March arrived quicker than expected, and while the talk of the second task still buzzed in the air, the Quad were just too focused and distracted by the one thing they had found..

"It would be so wicked if this place turned out to be cursed or something." Blaise mumbled, the corner of his lips upturned.

Sophie turned her head to look at him, eyebrows knitted. "Why would you think that? Oh Helga, I hope it's not.."

A suspicious crack in the wall of the Dungeon, right around the corner from where the Slytherin common room was.. that was what intrigued them four. And just like that, all of them had agreed to check it out.

As a feeble attempt, Ria had tried 'Dissendium' because many secret passages in the castle opened with that spell, and it had turned out in her favour. The wall opened right up into a passageway.

A loud squeal made three of them spin in their places. "Sophie? You alright?" asked Ria cautiously, but the Hufflepuff just stared at her in confusion.

"Um— that wasn't me?" She answered, making them turn towards Theodore, who stood in his place, panting.

"Oh, Merlin! A spider!" He breathed out exasperatedly. The three rolled their eyes and returned their attention to the front.

The passageway seemed to go over a long distance (outside the castle even, they assumed), because even a 'Lumos Maximos' from Blaise's wand couldn't show what lay at the end of it.

They knew they shouldn't be waiting there.. that they should either leave or investigate it further. But the thing was..

None of them wanted to seem cowardly by suggesting they leave.

And none of them wanted to be the one to suggest further investigation either.

So they just stayed closed to the opening of the passageway, looking around at the stone walls as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.

"Any guesses?" asked Ria, moving her lit wand over the wall, hoping to find something.

"You're the Seer, you tell," retorted Theo, making her roll her eyes again.

Though soon she squinted, moving the light closer to the wall. "What on earth is this?"

The remaining three found their way to her, squinted their eyes just like her. It looked like a very unusual sign of some kind. "Could be a Rune?"

Sophie clicked her tongue, shaking her head. "Ancient Runes don't look like that." she answered. "But— But I don't know why.. I feel like I've seen that somewhere?"

Ria nodded. "Me too.. It's too familiar.. But— Wait.." She blinked in realisation. She somehow had a very strong memory that just did not co-operate with her while studying the subjects she needed to get better at. "No way.. Remember our first Divination class back in third year?"

Theodore blinked. "You mean, the one where we were kicked out?" He pointed towards himself and Blaise. She sighed, remembering how they had tried to change the pattern of the tea leaves. 

"Yeah, right. So, basically.. I saw a pattern that I thought resembled a Phoenix. And this looks almost the same!" She exclaimed. "See? Those are the wings.. That's the head, and that's the long tail. It's a Phoenix!"

"That's.. That's terrific!" whispered Sophie. "Do you think it occurred to you because you were meant to find this place with us?"

Asteria shrugged. "Maybe.. Maybe not."

And her eyes went hazy for a moment..

"Remember, honey.. All you need to do is remember. And it will all make sense.."

"Revelare Memoria.." The words left her mouth before she could comprehend, and a golden glow surrounded her body.

As the light died down, she looked at her friends, and saw them looking at her with the same expression of bewilderment.

"What the fuck!" Blaise whispered, pointing at her neck. "Where'd you get that thing from?"

"It's a gift from Severus.." She answered, her fingers picking at the black stone of her pendant. "I— I don't know why I remembered that.. it was written on the box it came in."

"So.. Snape gifted you a glowing pendant?" asked Blaise. And Ria shrugged.

"I wanna try that.." Sophie's eyes twinkled with excitement. "Revelare Memoria."

"It won't work for you.." It was Theodore, and they were all slightly surprised at his serious tone. "Revelare Memoria.. Reveal memories. It's a standard spell for unlocking memories that are concealed in objects. So.. no. I don't think what Snape gifted you is just a glowing pendant."

"Well, well, would you look at that? Theodore Nott is speaking sense for once."

"Hey!"

"Shush, boys!" Sophie snapped. "But.. But you didn't see any memories right now, did you?"

Ria shook her head. "No."

"It's a standard spell, but a bit complicated from what I remember. The spell breaks the charm.. and there's another thing that acts like a medium, but—"

"Ah.. forget it. He's back to nonsense again."

"Zabini, you little shit—"

"Can you two stop fucking fighting for one moment?" Asteria snapped, her eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Right.. What were you saying, Theo? There's another thing? Like— what thing?"

"Don't know that.. It depends on the person that conceals the memories in the object. They decide what the container of the memory is and its medium too. And its meant to be broken by one specific person only.. Or at least, that's what I've heard from my father." answered Theo. "He used to tell me about many standard spells and charms even before I started school."

"I don't understand.. why would Snape give you something like that?"

"No idea.."

After what seemed like another hour, Sophie finally gave up on the 'I don't wanna quit and look like a coward' game and suggested that they leave the place. The three agreed readily and decided that they would surely come back to check the passageway out entirely.

Don't know when, but they would.

As days went by, the weather became dryer, and the wind became crueller than ever, skinning their hands whenever they wandered around the castle. Though Asteria wished she could have just one match of Quidditch with the best players of Hogwarts and Viktor Krum. But the fortune never came, since they were forbidden to even roam around the pitch.

Draco Malfoy's Slytherin gang seemed to have no other purpose than tormenting the life out of her and the Gryffindor Trio. It looked like they spent every ounce of their energy giving interviews to that disastrous reporter. Merlin knew how she was even meeting them, since she was banned on the grounds, and they hadn't had another Hogsmeade trip since Valentine's day.

Valentine's day.. That horrendous day still somewhat haunted Ria. She made sure she was prepared if that bastard ever tried to do something again. And she had told no one about Louis, except for her father, who still hadn't responded.

But even after all that, she couldn't take his kind grey eyes out of her mind. She couldn't comprehend how the boy that blushed heavily when he received the simplest compliments from her had actually tried to force himself upon her.

No one had questioned why the two had fallen apart; no one except for Harry.

Not because he could take a jab at her, or tell her how he had warned her. It was just because she went painfully silent whenever Bonheur came around.

"You know, you can tell me anything, right?" Harry had assured.

Ria had looked at him and forced a smile, nodding warily and then had returned back to that silence again. It bugged Harry to a point where he daydreamed about hugging her tightly to his chest, caressing her hair till she melted down into his embrace, forgetting whatever that may have happened.

The relationship between them, fortunately, wasn't as rocky as it was before the second task. The bond between them hadn't returned to what they had before the night at the Astronomy Tower, and they didn't know how much time it would take. Harry knew that she felt the same, but Asteria still did not know about him.

After all.. Why would he use the Confundus Charm if he wasn't sure about me?

But she knew they had each other's back, no matter what.

"So, we aren't ever going to know what happened between you and Potter." Sophie concluded, nodding in understanding.

Neither of them talked about the Confundus incident after the Yule Ball; Ria didn't have the heart to, and Harry feared he might upset her again by not keeping his mouth in control. Both of them thought it was better that way.

"I swear to Merlin, these two would shag, settle down, have grandchildren, retire and we would not have one clue." commented Blaise, and Asteria gasped, smacking his arm soon after. The three chuckled, walking through the candy-filled aisle.

"It's not like that— We don't want to talk about it. Everything's alright, and he has apologised to me." She shrugged as she held the Honeydukes door open for the three.

The March Hogsmeade weekend had arrived quicker than expected, and the Quad still hadn't stopped thinking about the pendant Snape had gifted to Ria.

"At least he apologises," Nott sighed. "Unlike some people here." He gave Blaise a side-eye, making it known he was still mad from the comments he had made in that passageway. The boy paid him no mind.

"But he shouldn't have done something that needed—" Sophie's sentence was interrupted by a loud, frightened yell.

"OH MY HOLY— oh, it's just a bird." Blaise breathed out in relief as the white bird settled on the roof of a shop, while Sophie just stared at him in disbelief.

"You screamed like someone bloody murdered you, you git!" She exclaimed, keeping her hand on her pounding heart, while Theodore just snorted out a laugh.

But Ria's attention was on the bird; the Hawk. And it was staring back at her. It took off and landed on another roof away from them, looking at Ria again with expectations.

She looked around at the other three, hoping they hadn't noticed. Blaise and Sophie were currently in a banter, where he had snatched her candy and she was jumping to take it out of his grasp, while Theo just watched the two with an amusing smile on his face.

Ria cleared her throat, making him look at her instantly. "I— er— I need to go."

Theo nodded. "Okay, where?"

Ria scratched her head. "Uh— I just need to go."

"Yeah, but where?" He asked again.

"To meet Harry." She answered in a timid voice, and as expected, a smirk grew on Nott's face. She rolled her eyes, then spun in her place. "Don't come looking for me, I'll return soon."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I wouldn't want to walk in on you two eating each other's faces off, or worse, fuc—"

Asteria pressed her hands against her ears. "Ahh! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Theo just laughed, while she had her face red as she walked away with a fond smile on her face.

The dotted hawk kept flying, and Ria kept following it. She frowned at her surrounding; she had never been in this area of Hogsmeade before. The winding lane was leading her out into the wild countryside around Hogsmeade. The cottages were fewer, and their gardens larger.

Then she came across a scrubby patch of ground, which rose to meet the rocky foot of the mountain. Ria let out a huff, looking up at it.

The hawk transformed beside her, and she sighed in relief. "Ah, thank Merlin! At least we're climbing together."

Her mother just laughed. "I'm sorry.. honey." Then, without another word, she transformed again and flew upward.

Ria stared at her in pure disbelief and betrayal. "Hey! That's cheating!"

Soon, she was out of breath. She wondered how she was a Football and a Quidditch player with such low stamina. Isabella kept pausing for her daughter on the way many times. The rocky path was not making it any easier. And after minutes of effort, they finally seemed to reach their destination.

Isabella flew into a narrow fissure in the rock. Asteria squeezed into it, and then she saw a dimly lit cave. There stood a familiar hippogriff held by a rope, the Golden trio who had just looked back at the commotion, and the man that Ria had missed too much.

"Sirius!" She exclaimed and rushed forward to hug him. He hugged her with the same excitement, while Isabella busied herself with the hippogriff.

Sirius looked tidier than how he had left Azkaban. His hair wasn't as matted and greasy, but he still looked thin. "How dare you leave without meeting me last summer?" Ria playfully accused.

Sirius chuckled fondly. "Sorry, Ria. Was in a hurry." The girl nodded in understanding, her smile never faltering.

"So.." Isabella interrupted, "What did we miss?"

"Nothing much.. Just Crouch being absent at the tournament, Bagman constantly trying to help Harry, Snape and Karkaroff acting suspicious, Crouch's son turning out to be a death-eater—"

"Wait— wait!" said Ria abruptly, cutting Ron off. "Crouch's son was a death-eater?!" She asked incredulously.

"Yes.." answered Sirius. "Long story short— He was put in Azkaban while I was too—"

"Without a trial." Harry piped in his complaint.

"And he died after being in there for a year, and his mother too, shortly after." He added, while Ria just stared blankly.

"Okay, wow.. That was a bit of a shock."

"Oh, it was.." Ron agreed.

"And Crouch dismissed his House-elf, Winky, after the Dark Mark incident at the World cup. How could he—" Hermione was interrupted by Ron's scowl.

"Here she goes, obsessing over house-elves again—"

"Moody says Crouch is obsessed with catching Dark wizards," Harry said loudly, bringing everyone back to the main topic.

"Yeah, I've heard it's become a bit of a mania with him," said Sirius, nodding. "If you ask me, he still thinks he can bring back the old popularity by catching one more Death Eater. But there's nothing about his absence in the newspapers too." At this sentence, Ria picked the newspaper beside him.

"And he sneaked up here to search Snape's office!" said Ron triumphantly, remembering the time when Harry was sneaking into the prefect's bathroom to figure out the egg.

"Yes, and that doesn't make sense at all," said Sirius.

"Yeah, it does!" said Ron excitedly, but Sirius shook his head.

"Listen, if Crouch wants to investigate Snape, why hasn't he been coming to judge the tournament? It would be an ideal excuse to make regular visits to Hogwarts and monitor him."

"So you think Snape could be up to something, then?" asked Harry, but it took Ria's attention.

"Can we just keep Severus out of this?" She asked. "He might be mean, but he couldn't be one of them."

"I know it's hard to believe such things about your own godfather, Asteria.." Ron patted her hand in pity. "But what's true is true."

Hermione mused in after him. "Look, I don't care what you say, Dumbledore trusts Snape—"

"Oh, give it a rest, Hermione," said Ron impatiently. "I know Dumbledore's brilliant and everything, but that doesn't mean a really clever Dark wizard couldn't fool him! Look at the current situation— someone managed to put Harry in a deadly tournament right under Dumbledore's nose!"

"That's a different point, Ron! Why did Snape save Harry's life in the first year, then? Why didn't he just let him die?"

"I dunno— maybe he thought Dumbledore would kick him out—"

"What d'you two think?" Harry said loudly, looking at the adults, and Ron and Hermione stopped their bickering to listen.

"I think they've both got a point," said Sirius, looking thoughtfully at Ron and Hermione. He then looked at Isabella. "You want to say something?"

She sighed. "I'm just saying, Severus is a changed man. And I've given you that explanation before." He nodded, then turned back to the children.

"Ever since I found out Snape was teaching here, I've wondered why Dumbledore hired him. Snape's always been fascinated by the Dark Arts. He was famous for it at school. Slimy, oily, greasy-haired kid—"

"Sirius." Isabella warned.

"Er—right, sorry." He said, which didn't even sound genuine. "Snape knew more curses when he arrived at school than half the kids in seventh year, and he was part of a gang of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be Death Eaters."

Sirius held up his fingers and began ticking off names. "Rosier and Wilkes— they were both killed by Aurors the year before Voldemort fell. Selwyn—" And Isabella cursed brutally under her breath at the name. "A huge admirer of the Dark Arts and Voldemort himself before she even graduated from Hogwarts. She married a Death-eater too, named Carrow. She's been declared dead, but we can't be too sure."

"Then, the Lestranges.. they're a married couple— they're in Azkaban. Avery.. from what I've heard, he wormed his way out of trouble by saying he'd been acting under the Imperius Curse. He's still at large."

"What?!" Ria's surprised voice silenced them down.

"What is it?" asked Isabella. Her daughter was looking at the newspaper, clearly offended. There was another huge paragraph written about Hermione and her.

'Miss. Edwards, as far as the daily readers have known, has still been toying around with people's feelings, much like her Muggle-born friend Miss. Granger. The two can be seen around with many students from their school, as well as the other ones participating in the tournament. After the young champion, Harry Potter, Asteria Edwards has broken yet another heart. Yes, the fifth-year Gryffindor Louis Bonheur is spotted with a look of heartbreak on his face whenever the girl passes by; some Slytherin students claim.'

'"She thinks the world revolves around her." says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth-year student. "She's really mean and doesn't show respect to students who don't agree to literally worship her at her foot."'

But all of that piece of bullshit was forgotten when she read that one line.

She showed the newspaper to her mother. "Did you read what Parkinson said about me, 'She also thinks she's an excellent Quidditch player, which I'd heavily disagree with' like, what?!" There was a ridiculous look on her face. "I've saved more goals than the minutes this bitch has stayed stable on her broom!" She was enraged. And Sirius couldn't help the small laugh that left his mouth.

It was the same attitude Daniel kept about music, and Isabella kept about Quidditch and Care of Magical Creatures. Copy and Paste.

"Asteria. Language." Her mother scolded. She just looked up and gave her a sarcastic look, remembering the night she had seen Pettigrew.

"Mum. Are you aware of the amount of hypocrisy that settles itself around you when you ask me to mind my language?" She answered.

"Well, can we come back to Snape?" Sirius asked, and the two nodded. "Now, as far as I know, Snape was never even accused of being a Death-Eater— not that it means much. Plenty of them were never caught. And Snape's certainly clever and cunning enough to keep himself out of trouble."

"Snape knows Karkaroff pretty well, but he wants to keep that quiet," said Ron.

"Yeah, you should've seen Snape's face when Karkaroff turned up in Potions yesterday!" said Harry quickly. "Karkaroff wanted to talk to Snape, he says Snape's been avoiding him. Karkaroff looked really worried. He showed Snape something on his arm, but I couldn't see what it was."

"He showed Snape something on his arm?" said Sirius, looking frankly bewildered. He ran his fingers distractedly through his filthy hair.

Though all the attention was snapped towards Asteria as Harry quickly leapt towards her, holding her before she could collide with the wall behind her.

"Honey, what's wrong?" asked Isabella, quickly rushing to her aid as she saw her dig her face into her palms. It looked like she was having a bad headache.

"Do you need something? Wait— here, some water— why don't you sit down— Just breathe in—" Harry kept rambling on, trying to find a water bottle from the bag they had brought food in.

"No— No. I'm fine. It's just— ahh!" She winced again, holding onto Harry's hand as the pain increased. And just before she could see something.. go beyond the familiar fog that appeared in her visions, someone yanked her back and everything disappeared.

She slowly opened her eyes in confusion. She saw.. nothing?

"What? What was it?" Hermione asked with concern.

Ria stared into emptiness. She didn't know if she should've been relieved, confused, or panicked. How come I didn't see anything?

"It was nothing?" Ria whispered in disbelief. She then looked at Isabella and Sirius, concerned. "I saw nothing.. That never happens. Is this supposed to be normal— There is something wrong, isn't it?"

Her mother just breathed out in relief and shook her head. "No, there's not." She sighed. She had assumed it was something worse.

"Reckon, there's a first time for everything.." Sirius offered, and Ria nodded, feeling slightly at ease. But when she realised there was someone's arm around her waist, she cleared her throat out awkwardly.

Harry quickly separated from her, a tinge of red settling on his cheeks as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Do you have suspicions about anyone?" Her mother asked. And she hesitated before shaking her head. "Ria.." She called out again. "Whatever you think, just spit it out. It is important, one way or another, I promise."

Asteria shook her head again. "It doesn't matter. It's.. It's just stupid."

"No, it's not!" defended Harry quickly, then cowered slightly as everyone snapped their heads at his eagerness. "See— you'd have a valid reason to— you know— pout— I mean—"

"He's right, you'd have a valid reason to doubt someone." Sirius agreed, saving his godson from the embarrassment. Godric, he was pretty awkward.

"Well—" All of them looked at her curiously, and she sighed in defeat before mumbling the name.

Ron raised a confused eyebrow. "Who?"

"Mad-eye Moody." She said again, a little louder this time. "I told you it was stupid— It was just about his first class, but then I realised he had caught so many dark wizards and it was his mindset by then— Constant vigilance and all that—"

And it didn't take Harry long to realise that she was in her panic-rant mode.

"But that was still so dumb. I mean, he literally helped Harry with his first task—"

"Ria, Ria!" Harry interrupted. "It's alright." He assured softly, and she took a deep breath in.

The way she wasn't properly able to see a vision for the first time still had her tense.

"That's understandable.." Sirius nodded, gently smiling at the girl.

"So.. Why were Moody and Crouch so keen to get into Snape's office then?" said Ron, bringing everyone back to the topic of concern.

"Well," said Isabella slowly, "I wouldn't put it past Mad-Eye to have searched every single teacher's office when he got to Hogwarts. He takes his Defence Against the Dark Arts seriously, Moody. I'm not sure he trusts anyone at all, and after the things he's seen, it's not surprising."

"But about Crouch, though.. is he really ill?" asked Sirius. "If he is, why did he attempt to drag himself up to Snape's office? And if he's not... what's he up to? What was he doing at the World Cup that was so important he didn't turn up in the Top Box? What's he been doing while he should have been judging the tournament?" They lapsed into silence again.

"Ron!" Ria's voice brought them back. "Isn't Percy Crouch's personal assistant? Why don't we ask him?"

"Brilliant!" Harry beamed in.

"I can try," said Ron doubtfully. "Better not make it sound like I reckon Crouch is up to anything dodgy, though. Percy loves Crouch."

"Write to us once he says anything about him." Isabella replied. "Ria, sweetie, don't panic about today's vision. Maybe, this just isn't the right time. Alright?" Ria nodded at her.

Sirius then heaved an enormous sigh and rubbed his shadowed eyes. "What's the time?"

"It's half-past three," said Hermione.

"You'd better get back to school," Sirius said, getting to his feet. "Now listen..." He looked particularly at Harry. "I don't want you lot sneaking out of school to see me, all right? Just send notes to me here. I still want to hear about anything odd. But you're not to go leaving Hogwarts without permission; it would be an ideal opportunity for someone to attack you."

"No one's tried to attack me so far, except a dragon and a couple of grindylows," Harry said, but Sirius scowled at him.

"I don't care... I'll breathe freely again when this tournament's over, and that's not until June. And don't forget, if you're talking about me among yourselves, call me Snuffles, okay?"

"Weren't you staying at Isabella's house? Which was safer?" asked Harry. "What happened to that?"

"He can't stay." Isabella answered. "Ministry's been keeping tabs on me."

"What? But why?" Hermione asked, enraged.

Isabella shrugged. "They know I was close to the Potters and Sirius.. And Amos asked for the Ministry to keep an eye on me.. to keep me safe from threat. I know, he's just trying to be protective, but.. now I can't go a long distance without being watched. I just happened to escape today, thank Merlin." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, you should leave now."

Isabella took her daughter in an unexpected hug, which surely helped to calm her down. 

But even after all that reassurance, she couldn't help but silently wonder that their conclusions were heading the wrong way.

After that one time, Ria couldn't stop thinking about her future-seeing abilities. She couldn't stop pacing in her dorm, thinking hard enough, as if the vision was going to come back to her again.

It was just hard to believe; whenever she had visions, they haunted her days until she figured them out, but now, when she desperately wanted to see what it was, it just.. disappeared?

And if that wasn't enough, Harry had run to her dorm after some days, claiming that Mr. Crouch had gone mad.

What had happened was, after the champions were introduced to the third task, Viktor had wished to talk to Harry alone about the rumours of him and Hermione dating. While walking in the forest, they had found Mr. Crouch talking to a tree, addressing it as 'Weatherby'.

He also mumbled something about his son, You-Know-Who, and him growing stronger. Harry had asked Krum to stay with him until he fetched Dumbledore, but when they returned, Crouch had vanished and Krum had been stunned.

Random, isn't it? Shit couldn't ever calm down when you were Harry Potter's friend.

And now she was in the Charms classroom with the Gryffindor trio as Harry practised his spells and prepared for his third task.

"Do you think someone attacked him till he went mad?" asked Asteria as she saw him rennervate Ron from the Stunning spell.

"That happens?" Harry questioned in confusion.

"Of course, it does!" Hermione beamed in. "There can be conditions where too much torture can damage brain's functioning."

"But who'd torture Crouch?" Ron asked, coming back to consciousness.

"Maybe someone who'd want to take revenge?" The Slytherin suggested. Then her facial features tensed. "Do you think my vision was trying to show me that?"

The four went painfully silent at this. "Maybe I could've saved him.." She whispered, disappointed. The familiar feeling of guilt filled her again. Hermione placed a hand on her shoulder as an attempt to comfort her.

"You do know, you can't save everyone, right?" asked Ron softly, and Ria responded with a nod.

"I know.. but it wasn't just that.." She defended. "It has never happened. I have never not seen a vision after being that close to it."

"It felt like someone had physically pulled me back from entering a room and then made the door disappear." Asteria added.

"Weren't you learning to avoid your visions, in third year?" Hermione asked. "Maybe it worked?"

Ria shook her head. "I stopped trying to do that a long time ago. It wasn't good. Besides, I can avoid a vision only if I want to, but I can't, since Harry's life is in danger."

The tense silence lingered for a while, before Ria broke it herself. "And that's why, you need to get your arses back to practise. Go now." The three gave out eased chuckles and returned to their positions.

"Ow.. Can we stun Mrs. Norris, please? I'm aching all over.." Ron winced, rubbing his backside.

"Well, you keep missing the cushions, don't you?" replied Hermione, adjusting all the cushions they were using to make the landing softer.

"Once you're stunned, you can't aim too well, Hermione!" Ron accused. "Why don't you take a turn, then?"

"Well, I think Harry's got it now, anyway." She smiled sarcastically.

"It's okay, Ron. I'll save you." Ria offered and walked towards him, while Harry eyed her.

"You can get hurt.." He voiced his concern, making her roll her eyes.

"I'm not a porcelain doll, Potter.." She smiled. "Besides, I know you won't hurt me." At that, Harry frowned.

Asteria noticed his face and immediately knew what he was thinking about. "Stupefy!" He missed the spell by inches, looking at her in shock. "What? There will be creatures in the maze that'll attack you. You can't stay distracted!"

"Well, creatures won't fire spells at me." Harry replied slyly, dodging another stun from her. He couldn't bring himself to fire a spell back, much to Ria's dismay.

"Okay.. let's assume I am the enemy here." She raised her wand, looking at him challengingly.

"You know, that's impossible, right?" His lips quirked up ever so slightly.

"How do you know?" Ria asked, "Rictusempra!" She watched as Harry was hurled back into the pile of cushions and resisted her urge to go to him. She had to stay in character. "What if the enemy put an Imperius Curse on me or something? You'll have to fight me then!"

"I'd rather die happily at your hands!" Harry winked.

"Is this our cue to leave or.." Hermione trailed off, not knowing whether she should be happy or concerned with them flirting in the midst of a battle. Contrary to her, Ron was beaming.

"I think, yes." He pulled her up gently by her arm.

They did not mind. They'd leave them alone in a room for another million times if it meant those idiots would finally confess their feelings to each other.

Ria held back her urge to smile at his stupidly adorable comment. "How are you going to survive, idiot?"

He got up, dusting the imaginary dirt off his clothes to hide his pink ears. "I'll think of you.."

"What?"

"Nothing. Come on, that's enough for today, let's clean this up." He answered quickly, looking at the pile of cushions. Ria nodded.

Then, as if on cue, the two looked around frantically. "What time is it that the two have left us alone, now?"

"Fourth." sighed Ria, picking the stuff up. "Do you think something's going on between them?" She asked.

"Think?" Harry chuckled. "I'm sure."

"What's going on with you, though?" asked Ria, causing him to look up in surprise. He raised an eyebrow. "I can tell you have something on your mind."

"Hm? And how do you know?" He asked, continuing to pick the cushions to avoid her gaze.

"I'm a Seer, I see beyond!" The two laughed at the sentence. "In all honesty, anyone could easily read you."

Harry smiled, but he had to disagree. She was the one who could easily read him.

"For a few weeks, it's like you want to say something. But you're holding it back." She added, and then a silence followed. "You can tell me, you know?"

He paused for a while. "Where do you think we would've been.. if the fight hadn't happened?" Harry asked, and Ria chuckled.

"Let me think.. still in Hogwarts." She answered sillily, shoving the pillows into the cupboard.

"I didn't mean that—" Harry quickly interrupted, and her eyes snapped at him at the urgency in his voice. "Where do you think we would've been?"

Ria gazed at him for quite a while before shrugging. It was weird, talking about unrequited feelings with the person himself.

"Probably nowhere.." she muttered under her breath and then smiled at him. "We should leave, or we'll be late for class. I have Arithmancy.." With that, she spun in her place and walked towards the door.

Harry took in a deep breath of encouragement, and his heart took a leap of faith. 

Just a little courage..

"What if you weren't the only one who felt that way, Ria?"

Ria stopped in her tracks in disbelief. She couldn't remember the last time her heartbeat had quickened in the matter of a moment.

The silence grew, making Harry anxious with every passing second.

"I've messed up again, haven't I?" He asked with a disappointed chuckle.

Ria turned to face him, her face a shade of crimson. "No, you haven't." she answered, a soft smile adoring her lips.

Harry looked up at her again, in disbelief. "Really?" He asked, his tone hopeful. Asteria nodded as her smile grew a bit. He couldn't help but grin now. But unfortunately, the bell rang, and they had to leave for class. 

"I— I promise I'll make it up to you." He beamed, his face turning redder.

"You'll need to survive." The girl said, tilting her head as she watched him in adoration.

"The tournament?" He asked, suddenly feeling a little cocky.

"The tournament.. my best friends, and my cousin's wrath." She added. His smile faltered a little, thinking about Sophie, Zabini, Nott and worse.. Cedric.

"Scared, Potter?" Ria taunted.

"You wish, Edwards." He shot back with a smirk.

"Good luck with that." She finally turned again.

As Harry watched her leave, he could feel something in his chest fluster with the feeling of joy. And as the door closed behind her, he couldn't help that little adrenaline of happiness he felt as he did a little dance in delight.

Asteria turned around the corner with a smile that dared to widen with every moment. Her insides were exploding with ecstasy.

She kept her hand against her pounding heart and grinned. Then she looked around, if there was a sign of anyone. When she saw no one, she took the opportunity to let her happiness out and jumped in joy; her face turning redder.

"Oh my Gooood!" Peeves sang from above her. She looked up in surprise.

"Hello, Peeves!" She greeted the Poltergeist.

"I haven't ever seen you sooo happy, Eddy!" He placed his hands on his hips while floating mid air, using the same nickname he always used to address her with.

"Why, thank you!" She replied. Nothing could've taken her joy away from her that day.

"Wait— WAIT I KNOW!" he cried out merrily, then he cackled, proceeding to float away as he sang in delight, while Ria just watched him with amusement.

"She's in lurve! Eddy's in luuuuurve!!"

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

[word count: 5667]

a/n: AHH MY HEART WAS SCREAMING AS I WROTE THIS IDK WHY

damn :') I'm so lonely

also another meme hehe