1Four girls made a promise they couldn't keep. They promised to always be friends; the promised to let nothing, not even death separate them. And yet, in a matter of minutes, best friends had turned worst enemies. And how does that happen to a person? Well, listening to a dilapidated old hat is a start.
There is only one person in the world who would not want to wake up late on a Sunday morning with a promising sun shining through the window. Alicia Marston would have much preferred waking up a few hours later.
Being one to prefer the night, Alicia had not fallen asleep until late (or rather, early), and the bright, peppy sun was like acid in her eyes, and the feeling was slowly traveling to her head. Smothering her head with a pillow, Alicia rolled over to go back to sleep, but the covers were thrown off her bed by her family's house elf, with the help of her sister, Ashley. Face still buried under her pillow, she cried out something that sounded like, "Mumph!"
In seconds the pillows that were stacked up under Alicia's head vanished along with those that were piled above, blocking out the stinging sunlight. Her head came crashing down toward the thankfully soft mattress. It took all of Alicia's control not to cry out when she was splashed with frigid water.
"Bloody hell! I'm up already!" Swinging her feet over the edge of her bed and getting unsteadily to her feet, Alicia untwisted her baggy t-shirt and boxer shorts. Not bothering with a dressing gown or slippers, Alicia walked heavily towards the bathroom. Quickly brushing her teeth, Alicia pulled her short, layered hair in a ponytail and continued down the staircase and to the kitchen.
She regretted not wearing slippers when her feet touched the icy, marble kitchen floor. Her long, narrow, flat feet slapped against the hard floor and called attention to her entrance. Alicia had only two other siblings besides Ashley, Marcia and Emma. Muttering a quick hello to them, Alicia grabbed some toast and made a displeased face at its dry blandness.
She sat down next to eleven-year-old Emma and grabbed the crystal-like plastic pitcher of pumpkin juice. Since there was hardly any juice left, Alicia deemed it okay to drink straight from the pitcher.
Unfortunately for her, Alicia's mother, Catherine Marston, chose that moment to walk into the kitchen. "Alicia Nicolette Marston, use proper table manners!"
"Yes, mum." Alicia sighed, exasperated. Combined with a very obvious eye-roll, Alicia's sigh gave the impression that she had heard that particular command many times before.
When Mrs. Marston had turned her back, Alicia made a face and defiantly finished off the pitcher of juice. Mrs. Marston was a highly-paid, well-respected Muggle lawyer. Since a young child Alicia's mother had always wanted to be a lawyer. Finding our that she was a witch had not changed her ambition in the least.
The clock chimed noon and a house-elf appeared immediately beside Mrs. Marston, holding a thermos of coffee. With a crack, the house-elf disappeared again. "Well, dears, I'm off! I'm not sure when I'll be home but give your father a kiss for me."
The professional, elegantly suited woman was out of the house and the intricate wooden door was swinging closed. Marcia and Emma, plus Ashley, who had just walked into the kitchen, fully clothed and looking awake, stared and the door, and heaved what seemed like one simultaneous sigh.
Alicia stood up and grabbed another piece of toast before heading back toward the living room. She shoved the toast into her mouth so that half was crammed in, and the other half was jutting out. She didn't even make it past the round-edged, glass kitchen table before she was stopped short by a loud, deep, yet not hostile voice. "Alicia, how many times do I have to tell you? Do not eat like that; you're going to get crumbs on the floor!"
"Wa i di! Gaa uph a Awisa de?" Alicia cringed as she swallowed the large wad of bread. "What is this! Gang up on Alicia day?"
"Alicia, don't yell, it's hardly noon and we don't want to start an argument just yet."
The fingers on her hands contracting into all sorts of odd shapes, Alicia groaned in frustration and stomped from the kitchen. She only just caught her father telling her sisters that he was leaving and would be coming home later.
Alicia's face contorted in angry disgust. She went to the cherry wood display case and pulled out the dish that held the Floo powder.
i School starts tomorrow and no one has remembered to go shopping, especially Mum and Dad, /I Alicia thought bitterly to herself.
First checking to make sure that her father had left, Alicia stepped back into the kitchen and called with a cheeriness that could only be fake coming from someone that had been so angry moments before, "All right, who's ready to go shopping in Diagon Alley?"
"Finally," muttered Marcia, as Ashley shrugged and Emma remained stiffly silent. The rather shy girl was starting Hogwarts for the first time and did not appreciate the freedom of leaving home.
Unanimously (unless Emma was counted) the group got ready to go and were taking turns stepping into the grand, stone fireplace. Alicia was the last to go, tripping ungracefully over her feet and stumbling into someone's arms at the Leaky Cauldron.
She looked up to see Stan Machester, who she considered her best friend. Although her left knee did collide with the floor, it was better than a full body slam onto the splintery wood. Jumping up to full height (which wasn't all that much) she quickly thanked Stan and then launched into his arms.
"I haven't seen you in forever!" exclaimed Stan as he hugged her tightly.
Pulling away and smiling brightly, Alicia said, "Well, if two months is forever, you have a long time until you die."
Stan chuckled and rolled his eyes at Alicia's sarcastic joke. "So where are we off to?"
"We, who said you were coming?" It was obvious that Alicia was kidding when she grabbed Stan's arm and ran to catch up to her siblings.
After all the school shopping had been finished, and lists checked over, Alicia insisted that they all go to Florean Fortescue's for an ice cream. Everyone ordered a flavour of ice cream, except Alicia who was having a rather hard time choosing, considering the fact that the decision on which ice cream to buy wasn't all that important. It wasn't until her sister grew impatient that Alicia ordered the first flavour that come to mind.
Alicia and Stan chatted about things that had happened over the summer (though Alicia had insisted that the highlight of her holiday had been sleeping in until noon). After everyone had finished their ice cream, Ashley, Marcia, Alicia and Stan took Emma around to all of the shops are Diagon Alley, hoping to spark her interest in all things magical. By the time they were ready to head home, Emma was at least slightly anticipating her arrival at Hogwarts.
They returned home a good few hours after they had arrived. (Stan too, as he had insisted that he needed to be sure that Alicia did catch the train the next day, for two reasons. One being her chronic lateness; and two, his worry that Alicia might purposely miss the train in order not to return to school. He was sure that she had not gotten over what happened last June.) All of the children that attended Hogwarts were laden with books; and a new broom for Alicia, who had made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain.
The four siblings and Stan sat around on the comfortably plush couches, and occasionally someone would take a stab at conversation. Eventually they became frustrated and Alicia (who was the worst at amusing herself out of the entire group) found herself walking in a circle to amuse herself. But surely five people could find something to do in a house with no adults around.
When it began to near nighttime, Alicia was struck with an idea. Abandoning her circle, she sprinted over to the Floo powder, being especially careful not to catch her foot on the coffee table as she hurdled over it.
She threw some powder into the fireplace and stuck her head through, calling to her neighbors. "Baba! Michael Baba, you come to the fireplace now!" she screeched into her neighbor's house.
A tall boy of sixteen came into Alicia's view. He shook his shaggy brown hair and smiled his crooked-toothed smile in way of greeting. "What did you need?"
"For you and Jennifer to come over. We're inviting Nelson and Max, too; and maybe a couple of other people." Alicia's face showed her anticipation at one last chance at having fun over her holiday.
"Yep. I'll get Jen and we'll be over in five minutes. You're lucky our parents aren't home otherwise . . . Well, you know how they are about us getting more than a few meters from the house." Michael turned his back and started retreating towards the staircase that Alicia could see only out of the corner of her eye.
Before he was out of earshot, Alicia shouted, "So it'll be about ten, then?"
"You know it!" shouted Michael.
Alicia pulled her head from the fireplace and shook the soot from her auburn hair. "Alright, guys." Alicia walked back over to Stan, Emma, Marcia and Ashley. "Invite as many people as you want. I don't really care what Mum and Dad come home to at this point, we're leaving for Hogwarts tomorrow and I want something about this holiday to make it amazing. Oh, and someone remember to Floo Max and Nelson, they'll have a fit if we forget to invite them again."
Before Alicia turned around and began to ascend the stairs, everyone caught a flash of her hazel eyes sparking with excitement. "Let's make this night a night that we'll remember forever."