Through Sky Blue Eyes.
I clenched my fists, feeling them sweat through the effort it was taking to not scream at my mother. It was eight in the morning and already a bottle of liquor was being cradled in her arms. She stumbled towards me, kicking a worn leather trunk towards my feet. I pulled hard at my red sweater sleeve, feeling the soft material on my knuckles. Lily's mother was very good at buying Christmas presents.
I sighed quietly, picking up my sleek black cat Jinx before I pulled the case across the oatmeal coloured carpet to the door of our cramped and cluttered flat. I could practically smell the freedom as I stepped across the threshold to the stairs that lead outside. Closer, closer to where my real home was. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
'You be gooood now!' I heard my intoxicated mother slur from the top of the stairs, waving drunkenly with one hand, holding her liquor bottle close to her chest with the other. She almost reminds me of the mother she used to be, the trace of a real smile playing at the corners of her lips. I bounded down stairs, jumping down them two and three at a time, my long black hair flying out behind me.
'Kings Cross Station, please.' I said before the toothless cab driver even had to ask the question. I wanted this time entirely to myself, a whole hour to remember every detail of what my magical friends looked like, how they spoke, whether they liked strawberry bonbons or not.
Lily. Sirius. Remus and James. Friends. I could see the eager faces in my head, running towards me, catching me in an almighty hug, the likes of which only happen in movies. I slammed the door of the taxi shut, pulling my knees up to my chin to make space for the trunk. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes to imagine our reunion at the station. I could see Lily, shouting my name as I ran through the crowds, a wide grin on her face. Remus would be close behind, chuckling to himself, his hands in his pockets. I could see James and Sirius the best, running comically at me, lifting me up into a Queen's Chair before parading back, just like they did last year.
My eyes fluttered open, inspecting the taxi properly. It was clean and smelt of pine trees. I could see the little green tree swinging back and forth across the front mirror. It was a maroon Ford Anglia, with cream leather seats. I've always wanted a car, but my mother never saved up enough money for us to even afford the steering wheel, never mind the whole car. Luckily, my mother did have a drinking friend called Sam who happened to be the man driving the car. Every year he drove me to Kings Cross Station, thinking I was travelling to an all girl's boarding school on a scholarship.
'How's that school of yours?' I heard Sam say from underneath his tweed cap, his dark eyes focused on the light traffic ahead of us. I chewed on my lip, unsure of how exactly to respond.
'It's uh.. really good.' I answered. I was useless at lying, and this statement wasn't a lie, not at all. I loved school, I was free from the responsibility of trying to keep my mother safe and making sure there was food in the house over summer. It was a good feeling, being the child again.
'Lovely.' Sam grunted the one word that should never, ever be grunted. Lovely was a word that Lily often used, if she was talking about a flower vase or a pair of shoes or a particularly grubby looking goblin. Always polite, was Lily Evans. She looked like a polite girl too. Well kept, with beautiful red hair and eyes that everybody commented on. They were almost like someone had put two emeralds in her eyes. Everybody loved Lily.
I felt the common pangs of jealousy hit me in the heart. I hadn't even met up with my best friend again, yet I was already jealous of her. I leant my head against the window of the car, trying to forget why Lily was the girl that everybody adored. I instead filled my head with the boys who saw no difference between us, three boys who gave us both the equal amount of respect. I was more excited to see them than anyone else.
My head slid down the window and I pulled my knees up further, curling up as much as one can in a taxi, hoping to fall into a light sleep. Jinx crawled into the crook of my arm and I let out a happy sigh. I will enjoy this hour.
Remus likes chocolate, not strawberry bonbons.