Astra

XL - The Lovegoods

THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER, Lily and James were rarely there. They wouldn't tell Astra much, except for something to do with Harry and his scar. This, however little information, was not good. The fourteen-year-old had done as much research as possible on prophecies and knew that they were rarely changed, which made her slightly worried about Harry, even though she had never actually heard Harry's prophecy, just that it made Voldemort want to kill him.

When Astra did see them at Hogwarts, they were talking in hushed voices about nightmares, which annoyed her to no ends; after all, she deserved to know what was going on.

They were also spending a lot of time tracking down Pettigrew. For the first few weeks, they reported that he was most likely still in his animagus form, as they weren't able to use their abilities to get to him. However, at the beginning of July, they came with interesting news.

Pettigrew was now in human form in a little village called Little Hangleton. They were trying to find out what was going on, but it wasn't anything good. Instead, they rarely checked on him, only once a week, and nothing new was there.

At the same time, Astra had learned from the gossip at Hogwarts that a woman called Bertha Jorkins was missing. At first, it seemed fine, but as she thought about it for a full night, the disappearance of Pettigrew in a strange village, the prophecy, and her missing had to be related. 

These thoughts were confirmed when Ludo Bagman and Mr. Crouch came to Hogwarts one day, and she learned that Bertha had meant to go to Albania. Her blood went cold. Voldemort couldn't be behind this, right? And if so, would he be able to return to power? So many things were going through her brain, and she let out her concerns to Regulus.

Usually, she would spend her time in the library or walking around the castle, but she soon realized that this mystery was much more important. She considered writing to Hermione or Luna about the information she had learned, but decided against it. It would probably be too much, and Harry was good friends with Hermione. She didn't want him to know yet.

So, it was to the great shock of Astra when in the middle of her search in the library, Regulus appeared with a woman who introduced herself as... Bertha Jorkins.

It was a great shock that Bertha was dead, but she didn't seem to be much help. She refused to say anything. The only reason Astra could use was that the cruciatus curse caused Bertha great fear, and that she was worried to say anything. It had taken about 2 weeks for Regulus to even drag her there. The only thing she said was one word. How she knew it didn't make sense, but it gave them some information on her death. It was barely a whisper, but it was still there.

"Wormtail."

Bertha Jorkins had been tortured and killed by Peter Pettigrew.

Astra thanked her rushedly after trying to get more information to no result, and added it to her notes.

Bertha Jorkins - missing? Dead, tortured and killed by Wormtail, given a memory charm before being found by Wormtail

Peter Pettigrew - hiding out in Little Hangleton. Why is he there? Trying to help Voldemort? Why did he kill Bertha?

Prophecy - made by Professor Trelawney: "It will happen tonight. The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight... the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight... before midnight... the servant... will set out... to rejoin... his master..." - Peter Pettigrew escaped? Voldemort in Little Hangleton? Rise again?