His deep emerald eyes stared into mine. His rough hands gently brushed a lock of hair off my forehead. Slowly, I wrapped my arms around his neck, and his steady hands found my waist. He pulled me in close, and I closed my eyes, tingling with excitement...
"KELLY!" I awoke with a start as a pillow came flying at my head. "Get up! You overslept again!"
I sat up slowly, feeling a slight twinge of sadness that the dream had ended. My older sister, Emma, came storming over to my bed.
"Mum says if you don't get yourself ready we'll leave without you." Despite her angry voice, a smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. Her silver prefect badge shimmered against the pale blue of her Ravenclaw sweater.
"Okay, all right," I forced myself to shove off the warm cocoon of blankets. I shivered in my white t-shirt and red pajama bottoms, covered in flying brooms and golden snitches.
"The train leaves at 9:00," Emma reminded me.
"Yes, I know," I informed her, trying not to look too annoyed. I stumbled out of bed and made my way to the mirror. A plain freckled face stared back at me, with a stubby little nose and tangled reddish brown hair.
Emma came over and stood behind me. She was at least four inches taller than me, her long blonde hair cascading over her delicate shoulders. Her sparkling blue eyes and dainty nose fit perfectly in her lovely clear face. Everything about her was just plain perfect. I tried not to get jealous, and attempted to run a brush through my protesting hair.
"Kelly, darling, if you would just use some conditioner and brush your poor hair it would actually be quite pretty. I've always wished my hair was thick and curly like yours."
I stared at my perfect older sister in disbelief. "Thanks Emma, but you and I both know that your hair is the envy of the whole world." I secretly wondered how she was able to inherit both the looks and the brains of the family, while I was stuck with neither. Well I had been put in Gryffindor- that had to count for something. And at least I had Quidditch- something Emma would never be good at. I tried to focus my mind on these happy thoughts as I changed quickly out of my pajamas and into jeans and a t-shirt. I would put my robes on later. Pulling my hair back into a sloppy bun, I charged down the stairs for some breakfast.
"Girls, honestly, let's go! If you miss the train... I swear ..." My mother broke into a sprint as Emma and I struggled to keep up with her. I leaned into my trolley, urging it to go faster. My large wooden trunk wobbled and shook against its straps, and my owl, Merlin, screeched in protest as his cage bounced up and down.
"Sorry," I panted, swerving to the right to avoid a group of teenagers. Muffled giggles and raised eyebrows followed us, but I was too intent on getting to the platform to care.
"Finally," my mom sighed, as we reached platforms nine and ten. "Ready?"
We both nodded, and with a burst of speed, pushed our trolleys towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten. A tingling sensation swept over my body as I found myself at platform 9 3/4. Our mother burst through moments later as the train let out a loud whistle.
"You've got everything?" she asked, brushing some hair out of Emma's eyes.
"Yes mum," we chorused. "Oh, and mum don't forget-
"To send your broom, yes I've already sent it with Tawny. It will probably get there before you do," mother interrupted me.
I smiled and gave her a quick hug. The train let out another loud whistle.
"Oh go on then, and don't you forget to write!"
"I won't mother," Emma beamed, giving her badge one last polish with her sweater sleeve. I rolled my eyes, but promised to write, even though I knew I wouldn't.
Lifting my trunk in one hand and Merlin's cage in the other, I clambered up the steps of the Hogwarts Express.
"Kelly! Over here!" The familiar shout of my best friend, Amber Rollins came from a compartment a few doors down.
"Amber!" I squealed, pushing my way through the crowd to her compartment. Her head bobbed up from a sea of people- funky purple earrings, a bright orange top, and tons of crazy makeup. I itched with the longing to see her face to face again. At last, I squeezed through the door and threw myself into her arms. We hugged and screamed for a few seconds, before taking a seat. I quickly I looked around to see who else was there.
Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson sat next to us with Alicia Spinnet. Across from us, Tibby Parker was curled up in the corner with Dean Thomas. I faked a look of surprise, even though she had been bombarding me with letters all summer, gushing over what an amazing boyfriend he was. She blushed and grinned at me. Next to Dean sat Lee Jordan and the Weasley twins, heads bent in the planning of some sort of prank. Beside them, squeezed against the wall, was Lavender Brown, looking rather bored and wishing she were somewhere else. We had nearly half the Gryffindor house crowded into our tiny compartment, and I loved seeing all the familiar faces. My eyes flickered back towards the Weasley twins. If they were here, that meant Ron was here somewhere. And if Ron was here, then Harry probably was too...
I stared out the window. The cloud was dark and cloudy and rain pelted the windows of the train. I pressed my palm up against the glass and it left a warm mark.
"Kelly? Hellooo... girl, are you spacing out on me again?" Amber snapped her fingers in front of my face. I came back to earth and turned to face her sparkling eyes. Today they were bright purple, the same color as her dangling earrings. Ever since we learned the color-changing spell in Charms class, you could count on Amber to have a new eye color every day.
"Sorry... I was just... thinking." I apologized.
"About..." she trailed off, waiting for me to fill in.
"Oh, nothing... random stuff..." I grinned apologetically at her. "What were you saying?"
"Kelly Marie Daniels, don't you dare change the subject on me. Were you thinking about a guy?!"
"No," I said, not convincingly at all.
"Yes! You were!" Amber squealed with glee. Caught up in the moment, she stood up on the seat. "Everyone, listen up!" she yelled. A silence fell over the compartment. "I have some exciting news. After all these years, Kelly Daniels finally has a crush!"
"Amber!" I hissed, my cheeks flaming. Lavender's face lit up and she crossed the compartment to sit next to me.
"Kelly, is this true?" she asked, her eyes bright, longing for her first piece of gossip. "Who is it?"
"Oh... it's nothing... no one..." I protested, my cheeks turning an even deeper shade of red.
"Oooooh you're a terrible liar," Lavender giggled. I frowned and turned away. I never had liked her much.
"Seriously Kelly, who is it?" Angelina asked. Alicia and Katie leaned in behind her, ready to hear all the details. Even Tibby was curious enough to turn away from Dean, and was watching me carefully. I was torn between being embarrassed and feeling happy to be the center of attention.
"Amber, you are in sooo much trouble," I muttered fiercely. She beamed. It was all these crazy things she did that made me love her and hate her all at once.
"There you all are!" I was saved as Hermione burst into our compartment. "We're due to arrive any minute. You had better change into your robes!" The spotlight was lifted off me as people set about finding their robes and hurrying off to change. I silently thanked Hermione as I pulled out my scarlet robes and rushed off to change.
