I stood on the platform with my oversized, brown trunk, my eyes scanning the crowd of students. Red hair, I thought. Where is the red hair? Suddenly, a heavy arm dropped around my shoulder, causing me to jump.
"Look what I found, George!" I turned my head around, laughing. Well, I found the red hair. Fred had that impish twinkle in his eye, giving me reason for alarm.
"What are you up to?" I asked, slightly concerned.
"Miss Katie Bell, why in the world would you think we're up to something?" George appeared from the mass of people, clamping his arm around my other shoulder.
"Us, George, up to something?" Fred smiled, innocently.
"Never," replied George, and they both squeezed me as hard as they could.
"Ouch!" I cried, laughing. "Really, you two, I could just-"
"Katie! Weasley!" We all turned around to see Alicia waving at us from ten feet away. "Come on," she continued. "You're going to miss the train!" I glanced at the clock; the train was leaving in a minute.
Before I had the chance to say anything, Fred picked me up and flung me over his shoulder. I shrieked in surprise.
"Fred, what are you doing?" He just laughed as he walked toward Alicia. "Fred, my trunk-"
"Got it, love," replied George from behind us.
"You know, Fred, I'm perfectly capable of walking by myself," I complained.
"Yeah, but you're short. Don't want to miss the train!" I rolled my eyes even though I knew neither of the twins could see me. Boys.
By the time we found Angelina, Lee, and an empty compartment, a good fifteen minutes had passed. The hours on the train flew by; Angelina and Alicia were chatting on about summer flings, and Fred and George were informing Lee of all their new inventions. I tried not to eavesdrop; the less I knew about Fred and George's pranks, the less paranoid I was. I stared out the window, watching the rolling green hills zoom past. Catching up with friends was fun, yes, but there would be time for that later tonight. Watching the scenery of northern England and Scotland fly by was an experience available only every September and June. I was about to enter my fourth year at Hogwarts, and I couldn't wait to get back. I loved my home, but being away from magic for a whole three months grated against my sanity. The lack of flying was the worst. I longed to get back on my broom and fly until the moon came up.
"Katie! Katie Bell!" Angelina's voice pulled me from my daydream.
"Mmm?" I responded, still staring out the window.
"I just asked you if you met anyone cute over the summer," she said, laughing.
"Oh," I replied, looking around. Fred and George were watching me intently, grinning; Lee was staring down at the floor, and Angelina and Alicia were trying not to smile. I wasn't sure what was so funny. "Not really," I answered truthfully. I opened my mouth to speak again, but closed it as I realized I had nothing else to say.
"Not really? That's the best you have?" Alicia sounded slightly disappointed.
"Would you like me to make something up?" I smiled.
"Yeah!" Fred and George chorused together. Alicia elbowed George, whom she happened to be sitting next to.
"Oh, Katie, Katie, Katie…" said Angelina, shaking her head. "One of these days, you're going to wake up and realize that boys exist."
"She's only fourteen, you know," agreed Alicia.
"Almost fifteen!" I practically shouted. My birthday was in two weeks and I wasn't going to let anyone forget that. They laughed. I stuck my tongue out at them.
"That's the spirit, Katie!" Fred cheered me on. Angelina and Alicia both rolled their eyes and went back to discussing who was dating whom.
"So, Katie, tell us about your summer," said George.
"Well," I started, swinging my knees around to face the twins. "I did a lot of muggle cleaning-"
"Cleaning without magic? Why would you waste your time doing that?" Fred sounded shocked.
"Muggle-born, Fred," I said with a smile. I know that being a muggle-born isn't the best trait to have as a witch, but I was secretly proud of my blood status. I played Quidditch just as well as anybody on the team, and I got better grades than Fred and George combined, who were both purebloods. Not that they were stupid, by any means; they just never bothered to study. The Slytherins may think being a muggle-born is bad, but who wants to be friends with them?
"Right, right," he said, shaking his head.
"I hung out with some old friends, too. But I can only handle so much of that. It's weird, you know, hanging out with them now that I've been at Hogwarts. Every time they ask me about school, I can't tell them anything. It leads to awkward pauses," I finished.
"And of course, you ran." We all turned to the door to see the smiling face of Oliver Wood looking down at us.
"Ollie!" The twins cried, acting obnoxiously overjoyed. Angelina and Alicia smiled back, trying not to giggle. They had both developed a little crush on him at the end of last term. I raised my eyebrows at them, laughing.
"How'd you know, Oliver?" I asked.
"Because, Bell, whenever you're antsy, you run. And you're always antsy." I couldn't argue with him there. Maybe he knew me a little better than I thought.
"I'm you're Quidditch captain, Katie. I know you well." He grinned, as though reading my mind. How'd he do that?
"Is there a reason you dropped by, dear Ollie-kins?" George asked.
"Perhaps to chat up our dear sweet Katie?" Fred added, both of them cracking up. Lee made an odd noise. I looked over at him, and he blushed. I turned my focus back to Oliver.
"The whole team is in here. I wanted to go over some tactics I thought up over the summer-" A loud groan echoed from both Angelina and Alicia, and Fred and George stopped laughing.
"Really, Oliver, you didn't spend your whole summer thinking about Quidditch," Fred complained loudly.
"We're not even at Hogwarts yet and here's Wood, ready to go-"
"Harry," I interrupted George's whining. "We're missing Harry. Someone go get Harry."
"Katie!" hollered Alicia. "Do you want to spend the rest of the train ride talking about nothing but Quidditch tactics?" I made a face at her. I wouldn't mind a bit, but I could see it would have killed every other member of our team. Actually, I just wanted my broom.
"Hey, Oliver, what do you think of the new Firebolt?" Although I had turned to face him, I could still see Alicia mouth thank you from the other side. I raised my eyebrows before giving my full attention to Oliver.
"And the level of speed alone, it's incredible that a company has finally managed to get a broom to go so fast!" He finished, practically out of breath. He appeared to be lost in a daydream. I tried not to laugh at him.
"What?" He asked suddenly. I bit my lower lip, willing myself not to giggle.
"Nothing, Oliver, nothing. Do you think you're going to get a Firebolt?" His illuminated face fell a little.
"Are you kidding, Bell? Who can afford one of those?" I nodded in agreement. I sure as heck couldn't.
Suddenly, the train lurched. I flew from my seat, landing on top of one of the twins.
"What the-" The train shook again, stopping completely this time. The room went pitch black. I heard Angelina and Alicia yelp, followed by a loud thud. Somebody grabbed my arm, pulling me off of George and back into my seat.
"What's going on?" George asked, his voice cracking.
"Everyone, stay calm, it'll be okay," Alicia replied shakily. I realized the hand that was still grasped around my arm belong to Oliver.
"Sit still, Katie," he whispered in my ear. All of a sudden, the room grew icily cold. All the warmth of Oliver's hand, my friends, and thoughts of flying felt as thought it were a million miles away. I wanted to cry.
"What's going on, Oliver?" I looked up at him, trying to find his eyes in the dark.
"Dementors, Katie." He sounded as sad as I felt. "These have got to be Dementors."
"Why are they on the train?"
"I don't know, Kates." He wrapped his entire arm around my shoulder and pulled me close, as though trying to stay warm. I leaned my head into his chest. I wanted this to be over.
"Anyone afraid of the dark?" Fred said devilishly. His comment was met with groans from everyone.
"Not now, Fred," snapped Angelina. "George, where are you?"
"Over here, Ang," he replied. I heard the muffled sound of knees crawling over carpet.
As quickly as they had disappeared, the lights flashed back on. Warmth entered the room again as everyone began to reassemble themselves. I saw Angelina and George move apart quickly, slightly red. Alicia picked herself up off the floor, and Fred released his death grip from his wand. Everyone was staring at Oliver and I.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"You and Ollie, Katie? I never would have guessed!" mocked Fred. My eyes widened a little and my face grew hot as I realized I was still very close to Oliver.
"It was cold," I mumbled pathetically as I shrugged his arm from around me and moved back to the center of my seat. I still felt a little cold.
"Whatever you say, dearest Katherine," replied Fred, rolling his eyes. "Hey, who's up for a game of Exploding Snap?"
"Me! I am!" A rounding chorus echoed through the compartment. Fred grinned mischievously as he pulled the game out of his pocket.
"Anyway, Katie, the new Firebolt, I heard it has this new feature that-" He stopped suddenly, interrupting himself. "Oh, Katie, did you hear about Puddlemere?" I shook my head, knowing he would tell me regardless of my answer. "Well, their Keeper-"
"Green?"
"Yeah, Green, he's retiring after this season!" Wood looked absolutely thrilled. I was a little confused.
"Why is this good news? He's a fabulous keeper," I asked, my forehead furrowed.
"Come on, Katie. Don't you see?" He leaned a little closer so no one else would hear him. I inhaled; he smelled like detergent. Really good detergent.
"Green is retiring after this season. That means the reserve, Stilling, will move up." A look of comprehension spread across my face.
"Which means the spot of reserve keeper will be open when you graduate!" His face, if possible, lit up even more. Oliver's always wanted to play for Puddlemere United.
"Exactly!" He whispered, although I could tell he'd rather shout it. I bounced my knees out of excitement.
"Oliver, that's fantastic news!" His eyes twinkled with delight. A sudden thought punched me in the stomach. Oliver was graduating.
"What's wrong, Katie?" Oliver must have noticed the energy disappear from my eyes.
"Nothing," I said, giving him my best smile. I wanted to run. I needed to run. The train compartment suddenly felt very claustrophobic.
"I'm going to the bathroom," I said, standing up.
"Not in here!" cried Fred, covering his face. I rolled my eyes as I opened the door and jogged down the narrow hallway to the bathroom. Opening the door, I slammed it shut and peered at myself in the mirror. My brown eyes and pinkish face stared back at me.
So, Oliver was graduating. Why had this hit me with such force? He was a seventh year. Of course he was graduating. I'd known he'd graduate from Hogwarts all along. Fred and George would graduate two years after that. Then, Alicia and Angelina would graduate. Then I would graduate. What was the big deal? I didn't even know Oliver that well. He was only my captain. The little voice in the back of my head began to say something, but was interrupted by a loud, booming voice.
"The Hogwarts Express will be arriving in Hogsmeade in fifteen minutes. Students, the Hogwarts Express will be arriving in fifteen minutes." Crap. I splashed my face with cold water to calm myself down, and squeezed my way through the masses of students now lining the halls. By the time I made it back to my friends, the train was beginning to slow down.
"Long bathroom break, eh, Katie?" George asked when I reentered the compartment, winking.
"Didn't run into Lee Jordan on the way, did you?" Fred piped in. The two of them dissolved into laughter.
"Huh?" I looked around, realizing for the first time that Lee was no longer in the compartment.
"Good one, Fred," George choked out. Alicia and Angelina rolled their eyes.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said, looking at the twins. This comment made them laugh even harder.
"Of course you don't," Oliver said from behind me. "You're Katie Bell." I turned to him.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.
"Oblivious as rocks," replied Alicia. "Come on guys, we better go. We don't want the train taking us back to London." I backed out of the doorway, leaving room for them all to get out. Angelina trailed out after Alicia, with Fred and George on their heels.
"After you, miss," Oliver grinned, holding his arm out. I raised my eyebrows, surprised. A chivalrous Oliver Wood?
"And you think all I ever think about is Quidditch."
"No, Oliver, I don't."
"Really?" He sounded surprised.
"Nope. I know it." I giggled, running off before he could reply. I had a feeling that my fourth year was going to be a fun one.