Asteria Edwards was distraught.

She sat on the chair in Dumbledore's office, with Harry and Sophie trying to calm her down since the things in the office were trembling as if there was an earthquake happening.

The potion was not calming her down..

Ria couldn't stop the violent shaking of her hands, or the twitching of her fingers, nor could she stop thinking about her mother.

"There were four of them.." answered Kingsley Shacklebolt. "All four, masked. But we managed to track them down." He placed a file down on the table. "Evan Rosier, Amycus Carrow and Alecto Carrow are some we know of.. The fourth one.. we don't really know. Might be a new recruit. Might be the Carrow child.."

Dumbledore briefly glanced at her, before looking back at Kingsley. "They were clever with this attack." He said. "Isabella couldn't attack.. nor could she escape."

"Cowards." Minerva grunted, angry but worried. "Isabella could've taken on all of them if they would've attacked any other way. She has anti-apparition spells around her house. So they knocked down the house.. trapped her first.."

"What about the Manors? No signs?" asked Dumbledore.

Sophie fetched Ria a glass of water. "Here, Ria."

Ria shook her head, wiping her sweaty hands on her skirt. "No.. No, I'm good." She answered, trying to gulp the lump of fear down her sand-dry throat as she listened to the conversation.

"Ria.. You know how Ray is.. She will be fine." Harry tried comforting her, despite being scared himself.

"Yeah— Yeah, of course, she will be!" Ria exclaimed.

"All of the Manors, yes. There is no sign of Isabella." Shacklebolt answered.

"Where else could she be, then?!" asked Asteria, her voice quivering.

Sophie gripped her shoulders, gently trying to comfort her. "Ria, it's okay. It'll be alright."

Ria let out an exasperated sigh, looking up at the ceiling for a brief moment before looking back at them. "I'm trying.." She whispered.

"Some place secure.." muttered Minerva. "Maybe.. she is at the place You-Know-Who is hiding.." she muttered to Dumbledore and Kingsley.

"Might be.." Shacklebolt answered, genuinely in thought.

"But.. how could she get attacked, sir?" asked Harry, addressing Dumbledore. "As far as I remember, she always had shields and protective enchantments around her house, not just anti-apparition spells." 

Dumbledore didn't answer. He continued pacing and ignoring his question. And Harry felt a tinge of annoyance.

"She had just moved back to her house." Kingsley answered on his behalf. "Maybe she hadn't put back all the enchantments yet." Harry nodded.

Ria was now suddenly panting, feeling as if the room was suffocating her. "Ria?" Harry gently stroked her back.

"She's cold.." Sophie muttered, resting her hand against Ria's forehead.

Harry got up, holding her hands in his. "Come on, love. Let's get some air."

The three got out of the room, and all the shaking and cluttering stopped. Ria took a huge gulp of air and slowly started humming Blackbird under her breath without giving any thought to it.

"What if they don't find her..?" whispered Ria, anxiously fiddling with her fingers.

"They will.. Ria." Sophie replied quickly. "And I've heard Professor Lupin is searching for her too." She added, hoping it would assure Ria since she had immeasurable faith in that man.

"Okay.." Ria breathed out, a little relieved. 

Remus is there.. He'll find Mum.. He definitely will.

Shacklebolt and McGonagall left the office. "You three should return to your classes now." she said. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "As soon as we receive any information about Isabella, we will let you know."

The three nodded and had just turned to leave when Ria heard a faint whisper in her ear. She looked around in confusion, but then she heard a distinct voice in her head.

Isabella Diggory went missing on purpose.

Ria stopped dead in her tracks, making Sophie and Harry look back at her. She looked up at them. "I'll— I'll be back. You go ahead."

The two exchanged a concerned look before nodding. Ria watched them walk away, and when they finally turned around a corner, she spun on her heel and rushed back into the office.

"On purpose?! What do you mean by that?" She asked, her voice shaking with irritation.

"Isabella was a part of the mission to find evidence about Voldemort and his hiding place." answered Dumbledore.

She blinked, her eyes suddenly moist. "Yes.. a mission.. Of course." Ria chuckled in disbelief. "So, you're telling me that the blast at my house was planned?"

"Not really.." Ria stared at him in question. And Dumbledore sighed. "Isabella herself took all those enchantments off to lure the enemies in. It was supposed to be a trap."

"And you just let her do it?" She asked in disbelief.

"It was not just my choice. It was hers, too."

"Okay, then. No one is given a mission alone. Who else was involved?" she asked.

When he didn't answer, she stared at him in disbelief. "She was all alone— Why? Why would you let her do that alone? Why would you risk her life? Again?!"

"You do know, this conversation can be heard by the person we're all worried about—"

"Yes, I know that!" She answered exasperatedly. "It's just that I don't care about a bloody mission over my mother's life! Or anyone's life, for Salazar's sake! What is wrong with you?"

"Asteria.. I understand your concern at the moment—"

"No, you don't!" yelled Ria. "Just because my mother has powers— Just because she can do certain things other people can't, doesn't mean you'll drain her out every chance you get! She's just lost a nephew! Her brother's not well! She's just got her powers back! For God's sake, can't you give her a break?!"

"What if her Enchantress magic stops working, all of a sudden? What if you can't find her? What if this mission goes horribly wrong? What then, huh?"

"Asteria.." Dumbledore sighed, taking the glass of water on his table to give it to her. "Sometimes, there are things bigger, more important than you and me. We work hard, we risk.. all for the greater good—"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Ria mocked a laugh with tears pooling in her eyes, and the glass exploded in his hand. "I'm sorry for being scared for my mother's life!"

"I'm sorry for being mad at you because you could've found out about the traitor last year instead of being 'loyal' to your disguised friend! I'm sorry for being scared about losing my mother like I lost my brother!"

The veins in her neck started turning black, and as Dumbledore had expected, her magic had started a mini-earthquake. "I'm sorry for being so selfish— but this is how I am! I care for my family more than I care for the world! Everyone's not as great, as— as sacrificial as you!"

Dumbledore watched her as she panted, trying to cool herself down. "In no way, or form, I think I am greater than you, Asteria. I understand, you are scared. But I had no choice in this."

"No. No!" Ria shook her head. "You always have a choice, if you're willing enough."

"I could not send anyone else. I had reasons— in fact, we," he said, referring to him and Isabella, "had our reasons."

Ria glared at him for a while. "What else are you hiding?" She asked, her expression bitter.

Dumbledore quipped a questioning eyebrow. "Why would I hide something—"

"How can you use Legilimency on me?" asked Ria, straightforward. Dumbledore stopped mid-sentence. "As far as I've been told, no one else but an Enchantress more skilled than me, should be able to get into my head." she stated.

"You're certainly not an Enchantress, unless all of you are giving me some deceiving information. If so.. you would be the biggest douchebag to ever exist." She shook her head. "And if you do have similar powers.. like an Enchantress, I would never ever forgive you for not giving it your all and fighting Voldemort and Lagarde by yourself."

"But being the 'for the greater good' person, I assume you don't have that power.. So, I ask again, Professor," sneered Asteria. "What else are you hiding?"

"I do not have the right to tell you, unfortunately." Dumbledore said regretfully. "In fact.. I, myself, know very less."

Ria contemplated those words for some moments before calmly nodding, much to his surprise. "Alright.. Alright. No problem.." she shrugged, and all the cluttering stopped. Her black veins slowly went disappeared.

"Keep the secrets to yourself, I guess.." she backed away slowly, still looking at him. "I got one of them out when I lost my brother. Maybe it'll take me losing someone else for you to tell me another one."

"Asteria—"

"I'll only ask you for one favour, though." Ria interrupted him with a defeated chuckle. "Just make sure you tell me all of them before they kill me, too."

"Thank you so much, Professor." Malfoy smiled, taking back the signed permission slip from Umbridge.

"Work hard on that Cup, children." Umbridge chirped, and the three; Malfoy, Ria and Adrian, got up to leave. "When is the first practice?"

"Tomorrow, Professor." answered Malfoy, and Umbridge nodded.

"Very well, then. Hope you do the best." Malfoy nodded in answer, and the three turned to leave. "I was talking to you, Miss. Edwards." Ria stopped instantly, biting her inner cheek hard. "Why so quiet, dear? I thought you enjoyed answering back."

Asteria clenched her jaw in anger, prepared to throw something at her, but a small clearing of throat from Malfoy took her attention. She looked at him, and he slowly shook his head, almost pleading.

Ria took a calming breath and turned around with a stern expression. "We'll try our best. Thank you, Professor."

Umbridge smiled in satisfaction. "Good girl.. I did not think you'd learn discipline so quickly. I am impressed." She chirped, slowly pouring a cup of tea for herself.

Ria's eyes burned with gold flickers for a second, and her heart wished to strike the porcelain cup in Umbridge's hand. It would make a gush of blood stream down her palm, and she'd finally feel the pain she and Harry have been feeling all these days.

She blinked rapidly, calming herself before her eyes glowed brightly and stopped her sadistic thought process. Don't think that..

The three left the classroom. Adrian continued to walk away, but Malfoy had grabbed Ria's arm to stop her. She gave him an frustrated, questioning look.

Malfoy loosened his grip and raised his hands in surrender. "I was just trying to say.. don't try to cross her. She's not who she makes people think she is."

Ria rolled her eyes, and they continued strolling. "You mean she's not the sadistic, annoying perfectionist that makes people want to bang their head against the wall?" she asked sarcastically, and this time Malfoy rolled his eyes.

"No. I'm serious." said Draco. "People in the Ministry try to stay on her good side for a reason."

"Yeah.. yeah." muttered Ria nonchalantly.

"Take it from a friend, maybe." Draco shrugged, making Ria inspect his suspiciously sincere expression.

"Why are you being good to me?" asked Ria, raising an eyebrow.

"I am good to you.." Malfoy answered, making Ria slowly shake her head.

"You are decent to me." Asteria corrected, and before she could comprehend, the impulsive part of her blurted out, "are you going to do something that's gonna make me mad?"

Draco stared at her, flabbergasted. "N— No!" He denied. "It's just— a Slytherin having another fellow Slytherin's back, I guess." He said. Ria nodded hesitantly, still doubting him because she had known Malfoy for years now.

"Fine.. we'll see." She said dismissively, not knowing that her impulsive thought was, indeed, correct.

Like everyone had guessed, the rest of Ria's day had gone by with her thoughts tormenting her every second. She couldn't rest or eat properly, which had led to Harry staying up with her for the rest of the night.

Lord, he didn't dare leave her alone with her thoughts and desperation. Also, he couldn't help but stay with her as a distraction from his own thoughts and fears. After all, Ray was like his mother, too.

The next day had been busy for Asteria with her raiding the library so she could find specific books. It annoyed her how the Hogwarts library didn't have one book on Enchantresses anymore, although they had been around since the Founders' age, apparently.

And after a stressful day with three tests, she was finally doing the thing that never failed to relieve her.

"Good shot!" Ria chuckled, clapping her hands. "Zabini! You did better than I thought you wou—" She quickly stopped and dodged the seventh Bludger that Crabbe had aimed at her instead of the Chasers.

That behaviour of his had annoyed her to a point where she wanted to stop the practice. But she couldn't, since Quidditch was one of the few things that was taking her mind off her missing mother.

"Really?" Blaise grinned. "I feel like I was pretty lousy."

"No. That was good for a first practice." Ria complimented. "Even though you're a substitute, we'll never know when we might need you. So, I thought preparing from the beginning would be good. Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it soon."

"Thanks, Ri." He said appreciatively.

"Alright, Chasers!" She called out, "The goal aims are pretty good for all of you, but of course, you can always be better. For now, I want you to practice passing the Quaffle to each other, alright?" Blaise, Adrian, Amelia, and Montague nodded.

"Great. Beaters—" Ria called, but they had been mid-air, talking to Malfoy and snickering about something. "Crabbe! Goyle! Malfoy!" She yelled, making the three instantly look at her. "If you could spare some of your attention for us, it would be a delight." She mocked, making the Chasers chuckle.

"You're going in too, as distractions. Hit em' Bludgers at these four, but not too hard. We're saving the brutality for the actual game." She said to her Beaters, and they nodded.

Before they'd fly back to the middle of the pitch, Malfoy carefully passed them each a chit, and they silently sniggered again.

Ria raised a questioning eyebrow, flying her way towards Malfoy. "What's so funny, Malfoy? Care to share the joke?"

"Nope, thank you." He quipped, taking her by slight surprise.

Asteria shrugged. "Alright.. Let's get you prepared, then." She said and descended to the ground. She began removing her extra keeping gear.

"Uh— Don't you have to practice— oh, right. Forgot who you were going against." Malfoy chuckled, supposedly making fun of Ron.

"Ha ha ha.." Ria mocked and threw one of her shoulder paddings at him. He chuckled again when she missed. "God, you really gave me precision for goal-keeping, but took my aim away.. huh?" she silently accused the sky.

When she rose into the air again, she looked around. "Spot the Snitch, yet?"

"It's been like.. five minutes since you released it. The Snitch doesn't show up that quick."

"Yeah, but it could."

Malfoy shrugged. "Of course, it could, but most of the ti–-" Before his statement was completed, Ria had swooshed past him, towards the direction of the gold glisten that had caught her eye.

"Shit—" Malfoy quickly followed behind and caught up.

"Remember rule number 3?" asked Asteria, as they flew next to each other, neck to neck.

"Uh— Respect for respect?" Malfoy asked back, his gaze flickering between the Snitch and her.

"No, dumbarse." She replied. "That's rule number 1!"

"Well— It's not my fault I can't remember! You have so many rules!" Malfoy sped some feet ahead and inched closer to the Snitch.

"It's 'No chit-chat during the game'. It's not that hard! There's only five!" Ria yelled back, speeding up too, but before she could catch up, Malfoy had sped up again.

"I saw you!" He sang annoyingly. She huffed in irritation, but then an idea dawned upon her. 

Well, she had never tried it before. But now she was too curious to let it go.

Ria ascended some feet above where Draco was and tried to keep her shadow on Malfoy so he wouldn't spot her. But as the Snitch diverted its path and started going in all directions, keeping up became hard.

She cursed herself. Why do I have to make everything complicated for myself?

She swerved the other way to try and keep up, but barely missed herself from hitting a pillar. Her balance shook, and before she could get it together to begin chasing again, Malfoy had already caught the Snitch.

"Edwards!" He called. "Remember rule number 3?" He mocked, making Ria roll her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah.. Let's see what wonders you do during the actual game." She answered back.

After another warm-up speeding round with Malfoy, Ria had returned in front of the hoops and blown her whistle. Everyone stopped their practice.

"Okay.. I feel like—" Her sentence was interrupted by another Bludger. "For fuck's sake, Crabbe! You throw another intentional Bludger at me, I'm gonna fucking kick you out of the team! Get that inside your thick skull!" She finally broke. Crabbe nodded, but showed minimal to zero regret about his actions.

"Alright." She breathed out. "That's enough for the first practice. But we'll slowly lengthen the time. We're opening the season, against Gryffindor, if you hadn't guessed yet." They chuckled.

"And we haven't won a single match against them, as far as I know." She took a serious look at them. "And I wanna change that so—"

"So you could taunt your boyfriend? Yes, we'll make you proud, Mama." answered Amelia sincerely, making some of the team laugh.

Ria playfully rolled her eyes with a small smile. "Yeah, that's one of the reasons, too. So.. until the next practice, everyone, take care of yourselves."

Adrian, Amelia and Blaise started clapping, and all of them followed, as an appreciation to Ria's first official session as a Captain. She smiled gratefully.

As everyone began leaving, Amelia swung her arm around Ria's shoulder and ruffled her hair. "Great job, little one." She chirped delightfully, making Ria chuckle.

"See?" Adrian asked. "Told you, you'd do good as Captain." He said to her.

"Thank you for this opportunity, Mr. Pucey." Ria tried to say in her best formal voice, which made the two and Blaise laugh.

"No problem.." He playfully patted her head. "Okay, gotta go. I got detention with Sprout." said Adrian.

The three bid him goodbye, and Amelia sighed. "Anyway.. any news about your mother?" she asked, her tone lacking all the humour from before. "It's been a day."

Ria's smile instantly disappeared, but she tried her best to bring it back. "Nope." she said, much to her disappointment. "But they're trying."

"Well.." Amelia trailed off. "She's one badass witch, though. She'll survive." She tried cheering her up.

"Yeah, Ria. She will." Theo chirped as he joined them. He had been supporting his best friends from the stands.

Blaise chuckled. "You'd know, wouldn't you?" He asked.

"Shut up." Theo scoffed with a tinge of crimson settled on his cheeks.

The two chuckled, and much to Ria's surprise, Amelia chuckled too. But then she remembered she had once mentioned the inside joke to her.

"No, but honestly." Theo shrugged the comment off. "As far as I've heard, Death-eaters feared her during the first war. I don't know why they're targeting her now."

"She used to fight with her powers, back then, and she was well-trained.. and brutal." Ria answered. "Now.. It's been a long time since she has fought. And her powers aren't completely back yet either. I don't know why she takes these risks.." Her voice broke a bit at the end, making Amelia rub her shoulder.

"It's just—" she sighed out, her breath shaking. "There was a time in my life when I had no one with me.. No one but her. I.. I don't know what I'd do if they couldn't find her—"

"Hey.." she said softly, wanting to comfort her. "Don't worry.. She'll be alright.."

Ria nodded, swallowing back her tears. "I hope so."

Asteria was sitting peacefully on the love-seat sofa by the fireplace with a book in her hand. Her eyes were skimming over the text mindlessly; though she couldn't comprehend the meaning of even one word. 

Instead, she absentmindedly kept fidgeting with the sleeves of Harry's Quidditch jumper that she had borrowed from him and was wearing at the moment. It didn't have his signature pine scent anymore. She needed to return it and borrow another one.

From the outside, she appeared awfully peaceful. But on the inside, she had battle wars going on. Thoughts clinking and clashing against each other like swords. Her throat itching to let out the mourns she kept bottled for reasons she didn't want to confront.

Bodies of soldiers buried deep under that she didn't recognise, like all those unanswered questions and unknown secrets. On top of that, the battle cries of her haunting memories playing in the background felt like they would make her ears bleed out at any moment now.

It was.. pure, unbearable chaos.

You know what the scary part was? She couldn't tell who she was battling at the moment.. The enemy? Or herself?

The scarier part was the question floating around in her mind. What if those two are one?

For someone looking from the outside, she appeared normal. But for Asteria Edwards, who knew herself very well.. she was confused as to how she hadn't finally broken down and drowned the bloody Dungeon yet.

Her thoughts had pulled her so deep down that she hadn't noticed the stone wall of the common room opening.

After some minutes, a familiar figure crouched down in front of her. "Sophie? Wha— What are you doing here?" She asked, surprised.

"Remember? I wanted to meet you at midnight for something important. I told you yesterday." asked Sophie, and Ria nodded in realisation. She closed her book and followed Sophie to the corner of the room, where the two Slytherin boys had been waiting too.

Theo yawned loudly. "Okay.. she's here too, now. What is it, Soph?" He asked.

"Shh.. I know we're the only ones in the common room, but we don't want to attract any attention." Sophie whispered, and took a small pouch (maybe with an extension charm) out of her pocket and dug inside to find something.

Soon, Blaise's face lit up in realisation. "Oh— Happy Bi—" Theodore shut his mouth with his hand and yanked him down, while Ria gave him a wide-eyed glare from the other side of the table.

Blaise gave the two a questioning look. Ria aggressively mouthed him 'surprise?', making him nod again. He had almost forgotten.

Theodore silently breathed out in relief as he released Blaise. Lord, he almost ruined the surprise.

"Alright.." Sophie whispered, and the three instantly straightened up, acting like Theodore hadn't just wrestled Blaise into not spoiling something. One by one, Sophie took things out and slowly placed them on the table in front of them. 

Ria's jaw dropped as she clearly recognised all those things. "You didn't—" 

Sophie nodded, proud of herself. 

Ria leapt to hug her. "Sophie Cordelia Scamander, you fucking genius—" Sophie chuckled at the praise. "How did you— Oh my— Lord, how did you?" Ria whisper-yelled, half in awe and half in shock.

"Uh.. what is going on, exactly?" asked Blaise, confused.

"These are the things!" Ria quietly exclaimed, pointing at all the stuff on the table. "These are all the things that I thought were confiscated from my dorm! My— My Divination stuff, the star charts! This!" She showed them the Marauder's map.

"Where did you find these? You didn't get caught, did you?" Theo whispered, slightly concerned.

Sophie shook her head with a small smile. "No. I hid them all before Umbridge raided our dorm. I knew she would definitely take these if she found out."

Ria hugged her once again. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! Thank you!" She whisper-yelled desperately. She didn't know what she would ever do without any of this stuff, and without Sophie.

Theo and Blaise looked at them in confusion. "Wait— I get the desperation for the Divination stuff and the Map.." said Theo genuinely, because Ria had told the three about the Marauder's map. "But you can just make the star charts again, can't you? What's so special about them?"

"These aren't just any star charts, Theo!" Ria whispered, her eyes sparkling with interest. "These were made by—" She was stopped because of a sneering voice outside the stone wall. "I— I can't tell you, right now."

"Why?" Blaise asked.

"I just— I haven't figured stuff out completely, yet." Ria replied honestly, although she was going to ask for their help at first.

"I'm really close, I promise. I'll— I'll let you know, okay?" She asked. The three exchanged looks of agreement before affirmatively nodding at her.

Ria sighed in slight relief. Well, at least we started somewhere, didn't we?

After some while, Theodore and Blaise took off towards their room, while Ria walked Sophie out of the common room. She just couldn't thank the girl enough for what she had done.

However, when the stone wall parted, the two stopped in surprise. Harry seemed to be arguing with a Slytherin Prefect outside. The two looked back at the girls.

"Oh! There you go! You don't have to let me in your lovely little Dungeon, anymore." Harry sassed, making the boy roll his eyes and walk past the two girls.

"Harry?" said Asteria "What're you— Hey.. is.. is everything okay?" Ria asked, slightly anxious.

Harry suddenly looked a little stressed. "McGonagall called us at her office." He answered, and Ria gulped the lump in her dry throat.

She hesitantly nodded, wiping her slightly sweaty palms on her sweatpants. "There's nothing to be worried about, right?" She asked, forehead creased in worry.

"I'm just as clueless as you." Harry said honestly. "But I'm sure it's all okay." He tried to assure her, and she nodded. "Come on."

"Let us know what happened as soon as possible." said Sophie.

Ria nodded. "Right, okay.. Don't wait up, though. Get some sleep." Sophie nodded in response.

Harry and Asteria walked their way to McGonagall's office in silence. There was no question that the two had been in an concerning amount stress for the past two days. There was no question that both of them needed some peace.

Therefore, no words were spoken as they walked. No complicated gestures were exchanged. The only comfort there was.. was their fulfilling silence; Their fulfilling presence for each other when it was most needed.

Just her hand enveloped in his.

Their fingers laced together like pages of two books overlapping.

Some calming caresses on the knuckles.

Them walking under the moonlight, through the sound of crickets, slightly speeding up and slowing down once in a while to match the pace of each other's steps.

For someone else, it would be minimal, it would be bare, it would be unnoticeable. But for them, it was enough.

Ria moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her head on his shoulder. Harry sighed as he returned the gesture by putting his arm around her shoulder and kissing her head.

For some reason, that moment felt more peaceful than some of their past days had felt.

The two eventually separated as McGonagall's office came closer. She was waiting outside the door. "Ah.. there you are." She sighed, opening the door and leading the two in.

Ria had held her breath, expecting bad news, but then she saw Remus waiting inside. And something inside her told her to breathe out easily once she inspected his face. He didn't seem distraught.. or anything along those lines. 

"How have you been, Ria?" Moony smiled.

Ria nodded, feeling as though someone had breathed life back into her body. "Fine." she answered.

"Doing well, Harry?" He nodded too. "Good.. you go first. Minnie?" Remus looked at her expectantly.

Usually, McGonagall would scold Remus for using her nickname, but today she just calmly grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him into the fireplace of her office.

When they apparated away, the other two walked in too. "I am surprised you didn't break out into questions once you reached here." said Remus honestly.

Ria barely shrugged. "That makes the two of us." she said impatiently and closed her eyes.

She felt the green flames consume her. And when she finally opened her eyes, she sighed out loud in relief, hiding her face into her palms.

Isabella Diggory was right in front of her, hugging Harry with a smile on her face, alive.

The woman let go of Harry, who was grinning ear-to-ear, and looked at the girl. She silently thanked the heavens above that she got to see her daughter again.

For a moment, Asteria didn't see the bruise on her forehead, or the scar across her cheek, or the sling around her neck that held her arm upright. She rushed straight into her arms, as if a lost child had finally found its way home.

"Are you okay?" asked Ria, her voice heavy and shaky. "Please tell me, you're okay.." Isabella nodded with a wide grin on her face, just relieved to see her daughter again.

Ria quickly backed away from the hug and looked at Remus. "What happened? How did you find her?" she asked, though infinitely thankful that they had.

"We didn't.." answered Tonks, taking Ria by surprise since she hadn't noticed her. She, too, had a minor cut across her forehead that looked like it hadn't been aided yet. "We knew where she was all along. Snape told us."

"Why didn't you find her earlier, then?" Harry asked desperately. And Ria nodded too, wanting to know.

"We couldn't.." She answered with a small frown. "Not until we had a plan, and well-trained Aurors. But we didn't get them. In the end, it was only Moody, Remus, and I who could go."

"We had expected quite an attack, honestly." Moony continued. "Unfortunately, or fortunately— we'll never know.. the small shack where they had her captured was not You-Know-Who's actual hideout. And the Carrow we were looking for wasn't there. They were all adults." Ria and Bella hid the disappointment on their faces.

"Nymphadora, here, impressively mimicked one of the death-eaters," Remus complimented. "And I dare say we wouldn't have succeeded if it wasn't for her." He gave her a grateful smile, and a red tint settled on Tonks's cheeks.

"Thank you so much." Ria whispered exasperatedly. "How will I ever rep—"

"Oh, shut it!" Tonks waved dismissively. "You don't have to. You're like family." she smiled.

Remus hadn't realised he had been looking at her with an endearing smile on his face until Isabella had cleared her throat. He snapped out of it and looked down.

Asteria let everything sink in for quite a while. It all seemed like such a bad dream. She looked back at Isabella, and her mind pushed her back in denial. "You're really okay, right?" She asked again, and her mother's heart warmed at her gentle tone.

"Yes, I am, my love." Bella replied assuringly.

Then, as if having a sudden change of thought, Ria glared at her mother with her red eyes. "No, you're clearly not! Look at you!" she exclaimed, tearing up as she eyed those injuries.

"Going on missions? Taking house protections off?" She asked in disbelief.

Isabella's smile faltered. "Honey— I— I was just doing what everyone else is trying to do.."

"Everyone else?" Ria gave out a fake laugh. "You knew they were going to attack, but you still didn't have your wand? Mr. Shacklebolt found it in our house, under the rubble! You didn't have your wand on you, Mum!" She sighed in disbelief. "You're not invincible, for God's sake!"

"I—" Isabella was speechless for a moment. "I didn't have my wand because— well, I— I wasn't going to let them take my wand!" she tried to reason.

"Oh, yeah?" Ria chuckled. "I call bullshit."

"Lan—"

"Don't 'language' me!" Asteria interrupted. "You think you know everything? No, you don't! You still aren't prepared for wandless magic again! This all is far beyond 'language'!"

Isabella opened her mouth to answer, but Ria had already spoken again. "That's it, woman. You're grounded."

That statement took her by surprise. "Wha— Grounded?"

"Yes. Grounded." Ria replied in all seriousness, ignoring the small snort that came from Tonks.

"Lord.." Bella chuckled, glancing at the pink-haired witch. "And I thought I was supposed to be the mother here.." she looked around at the others, but her smile faded away when all of them had their serious faces on.

"It's not funny, Isabella." Remus agreed with Ria. "My hair is greying because of you." he answered honestly, making her throw him an offended look.

"No, it's not! You look fine! And I daresay— you actually look younger." she replied, making him shake his head in disappointment. McGonagall threw her another glare, and she regretfully looked away. "Yep.. not the time."

"Love.. I.." she started with a sigh, looking at Ria who still seemed mad. "I am sorry.. All of you. I genuinely am sorry. I didn't want to be a burden. I— I just wanted to help."

"Yes, but there are other ways of helping, Ray." explained Harry. "You don't have to walk yourself into danger like that. I know you've done this before, all those years ago. But— you don't have to risk your life like that anymore."

"I'm sorry." She said, "I don't know what else to say.. Because I have a feeling, anything I say that is not an apology is just going to be used against me.."

That honest, but playful tone made Ria and Harry break out into small smiles, and Isabella refrained herself from smiling too. Tonks, too, failed horribly at hiding her smile, but the two adults just eyed her in disappointment.

"But I am sorry." She concluded.

Ria looked down and shook her head fondly, while Harry nodded. "Yeah, alright." he said. "But you're still grounded. You're moving back in with Padfoot."

Now at this, everyone smiled, but Isabella's smile vanished. "Wait— what?" She had thought it was a joke.

"Yes. You're banned from missions. You're not even permitted to have a job anymore. In fact, you don't need it. You're a Magizoologist— you are rich. Your best friend's rich. Your other best friend's son is rich." He said, referring to himself.

Isabella just speechlessly stared at him. It was rare that people ganged up on her. And it seemed that everyone was enjoying it. Everyone but her, obviously. "I don't understand—"

"You don't? Fine." He went on. "In terms familiar to you.. You're going back into lockdown. You're quarantined," Harry explained further, and when Ria chuckled, he knew he had succeeded at what he was trying to do.

After some more minutes of talks and discussion, Ria, Harry and McGonagall had decided it was better to return to Hogwarts as soon as possible, because of the Ministry hag. Asteria couldn't stop thanking Tonks for taking such a risk to rescue her mother. Tonks had just hugged her poor, speechless self to calm her down.

At the end of the day, all of them were just grateful that Isabella Diggory was alive and well.

"Alright.. I'll meet you two later—" Tonks got up from her seat to leave, but Isabella stopped her. The two had returned to Remus's cottage with him.

"Hey! Stay for a while." She said, then gestured at her forehead. "Remus will be mad if you leave with that."

Tonks briefly touched her cut. "Oh, this? I'll be fine." She shrugged.

"No." A singular response came from Remus as he arrived with a first aid kit and a tray with two mugs, and Bella pulled her down on the seat beside her.

Tonks laughed. "I don't think I—" but her words drowned down once Remus held her chin for a moment to tilt her face upwards, towards him.

Good thing her hair was already pink, or she would've been busted horribly.

She winced slightly as he began aiding her, but smiled once he apologised and continued his work. Bella just leaned back in her seat, watching them fondly.

Even a blind person could tell Tonks liked him, but she didn't know about Remus.

He had always been a little complicated. Sweet and kind? Yes. But also complicated.

"There. Just needed a minute." muttered Remus, slightly proud of himself. "You're all done."

"Thank you, Remus." Tonks said with a smile, and then threw a look of acknowledgement towards Isabella too. "But, I gotta go now." she said, getting up. "I promised Mum I'd meet her as soon as we get back."

"Sure. Take care." said Isabella. as she walked towards the fireplace. Tonks raised her hand to her forehead and gave a small two-fingered salute before the green flames consumed her.

Remus sighed tiredly and began closing the first-aid, while Bella watched him curiously. "She's pretty good, isn't she?" She asked. "Smart, funny, lovely," Remus nodded with every adjective while she waited for an answer.

"Yes, she's.. kind." He said, making Bella roll her eyes.

The 'I'm worse than everyone on this planet' part of him never changed.

"She's also pretty, and single."

"Hmm?" asked Remus, passing her a mug of coffee.

"Oh, I know you heard me!" Isabella scoffed. "Come on! Give it a chance! Why don't you two date?"

Remus sighed at this. "Isabella—"

"Oh.. shut your melodramatic-self up, alright? Stop pitying yourself so much." She shook her head, sipping her coffee.

"I don't know what you mean.." He sang, making her roll her eyes.

"Anyway.. how many days am I ordered to stay here?" she asked, looking around his cottage. It hadn't changed much since she had last been there.

"Just tonight." He answered as he sat across from her, sipping from his mug. Isabella nodded, doing the same.

"How long till your next period?" She asked suddenly.

He chuckled, as she had addressed his condition just the way she used to when they were at Hogwarts. "Two days." He answered, and she nodded in response.

In all honesty, she wanted to stay with him for the full moon. He had been alone for a long time now.

With a sigh, Isabella looked outside the window. The dark woods outside reminded her of the Forbidden forest... of four children, working their arses off to make sure their best friend was never alone again.

She smiled to herself.

Four children, doing weird shit just so their best friend's crush would notice him.

Four children, persuading their families to arrange dinners during holidays so their best friend could have some happy time, away from his hell of a family.

Four children, making sure they never let their best friend feel like he didn't fit in.

The ashes of their memories gave her soul a sudden burn.

Four children, swearing to protect the fifth one from everything that would try to take her away from them.

As she stared off into the dark, her smile slowly faded away with the fading stars.

Five children.. swearing to never let each other's hand slip away. Swearing to stay together for the rest of their lives.

It was like this sudden grief had settled in her heart as she remembered all the people she cared for.

Remus watched her longingly, as her face relaxed, as the humour on her face completely disappeared, as her eyes watered the slightest, and as she stared into darkness with guilt, sadness and a hint of desperation.

He watched as his Ray of sunshine slowly died down.. along with the joy on her face.

He recalled the party after Harry's trial. "Maybe not all, but we can still change some things. We still have time." His ears rang with Sirius's words. And he pleaded his own mind to stop playing those memories.

"Do we?" His own voice haunted him now.

"It will be different, this time.. We'll make sure of it."

Remus slowly sipped on his coffee. Yeah.. we'll make sure of it.. no matter what.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

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