the conversation, one that had Astria smiling, "I thought I told you both not to give it to them without me,"
"Sage," Astria greeted once the dark skin girl approached the group, wrapping an arm around George's elbow. She had her hair up in dreads still, but this time it was pulled into a bun on top of her head. Along with that, the Slytherin was wearing blue jeans, with a thick tucked-in turtleneck, and black leather overcoat, and a pair of slip-on doc martens. But what really caught Astria's eye was, instead of her normal gold necklace stack, the one with the 'Z' and heart George had gotten her. Sage had another necklace stack, made up of gold chains that Astria had seen before, but the staple piece of it all was a gold necklace with the letter 'G' hanging from the end. That was new.
The Slytherin nodded kindly, "Hey sweetheart," only to look over and see Harry, "Potter," She said much colder this time.
"Zion," The boy replied just as cold, and both of them continued to glare at each other for a second, before breaking out into smiles, "Hey Sage," The Gryffindor greeted much kinder this time, bringing his hand forward to do some sort of complicated one-handed handshake that Astria pretended she didn't understand.
"Hey Scarhead," She smirked at him once they finished the elaborate handshake, before turning to the twins this time "But once again, didn't I tell you both to wait?"
"They seemed desperate," Fred defended.
Harry and Astria shared a look, "We weren't desperate," They denied at the same time," only to be ignored by the older students.
"Fine, Now listen," Sage took over, taking a moment to glare at her redheaded best friends, "There are seven secret passageways out of the castle, but we'd recommend," She pointed at something on the map with her nicely painted green nails, "This one,"
"The One-Eyed Witch on the third floor," Fred and Goerge said in unison.
"But you best hurry Filch is heading this way," Fred warned as they started to walk away, "Oh, and Chosen Ones, make sure you give it a tap and say, 'Mischief managed.' otherwise anyone can read it," the twin finished.
Both Harry and Astria nodded in understanding, the boy tucking the map away into his light purple hoodie, "By by now sweetheart, and be careful, you never know what's lurking," Was the last thing Sage said, giving Astria a tap on the face before running to catch up with her friends, grabbing Goerges hand once she got there. Astria knew the girl was referring to Sirius, him being the reason she never went in the first place.
"Okay so now we have a magical map and an invisible cloak," Astria stated once they started to make their way towards the third floor, the air getting warmer as they traveled farther into the castle.
"Well," Harry began, stopping for a second to process everything, "This is going to end horribly," he decided, ceasing his walking in the middle of the hallway and turning to Astria.
The girl stopped as well, looking up at the taller boy and letting herself stupidly admire him for a moment. He had this curly hair that contrasted perfectly with his ebony skin, and then he had these rare green eyes that reminded everyone that knew her of Lily Potter. And for some reason, Astria really liked the way his lavender hoodie looked on him and the way he was smiling at her.
Merlin, she needs to stop doing that. I mean Astria couldn't completely blame herself, James Potter and Lily Evans were beautiful people, and it wasn't a surprise they had a beautiful son. Who grew into himself every day, but then some people could say the same for Astria.
"Let's do it anyway," She smiled back, watching the way his eyes scanned her face behind his glasses like he was making a mental image of this very moment.
The boy lit up a little, putting his hand out in front of him, almost looking a little nervous while he did it. But Harry was good at covering that up with a bit of cockiness, "Let's," he agreed, face flushing when Astria grabbed his hand, pulling the boy behind her down the hallway.
Definitely a bad Idea.
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Astrias outfit-
Sages outfit-
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angst coming next chapter lol...
... but like nothing horrible horrible
I think my thing is giving the females bomb outfits and showing them but never what the guys are wearing, should I start giving references to the guy outfits I talk about in the chapters like I do Sage and Astria???
Also actively making my chapters shorter than they used to be so I can update more often, plus my 10,000 word chapters were so draining to write after a while. I've also been told people like my shorter chapters?? I feel like it's just gonna change depending on what part I'm writing.
Also, I kinda love this chapter honestly, harry, ron, and astria content.
Also i feel like i need to remind some people that this is slow burn...
Tell me if y'all find any mistakes It's roughly edited-
thank you sm for reading love u all 💖💖
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