I fell in love with Harry Potter because of how amazingly well JKR wrote it! She is an amazing author. I really look up to her, and she has definitely influenced my writing. Also, what's better than an orphan wizard boy with a genius know-it-all and a ginger for friends? (Hermione is also a huge part of why I love these books. As I've said, she is me and I am her).

~~~~

"What do we do?" Albus asked, fear evident in his voice.

"Don't move. Don't a make sound," Pouri commanded. We all huddled together, dreading the moment when the hooves would surround us.

Suddenly, one centaur burst out of the trees, stopping just in front of Pouri. Next to him, Pouri looked like a dwarf. The centaur looked angry. I thought Firenze had been intimidating, but this was simply scary.

I didn't miss the other centaurs slipping out of the woods, surrounding us. There were about half a dozen, all watching the one in front of Pouri expectantly.

For a long, insanely nerve wracking moment, there was silence. Finally, the leader centaur said, "Why have you entered our forest, with six young humans, as well?"

Pouri, to his credit, sounded completely normal as he said, "I'm afraid the people behind this unfortunate circumstance have just disappeared into your forest. I was simply trying to rescue these children from death at their hands."

The centaur narrowed his eyes. I couldn't tell if he believed him. "A likely story. And if we were to try to find these supposed perpetrators, you would take the chance to escape judgment, would you not?" I felt James tense up next to me. I probably would have, too, but it took too much effort.

"I was hoping to," Pouri said honestly.

A short pause, then, "Who are you, human?" one of other centaurs asked.

"Brutus Pouri, headmaster of Hogwarts," Pouri answered, turning to face this new speaker.

The centaurs frowned at each other. "You are a new headmaster?" the leader asked.

"Yes, I-"

"And you would not know our laws."

"No, I suppose I wouldn't."

For too long, there was silence as the leader considered this. I couldn't tell if that was a good thing, or a bad thing, that Pouri didn't know the laws. Maybe they would just let us go with a warning.

"Centaurs do not prefer to associate with humans," the centaur said finally.

"Now that is a very useful thing to know," Pouri said. I was sure he already knew that.

"Since you did not know our laws, we will allow you to leave. Now. Never return."

Pouri nodded. "Thank you."

The centaurs all nodded, then turned and galloped away. Just like that. In one instant, it was as if they'd never been.

"Children, I would advise hurrying back, instead of watching them leave."

"We can't let the Predatels get away!" Scorpius protested immediately. James quickly agreed with him.

"I'm afraid they already have. If you would like to see just how centaurs define 'justice,' feel free to stay." No one answered. "Good. Shall we go?"

The walk back to the castle was uninterrupted. I was too exhausted to care that Katreena had gotten away, though I knew I'd regret not chasing her down later. For now, I just wanted to get some energy back. By the time we'd reached the edge of the forest, I could barely keep moving. Eventually, James simply picked me up and carried me. Perhaps I still haven't been eating enough, I thought, a little amused. Before I could wonder about that anymore, I fell asleep.

~~~~

When I opened my eyes to the by-now familiar sight of the hospital wing, I wasn't particularly upset. Normally, I hated being here, but I felt almost perfect, and knew Madam Pomfrey had had something to do with it.

Judging by the light filtering through the windows, it was morning. The Great Hall was probably just filling up with bleary-eyes students who's stayed up too late studying for their exams. I gingerly pushed myself to a sitting position, then leaned back on my pillows, feeling marvelously contented.

It took a few minutes for it to occur to me that I ought to see who else had wound up in here. I glanced to my left, and saw Scorpius, sleeping peacefully. Better not to bother him.

To my right, Colette was sitting on the bed, though it looked like she hadn't slept there. Her bow was missing, strangely enough. She was reading a book. As I leaned over to see what the cover said,  she glanced up and saw I was awake.

"Where's your bow?" I asked curiously, momentarily forgetting exactly who I was talking to.

"Oh, hello." She snapped the book closed and laid it beside her on the pristinely white sheets. "I lost it in the chaos, I think..."

"Oh."

"It's all right. I stole it from my mum, so I don't know why I kept it, anyway." She shrugged, acting nonchalant. "Do you feel all right?"

I stared at her, surprised. "Who are you, and what have you done with Colette?" Maybe that was kind of harsh, but I was a little too surprised to care. Normally, she would have simply snapped at me to be quiet, then gone back to reading.

Colette blushed and looked down at her hands in her lap. "Would you prefer I yelled at you for dragging me out to certain death two nights ago?" Strangely enough, she sounded amused as she said that, and when she glanced up at me to gauge my reaction, there was a hint of a smile on her face.

I didn't know what to make of any of that, so I focused on the other strange thing she'd said. "Two nights? How long have I been asleep?"

Colette tilted her head. "Twenty-eight, no, twenty-nine hours."

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What?"

"Madam Pomfrey gave you a dreamless sleep potion. Scorpius, too."

"Not you?"

"I only got knocked out," she said, shrugging. "They used the Cruciatus Curse on him, and some sort of freezing one on you."

I shuddered, remembering that. "It felt awful..."

"Professor Pouri thinks they created the spell," Colette said, her countenance souring at the thought.

I stared at her, even more surprised. This girl, the one who had her own personal library of the Dark Arts in her trunk, was upset that someone had created a new spell to torture others?

She frowned at me, concerned. "What?"

I shook my head quickly. "Nothing."

She rolled her eyes. "All right, sure. I suppose my sudden turn to civility hasn't even fazed you?"

I felt myself blushing. "Well... Maybe a little."

To my surprise, Colette didn't even look annoyed. She sighed and looked down at her lap again, twisting a corner of her shirt in her hands. "I'm sorry about this year. I really don't have anything against you, Astra. I just didn't exactly want to be here, so I took it out on everyone else."

I stared at her yet again. "Seriously?"

"I was actually trying to get myself expelled first term," she admitted.

"Why?"

"I wanted to go back to Beauxbatons." She shrugged. "Dad said that he couldn't afford that, though. He said he'd simply hire a tutor if I got kicked out."

"Oh," I said, frowning. "Then why'd you go to Beauxbatons at all?"

"That's a long story." Colette said.

She didn't continue, so I said, "It's not like I have anywhere else to be..."

She looked up at me again, not smiling. "I haven't told anyone about this. Why should I tell you?"

Why should she? Up until two nights ago, we'd hated each other. Now, though, I had no clue what to think about this girl. For no reason at all, she'd basically sacrificed herself to save Scorpius and me, two people who had always disliked her. I'd never been shy about showing her exactly how much, either. And now I was completely in her debt. If she hadn't been there, we would have immediately been captured. If she hadn't lied, Scorpius and I probably wouldn't be alive right now.

"Colette, I'm so sorry..." I whispered, suddenly overcome with just how terrible I'd been all year.

She shrugged. "Not your fault I was so insufferable at first. I can't blame you for not giving me a chance after the first few days."

That didn't do anything to appease my guilty conscience. Maybe I'd been wrong about her, too. "That night... Why did you lie? Say you were me? They probably would have let you go if you'd ratted me out."

"I don't know, exactly," she said. "I think I just saw how much saving your friends meant to you. I don't... I wanted to help, if I could. Once you'd dragged me out there, anyway."

I ventured a smile. "Well, thank you. I think you probably saved all of our lives doing that."

A corner of her mouth turned up. "No problem, Princess."

My thoughts flew back to the welcome feast, at the beginning of the year. She'd called me princess then, too. However, her tone now was decidedly more friendly (joking, even) than it had been then. I couldn't help smiling then.

Colette hopped to her feet, picking up her book as she did so. "I suppose Professor Pouri will want to talk to you now. He told me to tell him when you'd woken up."

I nodded, still a bit surprised at our conversation. As she started to walk down the aisle between the rows of beds, I impulsively called out after her. "Colette?"

She turned back, frowning. "Yes?"

"If... Well, if you were to ever need someone to sit next to at dinner, I'm sure Albus wouldn't mind scooting over..."

Colette looked surprised at the indirect offer, then smiled. "I'll take that into consideration." Without another word, she turned and left.

I watched the huge double doors swing closed behind her with a smile on my face. Maybe, just maybe, I was on the verge of a new friendship. If only all my relationships with people went this well.

Madam Pomfrey bustled over a minute later, telling me how sad those Potter boys would be to have missed me, but they'd stayed with me all day yesterday and late into the night, before she'd finally sent them off to bed. I smiled at that. All was forgiven, it seemed. Perfect.

Professor Pouri walked in a few moments later. He sank down on the bed Colette had occupied a few minutes before. "How are you feeling, Astra?"

"Perfectly normal. Better than I have in a while, actually."

He smiled. "Good. Poppy tells me you hadn't been eating enough?"

I ducked my head. "I've been preoccupied..."

"In the library, I've heard."

I nodded. "But I'm done with that."

"Good, good. Find what you were looking for?"

"Not exactly..." I said truthfully.

"I also heard a very interesting rumor about your thoughts on me from Albus."

"Oh?" I asked, trying not to appear guilty. Had Al really told him what we'd thought? Really?

However, Pouri didn't appear angry. In fact, he looked amused as he said, "It appears I haven't proven myself trustworthy to my students, have I?"

"Not particularly, sir."

"Well, I do hope that will change in the next few years."

"What did you want to see me about, sir?" I asked. "Colette must've told you everything that happened."

"Oh, yes, she has. I wanted to explain why I've been so hard on you this year."

I perked up. This ought to be good.

"Astra, as I'm sure you've guessed by now, you are, for some unknown reason, incredibly important to the cause the Predatels have joined."

"And what cause is that?"

"I'm not sure yet. Harry and I have searched far and wide for information, but there is very little to find. Enough to know that they are definitely not alone in what they doing, though. And they're obviously not against the lowest of means to get what they want."

I cringed and nodded. "But why do they want me? I'm not anyone special."

"I'm not sure. But, for whatever reason, they believe you are. It is my belief that that has something to do with the identity of your father."

"You don't... You don't think he's... with them, do you?"

"No, I don't. We don't know who he is, but it wouldn't make sense for him not to reveal himself if you're so important."

I looked down. "So... How does this fit in with anything?"

"I've been hard on you because I'd rather you chose not to put yourself in harm's way, like you did two nights ago, though I probably went about it the wrong way. Last year, there were several times that you unintentionally found yourself in dangerous situations, yes?" I nodded. "I didn't want that happening again, especially as it became clear just how important you were. Hogwarts is the safest place in the world, but it can still be penetrated, as you saw."

I glanced beyond Pouri, out the window. The blue sky looked beautiful today. Imagine, only two nights before I'd been close to death, close to never seeing the blue sky again.

I finally looked back at him. "So you want me to stop throwing myself at danger."

"Exactly."

"It's not like I'm trying... It just happens, sometimes."

"I'm just asking that you be cautious, Astra. Not that you prevent all danger from ever touching you. Though it might help if you stopped sneaking out with the Cloak. That might hinder invisible attackers from hurting you."

I blinked. "How did you know I was there?"

"It doesn't take a Cloak to turn invisible," he said, winking. "I frequent the library at night. Invisibly, of course. Madam Pince would not let even me in after hours. I happened to see you there that night, but decided you were all right."

I smiled slightly. "Really?"

He smiled wisely. "I wouldn't suggest doing that often, though."

"I'm sure that's the only time I ever did," I said, crossing my arms and leaning back on my pillows.

"I'm sure it was," Pouri said, winking briefly. Then, he stood up. "I suppose you'd like to see your friends?"

"I'd love that," I said, grinning.

Pouri nodded. "I'll let them know you're awake."

It was less than ten minutes later that James and Albus came pounding down the aisle to see me. They looked incredibly relieved that I was all right. I smiled at them. "Colette told me that you guys stayed with me the whole time, basically?"

"Yeah," Albus said. "We were so worried."

"So you aren't mad or anything?"

"Mad? How could we be mad?" James asked. "You kind of saved our lives, Astra."

"Well... I've just been so awful to you for the past few weeks, and-"

"Oh? That?" James asked, grinning. "It's fine."

"You aren't... I mean, are you going to spend a little less time in the library now?" Albus asked hesitantly.

I sighed. I'd forgotten that they didn't know. "I... Madam Pince finally let me look at the records." I forced a shrug, acting like it didn't bother me. "My mum wasn't there. She really was a muggle."

James and Albus both looked down, apparently not sure what to say. Finally, James ventured, "So you're done with the library?"

"I am so sick of that place," I admitted, breaking into a smile.

"Perfect," Al said, grinning. He pulled a chair up next to bed and sat down in it. James settled for simply sitting on the edge of my bed.

The boys had me tell them everything that had happened from the start. I went a bit further back than they were expecting, starting my story with the day of the failed intervention and working forward from there. By the time I'd gotten to finding the ransom note, Scorpius had woken up, so he helped me tell the rest of it. I didn't even leave out Adalyn's turn to the dark side, which James and Albus hadn't known about.

What I did leave out was my talk with Colette earlier that morning. I still wasn't exactly sure what to think of her, but I knew I needed to ease James and Albus into any sort of explanation of that.

"What about that Cloak?" Scorpius asked finally. "You still have it, right?"

"It's in Al's trunk right now," James assured us. "Dad's not going to take it away, either. Since they didn't manage to find it, he thinks we should be all right as long as we're careful."

Eventually, Madam Pomfrey pronounced Scorpius and me fit to leave, and we wasted no time in going to find our other friends. Of course, the whole school knew what had happened by now. I had no doubt that James had contributed to that greatly. As it was, people from all four Houses filled around us as we walked into the Great Hall that night. I answered as many questions as I could, but I refused to comment on the fact that the criminals behind it had been the Predatels, much to people's disappointment.

~~~~

Merry Christmas!! Hope you guys are having an absolutely amazing day, and got everything you wanted, and that your family was happy, and that everything was perfect! I am currently at my grandparents' house, about to open presents. I posted this before because, even though I want you to focus on your family today, it's my Christmas gift to you! XD I would have published it today no matter what day it was, actually. But, here, I'll do this:

Merry Christmas to my most loyal readers and friends! To liefshannah, hannahsue--, and NikkiStewart110, and Bananabrains13, and riddleravenclaw, and CayleighBug, and going_insane_, and westonpaige, and bouncingferrets, and QueenOfGryffindor, and Zoe-Books, and NerdyTDYJ and anyone I missed because I'm not following you! (Let me know if I missed you!)

I know I probably shouldn't be complaining but how hard is it to get over 4k reads on something? Star of Gryffindor has been at 3.9k for about a month. But you don't want to listen to me whining! It's so cool that any of you read this series! Thank you all so much!

Question of the day: What are your feelings on Draco Malfoy?

Vote and comment! Merlin's beard! One chapter left!

~ Ellie