Sors Stellae
╭── ⋅ ⋅ ミ✩ Act 1 — Tergum in tempus ✩彡 ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
✩Back in Time✩
It was just a normal hot summer day at school, and the quintet sat together at the front of the classroom during Break per usual. Sophronia had her headphones on, humming to her usual Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them playlist. Adalia scrolled through pages of fanfictions and Gisela read her favourite book Circe for the umpteenth time, whilst Suzanna watched YouTube. The sound of Jaime's keyboard clicking as she chatted with people online blended into the background.
After a while, the bell rang, and the five of them hurriedly packed their things and scurried out of the classroom, heading to the Science Lab.
"Come on, guys, we'll be late!" Gisela urged as Jaime almost tripped on Adalia's untied shoelaces.
Sophronia quickly grabbed hold of Jaime before she could fall. "Tie your shoelaces properly. It's the hundredth time this week." She scolded Adalia.
"They always come off!" Her friend protested. "It's not like I haven't tied them."
"Come on!" Suzanna sighed, "We'll be scrubbing the laboratory equipment if we're late."
They hurried up yet another flight of stairs, cursing internally as the rush of students flowed, blocking their way.
"Come on..." Jaime moaned desperately. "Come on...hurry up!"
"We're so screwed." Suzanna bounced on the balls of her feet, anxious to hurry up the stairs.
At last the crowd dissipated, and the quintet ran as if something was chasing their tails, skipping a few times each step. They fled, and were halfway up the 5 levels when Sophronia suddenly screamed out in surprise.
The staircase had split into two. "Guys!" She hollered. "I can't get across—" But Sophronia was cut off as the void sucked her in, her iPad, keyboard, pencil case and the stack of loose leaf paper following with a soft whoosh.
Her friends turned, but saw nothing except for something floating down and lying where Sophronia originally was.
"Where is she?" Suzanna asked, confused. "She was just there."
Jaime shrugged.
"There's a note." Gisela pointed out, and Adalia went and picked it up.
╒══════════════════╕
| To A. Ngai, S. Wu, G. Mok, J. Ling, |
| You four will be joining Sophronia Lam soon. |
| You are the next, Adalia. Prepare yourselves. |
| I wish you luck. |
| From A. P. W. B. D. |
╘══════════════════╛
"What does this mean? I am 'the next'?" Adalia asked, bewildered. "Is this an elaborate prank or something? And who's APWD?"
Jaime shook her head. "It's not a joke, or Sophronia wouldn't have screamed. She never screams unless someone's going to die."
"Who are we going to join?" Suzanna said. "And where did Sophronia go?"
"I don't — hold on, something's appearing on the note." Jaime gasped.
"'You will be reunited with your friend sooner than you think. Do not worry.'"Gisela read. "So Sofa's disappeared somewhere, and you're going to join her, Lia?'
Adalia gulped nervously. "I don't know, maybe. Where is she anyway, and how can words appear on this note? Is this...magic?"
There was a loud crack, and Adalia jumped ten feet into the air, startled. "What—" She too disappeared into thin air along with her belongings.
Gisela, Suzanna and Jaime blinked in shock.
"They're not...dead, are they?" Jaime asked, voice quivering slightly in worry.
Suzanna shook her head. "They haven't gone to the afterworld, I reckon. Whatever this magic is, I hope they'll be fine."
Gisela nodded stiffly, a steely glint in her eyes. "They will."
Two of their best friends had disappeared, but they had to stay strong. We cannot let this nonsense get the better of us. The three agreed. We will find them, and they will be fine.
Sophronia closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the impact when she hit the ground hard, but it never came. Instead, the temperature cooled and she felt something sharp scratch against her arms. She squeaked in surprise as something rather damp landed on her forehead, but the sound came out muffled as she landed with a thump onto a rather soft ground, the air knocked out of her.
She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the dimmer landscape. "Hello?" She said into the dark. "Adalia?"
No one replied, save for the slight thuds of her belongings falling into her lap.
"Gisela, Suzanna, Jaime? Is anyone here?" Her voice echoed around.
Nothing.
Was this a forest? Sophronia wondered. Where am I?
A quiet sniffing and rustle stopped her in her tracks. "Who's there?"
Two eyes glowed as something peeked out of the bushes. She stared as the unknown shadow crept closer and closer. Sophronia gulped as something furry nuzzled its head against her leg. What was that? She wondered, slightly afraid. It's not... a dangerous animal, right? Right?
The warm ball curled up at her feet and looked curiously up at Sophronia. Nope. No, no, no — this was a werewolf, was it?. She recognised the animal from the photos of Harry Potter, and she started to panic, but calmed down. It won't attack me, would it? Usually werewolves would have bitten me already, even if this was Remus.
Sophronia tentatively reached out a hand and let the wide-eyed wolf smell it before gently smoothing the fur back. "Aren't you just sweet?" Sophronia cooed softly at the adorable animal.
Wait, adorable? Have you gone mental? Her inner voice said incredulously, but she ignored it.
The werewolf seemed to lean into her touch, and so Sophronia continued to pet the rather tame wolf, even going as far as wrapping her arms around it.
"I wonder where this is." Sophronia murmured into the wolf's shaggy coat. "Do you think this is the Forbidden Forest? Like, beside Hogwarts?"
She sighed. "I must be going mad. I'm talking to an animal, you don't understand me, do you?"
It might have just been her hallucinating because of her hopeful attitude, but Sophronia swore she felt the wolf nod. She released her hold on the wolf, and slightly tilted its head up.
"We are beside Hogwarts? In the Forbidden Forest?" She questioned. There was light! I know this world — hopefully I'm a witch.
The wolf nodded.
"Wait, so you do understand me?" Sophronia said joyfully. At the wolf's second nod, she continued, "So you are a werewolf?"
Another nod, and the wolf seemed to shrink back a little.
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Oh, there was light! All that's left for me to know is what era is this... maybe this is Remus Lupin!
"Do you know Gideon Prewett? Twin brother to Fabian Prewett, and brother to Molly Prewett?"
The wolf nodded.
I'll just ask if... "Are you Remus Lupin?" Sophronia asked boldly.
Amber-golden eyes blinked wide-open at me, then Remus confirmed her statement.
"Are you in your 2nd year?" She guessed. From what I know, James Potter and the others became Animagi in their 5th year. Moony the werewolf does look rather young here.
Remus nodded.
"May I call you Remus?" Sophronia shifted her weight slightly so that the playful wolf could clamber into her lap. Remus nodded his approval, and she sighed.
"I wonder what my names could be," She mused. "I mean, using my original Christian name would stand out too much, and using my real last name would be strange."
"Maybe I could use a star name? Perhaps...Lyra? Carina? Ara?"
Remus shook his head at all of those.
"Hmm...Cassiopeia?"
Remus nodded enthusiastically, and Sophronia smiled.
"Now, for a last name..." Sophronia stewed away for a few minutes, gears clicking in her head, trying to find a suitable English last name.
"Winters, Summers, Springs, Autumns, Stone, Rivers...There's a lot, which one do you think I should— LIA?" She shrieked in surprise as she heard a familiar cry of astonishment, quickly followed by a series of thuds and a loud 'ow!'.
"Where the hell am I? Sofa?"
"Um, I should ask, are you okay? Where are you?" Sophronia stood up, and lightly dusted off her white school uniform. She peered through the dense bushes and found a splotch of white amongst the shadowy green.
"Lia? Why on earth are you here?"
"Where are we?" Adalia asked, looking around.
"Harry Potter, the marauders' era." Sophronia said, and held out a hand for her friend to pull herself up.
"We're what?" Adalia spluttered. "But — it's just a fictional world!"
Sophronia shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? We were just walking to the science lab and I just fell down from the sky here. How did you actually end up here?"
"There was a note saying that we were going to join you soon and that I was the next. It appeared on the spot where you disappeared."
"Who was the sender?" Sophronia said.
Adalua shrugged. "I'm not sure, I forgot. Something like APWD or something."
"APWD...APWD... who was that? I know I've read it somewhere..." Sophronia wracked her brains for the initials.
There was a gentle whining and Sophronia suddenly remembered about Remus.
"Forget about the sender, Lia, I've found a very gentle werewolf. He's Remus, Remus Lupin." The werewolf came out from behind a tree and sat down onto the ground, looking up at Adalia with big eyes.
"Sofa, have you gone mad?" Adalia whisper-shouted. "This is a bloody werewolf! What if it bit you?"
Sophronia giggled and patted Adalia on the shoulder. "Don't you remember Remus Lupin? Moony?"
Adalia blinked, and made a noise of confirmation. "So...this is him?"
"Yep."
Adalia knelt down, held out a hand for Remus to smell and petted him.
"His fur is like a cat's." Adalia said.
"You're petting him like a cat." Sophronia laughed.
Remus whined and tilted his head towards a faint light at what seemed like the edge of the forest.
"Is that the way out of the Forest? To Hogwarts?" Sophronia said to Remus. He nodded.
"Oh yes!" Sophronia exclaimed. "APWBD stands for Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore!"
Adalia's mouth opened, shut, then opened again. "How on earth do you remember so many last names?" She gaped.
Sophronia smirked proudly. "Because I do remember things, unlike you."
"Sofa!" Adalia cried indignantly, but knew it was all in good humour.
The two best friends sat there side-by-side, waiting for the other three of their quintet to arrive. Adalia had explained the note to Sophronia, and Sophronia had at once knew what was going on.
Maybe it's because of a Prophecy. Sophronia mused quietly. So Dumbledore sent us here. Or maybe it's just fate? Or it is our destiny.
The two weren't sure how long they waited, or how the moon had started to fall, but at long last the duo were alerted from their doze by Remus as three more yelps and thuds were to be heard.
"Guys?" Adalia called out.
"Lia??" came Jaime's voice.
"Don't sit on me!" Suzanna groaned.
There was some rustling, and Gisela's head poked out. "Sofa? Lia? Where are we?"
"We're apparently brought back in time to the Marauders' Era, Hogwarts." Adalia said, watching the others' reaction. To Sophronia's surprise, no one was surprised.
"I should have guessed that." Gisela sighed as she, Suzanna and Jaime stepped out of the bush. "Words appearing on the paper, you disappearing with a crack...I've read it before, how could I not know?"
"So...what do we do?" Suzanna asked.
"Has anyone checked the magical note again?" Jaime said suddenly. "There might be another message."
Gisela stuck her hand into her pocket then handed Jaime the paper.
"There's something written on it!" Adalia said, peering over Jaime's shoulder.
| Follow Mr. Lupin. Stay the night, he will lead |
| you to my office. Change your names. |
| P.S. I like Cockroach Clusters. |
"He likes what?" Suzanna asked incredulously. "Cockroach Clusters? Who eats cockroaches?"
"It's not real cockroaches, is it, Sofa?" Adalia said, frowning slightly.
"Of course not! Who would eat cockroaches?" Gisela exclaimed, sharing a look with Sophronia, eyes full of mirth.
"They're candies." Sophronia explained, "Chocolate candies made to look like cockroaches."
"Oh...uh...cool I guess?" Jaime said.
"So...why change our names?" Adalia asked.
"I guess it's because if we use our original names and last names we'll stand out too much." Sophronia said. "I mean like, who in England has the name Sophronia? And our last names are Chinese."
"True." Gisela said. "What name do you guys want?"
"I have no idea." Suzanna replied, sighing. "I think my name suits me."
"Maybe we could have similar names?" Jaime suggested.
"Ah! Maybe we could use star or constellation names." Gisela suggested as she caught sight of the setting moon.
"Sure. Like what?" Adalia said.
"I could be Cassiopeia, because the constellation means challenging but intriguing." Sophronia smiled, "Aquila means eagle, and Gisela, you're sharp and precise, also a Ravenclaw so it definitely suits you. Suzanna, maybe you could be Libra? You're balanced and your emotions are always balanced. Probably Andromeda can be your name, Jamie. It means 'Ruler of Men' but obviously in this case it's not that — you're firm enough to be a ruler. Oh, and Adalia, maybe you can be Hydra? It means water serpent and they're protective."
"That's...long." Adalia wavered.
Gisela shrugged. "I'm fine with this. We could even call ourselves The Constellations too. Like, you know, the Marauders."
The wolf perked up at this, and Sophronia petted his head.
"That's a good idea!" Suzanna agreed.
"Alright, I guess?" Adalia confirmed.
Sophronia, now Cassiopeia, tilted her head. "We still have one more thing to discuss." She said.
"What?" questioned Adalia. "We've thought about everything already."
"No, when Dumbledore said that we should change our names, he literally meant our identity, not just our first name." Gisela said, "We have to think of a last name too."
"We could use the four seasons?" Adalia said.
"But there aren't five seasons." Suzanna pointed out. "There's only Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, and we've got five people here."
"I could be Rivers?" Jaime said.
"That'll work. So I am now Cassiopeia Winters." Sophronia confirmed.
Adalia nodded. "Hydra Summers here."
"Aquila Autumns." Gisela grinned.
"Libra Springs." Suzanna said.
"Andromeda Rivers." Jaime added.
There was a moment of silence, then Hydra spoke up. "What do we do now?" She asked.
Aquila shrugged. "No idea."
"The note said that we should 'follow Mr Lupin'." Libra reminded. "Where do we follow him?"
"Remus, where did you come from?" Cassiopeia asked the wolf, who had sat motionless beside them. He looked up, and stood up, tail wagging.
"So— I mean, Cassiopeia means Hogwarts, not your hometown." Andromeda jokingly specified.
The wolf turned its head to look at the five of them, eyes unblinking.
"I think Remus means that we should follow him. Right, Remus?" Aquila said.
The wolf nodded its head, and the quintet, now named The Constellations, collected their pens and their loose leaf papers then hurried after him.
"Where on earth are we going?" Andromeda said as she narrowly ducked under a tree branch.
"I think...Remus is leading us to the Shrieking Shack." Cassiopeia said.
"The what?" Andromeda replied, horrified. "Are there ghosts or something?"
"No, there are ghosts here but not in there." Aquila said. "Ghosts are in Hogwarts."
"Then why is it called Shrieking?"
"Because it shrieks." Hydra promptly said.
"For once in her life, Hydra is right." Cassiopeia jokingly said.
"Hey!" Hydra protested.
"Only joking, only joking." Cassiopeia grinned as they arrived at the Shrieking Shack.
"It's so run down." Libra commented. "Are you sure it won't fall down?"
"I guess it wouldn't." Aquila said, "It hasn't for...a few years?"
"Do we sleep on the floor?" Andromeda said as they trudged through the narrow and dim tunnel.
"I guess. Unless you want to share a dusty bed?" Libra said.
Aquila shrugged. "We could enlarge it?"
"No, we can't." Cassiopeia said, "We don't even know if we actually have magic."
But contradictory to her statement, the dusty bed beside the old piano creaked and enlarged until six people could sleep on it.
"Who just did that?" Libra asked, not knowing that it was Cassiopeia.
"Uhh Cassiopeia?" Hydra said. "Your eyes are...sapphire blue."
"Huh? No, they aren't." Cassiopeia said, confused. My eyes are brown, not blue.
"Yes, they are." Libra confirmed.
"Maybe because you just did magic?" Andromeda suggested as Cassiopeia looked even more bewildered as before.
"I don't know?" But then Cassiopeia's hair turned blue too. "My hair's blue too? What's happening?"
Aquila shrugged. "Maybe you're a metamorphmagus!"
"Yeah, probably." Cassiopeia yawned. "Don't r-r-really care anymore."
"Let's sleep." Libra said as the wolf started snoring. "Remus has made me tired."
Andromeda chuckled. "Remus made you tired?"
"He snores, I feel tired now." Libra sighed, burrowing into the bedsheets.
"Goodnight, guys." Cassiopeia said.
"Goodnight, Cassie." They chorused.
"When did I give you permission to call me 'Cassie'?" Cassiopeia asked.
"Just then." Hydra said cheekily.
Cassiopeia sighed. "I'm not gonna even ask."