The Raven's Call

Growing Closer

After flying practice, I decide to use my free period to study. I take my books with me to the library, but it seems like everyone else had the same idea, it's packed. I sigh softly before turning heel, and heading towards The Great Hall. The tables had a few students spread about, but much less than the library. I find an empty spot at one of the tables and spread out my books, some parchment and lay out a quill. I begin studying for my Astronomy lesson tonight, opening up 'Astronomy; A New Universe.'

I sit in silence for around fifteen minutes, until the silence was cut by two gingers, Ron's brothers, sitting down either side of me. "Yo, Atticus, right?" One asked. "You're Cedric's little brother, right?" The other asks. I slowly close my book. "Yes and yes.." I say softly, looking at one, then the other. "I'm Fred Weasley." The one on my left introduces. "And I'm George." The one on the right continues. "No offence.. but; what do you want from me..?" I ask. The twins chuckle. "We just wanted to know how you two were related." Fred informs me. "Yeah, you know.. because you and he look nothing alike." George agreed. "Oh.. well, I'm adopted." I tell them, seeing George pass a Galleon to Fred behind me in my peripherals.

"My real parents are Muggles.. when I was five I accidentally set fire to the living room rug when I threw a tantrum." I say with a small smile on my face, though it quickly faded when I spoke my next sentence. "My mother called me the Anti-Christ and immediately got me in the car and dropped me off at an orphanage.. At least that's what I was told, I don't quite remember.." I trail off as I realise what I had just said, and who I had just said it to. "I'm sorry.. I don't know why I just told you that.." The twins both rub my back to comfort me. "We just have one of those personalities." They say in unison.

My smile returns as the twins comfort me, though something catches George's eye, so I turn my head to see what was going on. It's Asteria Malfoy, though she looks different. Instead of her all over platinum blonde hair, it's half black. I can hear the hall fill with whispers as Asteria and I make eye contact. I wave to her and see Alex appear behind her, so I beckon the two over. I'm not sure, but I think I see a slight blush on George's cheeks.

Asteria and Alex sit opposite me. I hadn't really paid much attention to their features before; but now that we'e sitting across from each other, I'm able to take them in.

Asteria is beautiful, she has long, straight hair that sits at her waist, not a hair out of place. Her skin is pale, but her cheeks have a natural light blush. Her lips have a natural pout and they're a pale pink. Furthermore, her eyes are such a light blue, they almost look grey. She's thin, but not too thin. Her face is pure of imperfections; except for a beauty mark on her neck, just above her uniform collar.

Alex has a square jawline, making him look older, even though he's about the same age as me. His skin is almost as pale as Asteria's and his hair is shorter than mine, black with white tips. He has heterochromia, where his right eye is green, and the left, blue. He's very much in shape, with defined muscles. His voice has a Scottish twang, just like his Aunt.

"What happened to your hair?" Alex asks Asteria, breaking me out of my thoughts. "It's barely been a half hour, and you dyed it already? Or did someone teach you a spell to do that?" I watch as she looks down at her hair. "Oh crap!" She mutters, looking back up at us. "Well this is the real me, this is my natural hair colour, and I hate it so much that I always change it because I'm a Metamorphmagus." Asteria explains. "I think it's cute." George speaks up, looking somewhat flustered. I nod with a smile. "Yeah, it suits you!" I say, noticing Fred passing a Galleon to George behind me, like George had done before. Alex looked at us with a puzzled look on his face. "Uh... I might feel stupid asking this, but, what's a Metamorphmagus?" He asks quietly

"A Metamorphmagus is a witch or wizard who has the ability to change their appearance at will, without the need for a wand, spell or potion." I explain. "It can't be taught, it's a birth thing." I say as I feel something crawl onto my lap, it feels a little too heavy to be Bandit, so I glance down and smile. "Hello, who are you?" I ask the small tabby cat that had made its way onto me. "Sora! What are you doing over there?" Alex asks with a giggle. I pick the cat up and place it on the table. "I believe this is yours." I say with a chuckle. Alex reaches over and picks it up before placing it in his lap.

Asteria then mentions that her cousin is also a Metamorphmagus, so the genes must be somewhere in their family. "So, Asteria, did Draco give you much trouble?" Alex asks her. "I gave him trouble, don't worry. I handled it." She replies with a small smile. "I really hope the message got through, or I got a month of detentions for nothing." Alex laughs, resting his hand on the back of his neck. I chuckle softly, too, but stop when I realise what he had just said. "Wait, a whole month? What do you have to do?" "It's nothing too major, just cleaning the library for the month. I'd love to get a look into the restricted section, so it's not all bad." He replies with a laugh. "Although, Filch will be keeping a close eye on me while I'm in there." The twins and Asteria grow quiet, mischievous grins on their faces. "What are you three planning?"

"Do you want to tell them?" Fred asks, looking at Asteria. "Why not?" Asteria smiles. "Well, we were planning on pranking Filch with a sleeping drought somehow. Why don't we use Alex's detention to our advantage and give Filch the potion to make him fall asleep so that Alex can go into the restricted section and borrow some books without permission? I'm sure there are some spells or pranks that you would like to know about somewhere in there!"

The twins have a look on their face. A look that says they are already hatching a plan.