Deep under the blankets somewhere in the countryside of England, 16 year old Callie Wood woke up. It was September first, deeming it her first day of Sixth Year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She pulled the covers off of her bed-warmed body, immediately hit with the icy blast that should [i]not[/i] have happened in September.
She headed downstairs to go get some breakfast.
Once she sat down, she heard her mother and father, Daniel and Cathy, shuffle down the stairs. After a muttering of hellos and mornings to their daughter, Daniel took a seat, reading the daily prophet, and Cathy began to make breakfast.
"Morning, Mum, Dad," Callie replied sleepily. It was 9:00 on a Thursday, and she didn't want to go to school. Well, part of her did, because she would see her best friends in the world. All eight of them, that was. Callie Wood was the daughter of Daniel and Cathy Wood, brother and sister-in-law of the former famous Quidditch player, Oliver Wood. Oliver and Julianne Wood had two children, Adrianna and Aiden. Aiden, who'd stayed back in fifth year after not acquiring the correct amount of owls, had stayed back (typical Aiden).
Besides her cousins, her other six best friends were also involved. Rose Weasley, Hugo Weasley, Albus Potter and James Potter were all part of this escapade. Callie had befriended Rose in second year, and they'd been inseparable. After realizing that Callie indeed had cousinship with Adrianna (also known as Addy), the three of them became friends. Adding to the list was Michael Finnegan, the last one to be "added" to the group. He and James had just become friends last year, and was now included into the group.
In about fifteen minutes, the table was laid out with eggs, bacon, toast, crumpets, biscuits, and any other breakfast food you could imagine. Her mother always made a big breakfast the morning she was to go back to Hogwarts. She knew how long the train ride was and how you were always hungry during it, even with the trolley lady. They began their usual light breakfast conversation.
After everyone was indulged in their chow, Callie's father spoke:
"You've got everything packed? Robes, potions ingredients, books, broom…?"
"Yes, Dad. I even had Molly packed last night," she said, getting up. "May I be excused? I have to go see if I missed anything else."
Daniel nodded, and Cathy relented, saying she'd do the dishes this one time.
Hopping up the narrow stairs and down the hall to her room, Callie closed her trunk after shoving her toothbrush, hair brush, and some extra clothes, and then locked it, stowing it in her back pocket. She leaned it upright on its wheels, and placed Molly, her owl's, cage on top, ready to leave.
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Two hours later, Callie, Daniel and Cathy were walking into the doors of Kings' Cross, pulling along Callie's trunk. With Molly secure on top, and Callie's broomstick disguised as an umbrella, they made their way down the long line of platforms.
After passing the ninth and checking for muggles, Callie and her parents crossed through the barrier.
Through the masses of the swirling people, Callie saw the distinguishable crimson Hogwarts Express. She straightened her long mini-dress over leggings, and walked up towards it, shoving her luggage into the luggage carriage on the train. She quickly shook out her short hair, made sure her chucks were tied, and then went to find her friends and say goodbye to her parents.
"Hey Aunt Julianne, Uncle Oliver," Callie said, hugging her aunt and uncle. She waved to Hermione, Ginny, Harry, and Ron, who were talking to their children. After saying bye to her parents and her relatives, the group of eight, now reunited talked freely.
"Hey guys!" Callie said, coming over to them. There were many cries of "Callie!" by the guys and Rose rushed over to her.
"Callie! I haven't seen you in ages! How are you!?" she asked, mid-hug.
"Rose! I know! I'm fine, I'm fine! How are you? What have you been doing?" She asked, breaking away.
"Nothing really. Dad's got me under house arrest since he found the firewhisky..." Rose trailed off, rolling her eyes as they climbed on the train. Callie gave one last wave, and then boarded into the compartment with her friends.
Once settled in the compartment, Addy opened her Transfiguration book and began to read, getting a head start that only a Ravenclaw would do. Aiden was playing with a small dragon figurine that he'd gotten in Diagon Alley, trying to teach it to breathe fire on command. So far, no luck. Albus had his head propped up against the window, and then was trying not to fall asleep. However, he'd been up late trying to finish his homework before school started. Typical Albus, and now James was sniggering every time Albus let out a snore. Rose was sitting next to James, and she was trying to perform a particularly hard non-verbal spell. Hugo, sadly, was on the floor, reading the Daily Prophet, since there were no more spots on the floor.
"Are we there yet?" Albus asked for probably the seventh time.
"No," Callie said back impatiently, her feet up on the bench, her arms wrapped around them. She was listening to her MP3 player before it died at Hogwarts. She was nodding her head to the beat, and was disturbing Rose.
"Callie, stop moving."
"Sorry."
"Rose, you should stop studying. It's unhealthy," Hugo said, putting the paper down. Rose looked up to glare at him.
"I'll have you know, Hugo, that studying is—" Rose cut off sharply, "I'm going to kill you!" she screeched. "You made me lose my concentration!" she said, kicking him sharply in the side.
"OW!" Hugo yelled, hitting her back.
"Hey! Hey!! HEY!!!" Callie yelled, putting her foot in between the two bickering siblings. They stopped, and everyone was silent.
"No fighting. We're going to Hogwarts," Callie said dreamily, catching Hugo's eye. With his shaggy brown-red hair, and light brown eyes, Callie never really noticed how…nice…they were.
This was going to be a good year.
