The Raven's Call

Dragons and Werewolves

9PM
Hagrid's Hut.
I'm the first one here. Great.
I hug myself for warmth as I sit cross-legged on one of the large pumpkins outside the darkened Hut, waiting for any signs of life. "Sup Freckles!" Fred calls as the twins approach me. "Wuddap Ginge." I retort quickly, earning laughter from the boys. "Wow, speedy as well as smart." Fred smirks, he and George joining me in the pumpkin field. More words of praise, what is happening today? "You keep me on my toes, Fred. I gotta be quick." I respond, earning myself another small laugh from him. He has a cute laugh.

I shake my head, why am I thinking like this? Fred is my friend.
F r i e n d .

Asteria soon comes into view. Thank Merlin. I give her a small wave to dismiss my thoughts, turning the twins' attention towards her, now. Nobody's looking? Good. "Hello boys." She speaks up, joining us in the pumpkin patch. "Hi Astra~" George responds shyly, "You look nice tonight." He flirts. She's dressed head to toe in black clothing, I can barely even see her face. "Stop it, George, we don't have time for you to drool over Astra." Fred scolds his brother. "No matter how pretty she looks?" George asks sadly, earning a glare from Fred, before he offers to help me down from the pumpkin. I take Fred's hand and slide off of the large vegetable, a fresh coat of blush dusting my cheeks, causing me to quickly look away. What is wrong with me???

Asteria and I follow the twins into the forest, following the heat emanating from a specific area, not too far away. I never thought about how hard it would be to work with dragons, those 3rd degree burns must be a nightmare. As the four of us grow warmer, we know we're getting closer to our goal. Soon we hear voices, trying to calm the caged beasts, though it just seems to be riling the creatures up more. As we enter a clearing, we're met with four large cages containing four large dragons, all of different species. Beautiful yet terrifying creatures. I'm broken out of my thoughts as Asteria tugs on my hand. "We can't stay here for long, it's almost time for me to turn." She whispers my way. I give her a quick nod.

"What are you two troublemakers doing here at this time?" A voice asks, belonging to a ginger man heading our way. That must be Charlie. I'd recognise a Weasley anywhere. "Charlie!" The twins respond in unison. "It's bloody good to see you, bro." The two exclaim, holding their arms out for a hug. Charlie returns the hug before turning his attention towards myself and Asteria. "Who's your friends?" After breaking the hug, Fred begins to introduce us. "Well, this is Asteria. Georgie has a huge crush on her. It's rather annoying, really." Fred teases. "And I'm Atticus Diggory-Grey." I speak up, as George had occupied Fred by reprimanding him for announcing his crush to the world. I hold my hand out and shake the Weasley brother's hand. "It's nice nice to meet you both, I'm Charlie Weasley, and these are the dragons I look after in Romania." "Wicked.." I hear Asteria mutter. "You sound like the twins." Charlie comments with a chuckle, funny, I was thinking exactly the same thing. "Been hanging out with them too much, I guess." She responds shyly, it seemed she hadn't expected him to hear her. I feel her tug on my arm again, as I turn to look, I see her nails sharpening by the second. We're cutting this very close.

"Alright, well, it was nice meeting you, but we gotta run." I say in almost a panic. Astra begins to run out of the forest, toward the shrieking shack. I grab Fred's hand and drag him with me as we run after her, George running with us. "What's going on?" Fred asks, his grip on my hand was tight, not showing signs of letting go. "What's wrong with Astra?" George asks, struggling to keep up. "It's a long story." I respond, they'd find out soon anyway. "When did she get so fast?" Fred asks with a huff as we dive into the entrance of the shrieking shack under the Whomping Willow, which had already been subdued, grabbing Asteria's discarded wand from the dirt along the way. Good thing I spent most of my time this summer swimming, otherwise I'd never have the cardio to keep up with the running. The twins catch their breath quickly before we make our way up the stairs, my hand still clamped to Fred's. Suddenly, there's a loud howl that erupts from a rickety room at the top of the stairs. The twins collectively shit their pants. "Was that a wolf?" Fred asks. "Close, a werewolf." I tell them, continuing up the stairs. "Does Asteria know there's a werewolf living here?" George asks, his voice shaking. "Oh, I have a feeling she might." I respond, leading them to the room. Standing there, in the light of the full moon, was Asteria in all her werewolf glory. Her wolf is different to most other werewolves. It does stand on two legs, but she's fluffy, her fur is a dark grey with a sparkly silver tone. Her eyes are a pale blue. Even in her wolf form, she's still very pretty. 

"Asteria..?" I hear George ask shakily, stepping out from behind me. "Surprise.." I mutter, feeling Fred's grip tighten around my hand. "It's okay. She's in control." I assure them both. The wolf nods, helping my case. I feel Fred's grip loosen from my hand as he steps forward too, finally severing the connection between our hands. The wolf, Asteria, slowly makes her way over to George, burrowing its face into his chest. This would have been rather sweet to watch, if he wasn't scared shitless. If he loves her, he'll accept her for who she is. As I'm thinking this, I see him back away from her embrace, the shock seemed to be a bit too much for him right now.

Understandably so. 

The wolf turns away, before curling up in the corner. I sigh softly, if George won't do this, then I will. I walk up to her. "Hey, Astra." I say softly, kneeling down and patting her fur, to reassure both her and the twins that everything is okay. She's rather soft, softer than I had expected anyway. She buries her head into my chest, like she had done with George earlier, and I wrap my arm around her, hearing her whimper softly. "It's okay. He'll come around." I whisper to her. I told her I'd be here for her, and I always keep my word. "Blimey." I hear from behind me. "Is that really Astra? Why is she whimpering like that..?" Fred asks, walking a little closer to us. He seemed bewildered. "Is she in pain?" George speaks up from behind me. I shake my head. "No, she's upset. I think she feels you don't like her anymore because of this." I say, I'm gripping at straws here, but I'm pretty sure I'm right about this. "Right, Astra?" I ask. The wolf lifts its head and nods before returning to her corner. Right on the money as always, Atticus. I turn to look back at the twins as Asteria lets out a sad howl. "She needs us tonight, boys." I tell them, to which they nod. They're still visibly scared, but slowly understanding.

I take a seat on the dusty, broken bed, looking towards George. I gesture with my head towards Asteria, motioning for him to go comfort her. He hesitates for a moment before slowly walking over to the curled up wolf on the floor.  He kneels down before slowly patting the fur on her back. I smile before turning my attention back to Fred. "How did you know about all of this?" He asks me, taking a seat beside me, I sigh softly.

I explain the events of the night she was attacked. The time turner, helping save Buckbeak and being launched by the Whomping Willow. Fred listens intently, fully invested. I'm not sure if Asteria and George are listening, but I'm sure they would discuss it in their own time anyway. "Wow.. that happened last year? You guys really get into as much trouble as Ron and his friends, don't you?" Fred asks with a smirk. I grin, nudging his shoulder with mine. "Yes. Next question." I say quickly, with a smile. He chuckles in response, slapping my thigh lightly. "You're a good friend, Freckles. Astra's lucky to have you." I blush softly from his touch, then deeper from his comment. Why am I getting butterflies?
"Thanks.. Ginge." I respond with a grin, causing him to laugh again.