The Return

Chapter 4

It had been five days since Astrella arrived at Hogwarts, and she couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had settled over her. Today was a full moon, and she couldn't help but worry about Remus. Over the past few days, she had become very close with him, as well as James, Sirius, and Peter. Despite this, she still couldn't tolerate the way they treated Severus. However, she was also friends with Severus and Lily.

Astrella wandered around the castle aimlessly, feeling lonely without her friends by her side. The four boys were nowhere to be seen, and she couldn't find Severus or Lily either. With a deep sigh, she looked around the empty hallway, feeling lost and unsure of what to do next. The castle felt eerily quiet, as if everyone was hiding away from something. Astrella wondered if it was because of the full moon, or if there was something else going on that she didn't know about. She decided to keep walking, hoping to run into someone she knew and find out what was going on.

Soon enough, Astrella spotted James and Sirius running and laughing in the distance. "James, Sirius!" she called out and ran over to them. The two boys slowed down and turned to look at her.

"What are you two up to?" Astrella inquired.

"Running from Professor McGonagall! Oh no, James, she's caught up with us!" Sirius exclaimed, taking Astrella's hand as they all sprinted away.

"Potter! Black! Come back here this instance!" McGonagall's voice boomed as she chased after them. Astrella looked at the two boys in bewilderment.

"What did you two do!?" she yelled as they ran, knowing that if they got caught, she might end up serving detention too.

"We pranked Professor McGonagall! It was hilarious!" James chuckled, looking back at the professor chasing them.

"Sorry boys, but I need to save my own backside too!" Astrella said and grabbed onto their clothes, bringing them to a stop. McGonagall quickly caught up and glared at the two mischievous boys.

"I must say, putting balloons in my office was creative, but you two will serve another detention, Mr. Potter and Mr. Black," McGonagall said sternly, but James and Sirius still appeared proud of themselves.

Astrella shook her head in disbelief. "You two are something else," she muttered, crossing her arms.

"Professor, Astrella planned it all! We did what she planned!" James said, smirking at Astrella who was startled. McGonagall raised one of her eyebrows and looked at Astrella.

"Is this true, Ms. Malfoy?" McGonagall asked.

"What?! No, I did not!" Astrella said in defense. She was not offended by the blame, instead, intrigued on what the boys were up to.

"Oh, come on, don't lie now. We all know that it was really you!" Sirius said.

"Well, if that's the case, you will also serve detention with them this evening, Ms. Malfoy," McGonagall said sternly, before leaving the scene.

Astrella playfully glared at the boys. "I can't believe you two just threw me under the bus like that," she said, shaking her head.

"We didn't mean to get you in trouble, Astrella. It's just that we knew we'd get detention anyway, so why not make it a bit more fun?" James said with a grin.

"Well, I hope your 'fun' was worth it," Astrella replied, rolling her eyes.

"Of course it was! It was hilarious seeing the look on McGonagall's face," Sirius said, still chuckling.

Astrella sighed, but couldn't help but smile at the boys' antics.

Astrella sighed, "Detention on a Sunday evening? Just perfect."