Hey guys! This is my first fanfic so feel free to let me know of any improvements I can make- I really love constructive criticism. Also, if you have any ideas about where you think the story should go or just anything you think I should include then please tell me and I will credit you if I use it.
Enjoy.
ROSE POV
"Hugo, what are you doing? You've been in there for like half an hour!" I yelled as I banged my fist on the bathroom door.
"There's another bathroom in the house, Rose." He calls nonchalantly.
"I need my toothbrush." I huffed in irritation at the closed door.
This morning was the one time I didn't get to the bathroom first- today of all days! It being the first day of my sixth year means I have to look presentable and my idiot brother was not making it any easier.
By this point, my head was leant against the door and Hugo chose this moment to yank it open. I face planted the floor, which caused him great amusement. However, this was short lived since he stepped over me and continued down the corridor towards the landfill he called his room.
I groaned and picked myself up from the cold floor in search of my toothbrush.
Eventually, we got to King's Cross Station, Hugo and I said goodbye to our parents and boarded the train.
Hugo had gotten a lot taller than me over the summer; he now towered over my small frame due to puberty finally kicking in. Even though I was a year older, he acted as if he was my big brother, which was annoying sometimes as he thought he knew better than me in certain situations. However, I always seemed to have the upper hand in arguments, you can blame my mother for that. You could say we were pretty close too; I knew he always had my back and I had his. We're unlike most siblings in that sense. We also have this weird telepathy- we always know what each other is thinking. Our bickering and banter was the best and I guess I couldn't ask for a better brother. Except from the fact that his feet stank.
The second I stepped off the train, I could smell the crisp, after-rain air and the familiar bellow of Hagrid's voice as he signalled for the first years. My cousins toppled out behind me and we began to walk up the platform to the carriages. It felt amazing to have my wand in my hand and the allowance to be able to finally use it after six agonising weeks. The memorable touch of ivy wood and buzz of dragon heartstring made it difficult to contain my excitement and anticipation for the year to come.
On the way, Albus spotted Scorpius Malfoy- they were close friends who had only stumbled across each other once upon a time since they were both sorted into Slytherin. They were wary of one another at first because of old prejudices and such but ended up quite accustomed to spending time together. Albus waved and shouted out to him; to this he received a similar gesture back. I suppose I always thought Malfoy to be decent looking. Although, previously I hadn't made a habit of trying to get to know him, the fact that his toned arms stretched against the fabric of his white shirt as he waved sparked my curiosity. I had always known him from a distance, always through Albus, never through actual communication.
Malfoy ran over and chucked his arm around Al's neck, trapping him in a playful yet violent embrace. Shouts of annoyance and objection came from Albus below as he kicked and shoved Malfoy off, both laughing the while time, glad to see each other after the long summer. I rolled my eyes along with every other member of the Weasley-Potter clan and continued walking.
"I never quite understood their relationship." James caught up to me. "I mean, with all the stories our parents told us about his dad." He said with concern. I knew which stories he was talking about and they weren't the most pleasant.
For some reason this gave me an epiphany that their friendship was probably one the most genuine types as they managed to become closer even when the weight of old discriminations were apparent. Though, that weight probably no longer exists in their world.
"I guess that's why it works- they look past all the old prejudices." I shrugged but noticed how I sounded very philosophical when I said this. Being a logical person I had never really believed in any of the crap old warlocks and philosophers said. I never sounded philosophical, I just wasn't the kind of person, so, frankly, my phrasing was not only surprising to me but to James also. He looked at me funnily, his dark hair flopping over his glasses.
"Hey, Rose!" I heard my name, which broke me from my thoughts and I whirled around to see Alexandra Wood. The first thing I spotted was that her brown hair had grown out near the front and now flailed out all over the place and shaded her eyes, until she pushed it back carelessly from her face as she stumbled towards me through the numerous amounts of excited Hogwarts students.
"Alex!" I called in return, extremely happy to see my best friend after all these months (I suppose I can't criticise Malfoy and Al any longer).
She pulled me into a tight hug, while jumping up and down with excitement.
"I have to pee!" She cried. Okay, it wasn't excitement that was causing the jumping. This made me outright laugh as I had forgotten how blatant she could be even towards other people. I dragged Alex up to the carriages through the gradually dimming light of day and climbed up the few steps to sit on the black leather bench. Up here I could feel the cool autumn breeze as the carriage was pulled along by who knows what. I was tossed left and right in my seat so all I knew was that they weren't at all steady in their gaits.
Alex was persistent. "I'm going to piss my pants." She squirmed and looked extremely uncomfortable with her legs crossed over each other tightly.
"That'll be a memorable start to sixth year." I laughed.
"Hey, Alex, it helps if you press your stomach!" Shouted Albus from down the carriage.
The snide comments continued. "Aguamenti." Malfoy attempted to disguise this with a cough, to which he earned unamused faces from Alex and I.
Her call of nature was making her crabby. "You should control your cousin." She says quietly but sternly.
"You should control your bladder." I retorted. Alex ignored me.
"And while you're at it control his best friend too."
"I barely know him." I protested.
Alex scoffed unattractively.
The carriage was filled with consistent chatter the whole way to the castle entrance, with jokes from Al and sarcastic remarks from Malfoy, it felt like we had never left Hogwarts in July and my eye rolling muscles were sore already. Alex and I caught up on Holiday gossip and she proudly showed off her tan lines from being in the scorching Spanish sun for two weeks. Unfortunately, my family and I didn't have a chance to travel anywhere. However, the amount of 'family bonding' we endured was enough to occupy most of my time this past summer and mum did teach me a thing or two about a certain hex that I couldn't wait to try out. Let's just say anyone who crosses the line with me is going to get a surprise.
The carriage then came to a jolting holt and each of us stumbled down the rungs whilst the bright candles of Hogwarts blazed in the windows overhead. I looked up in awe and felt a comforting chill down my spine- I was home.
The Great Hall was filled with students by the time we gathered at our respected tables. As I sat next to Alex on the Gryffindor table, a first year was being sorted into Ravenclaw, which caused a giant applause from the crowd of blue and black in the middle of the hall.
We patiently sat through Professor McGonagall's start of term speech and clapped when a new student got sorted in Gryffindor but in actual fact each of us desperately wanted to go to the common room to chill out and absorb the newfound gossip for this years rumour mill but not before that did we have to stuff ourselves full with the to-die-for food that would bloom from the tables in just a few minutes.
Eventually, McGonagall concluded and as we ate, James spoke up, "Did you guys hear about who the new captain for the Gryffindor Quidditch team is?" He said implicatively from the right of me.
"Oh, yeah. I heard he's the biggest prick on the planet." Hugo shouted from way down the table, still he managed to project his insult over the hum of students' chatter.
James stood up but despite his 'mad' Quidditch skills, he still didn't manage to target the slice of bread right at Hugo's face, which is where I'm guessing he was aiming, but only succeeded in it flying in his general direction and the whole section of the table breaking out in spurts of laughter.
"You really need to work on your aim." I observed, giving him a patronising look. He shot me a sarcastic smile and slumped back in his seat.
Miranda, a curly blond, bubbly Gryffindor, leaned in. "I also hear Malfoy is captain for the Slytherin team. Looks like you have some competition." She said from opposite Alex as if it was a prized piece of information. I suppose Quidditch was one of the most competitive things about Hogwarts and having the two most aggressive teammates as captains was surely going to end badly for this year's tournament.
"Just like always." Alex shrugged, her hair almost falling into her food, though there was a trace of worry in her eyes.
Why were girls (and the odd male) so obsessed with this guy? What was so special about him that made them all fall head over heels for him and still manage to retain their dignity and not feel bad about it afterwards? All females accept Alex and I of course, and anyone who had decent expectations.
I rolled my eyes, as I knew this question could never be answered- pretentious girls were always attracted to self-obsessed guys.
Just as students were about to leave the Hall, McGonagall propelled her voice all over the hall, "May I remind students that there will be no one out of their dormitories after curfew. Students who choose to be disobedient will face consequences." Her tone was stern and made me feel uneasy. My feelings of anxiety were replicated throughout the crowd as chatter rippled amongst the students.
"Someone got cranky over the summer." Hugo whispered. I couldn't agree more with this statement. Although, McGonagall was strict, she never gave a punishment without good reason and this seemed a little too harsh. I guess, she thinks first years are getting more and more out of order so she's trying a new technique. That seems reasonable, right?
I always thought that walking through the castle was like walking through abandoned ruins in a fairy tale. The way the paintings came to life gave me the creeps but I still had a lingering fascination with the place. I had known about magic my whole life so I couldn't help but wonder what muggleborn students may have thought on their first day.
The houses filtered off until the Gryffindors alone gradually made it up to the seventh floor. We piled into the common room, where the smell of burning wood and parchment filed the air making me drowsier by the minute. The house colours were warm and comforting, adding to the overall atmosphere.
As I took in the familiar surroundings, I spotted a lengthy sign on the stonewall, the parchment was crisp and clean as if it had only recently been placed there. The handwriting became more and more legible as I approached the sign. It read:
"If you are seventeen years of age, or will turn seventeen on or before the 31st of August next, you are eligible for a twelve-week course of Apparition Lessons from a Ministry of Magic Apparition instructor. Please sign below if you would like to participate. Cost 12 Galleons."
Only a month away and I would be able to apparate, presuming I passed on the first try, of course, but having a license meant freedom and freedom meant no parents! I mean, I love my parents and all but what makes sense about me staying with them anymore than necessary?
I had never really spoken to them about my future, mostly because they expected a lot of me and rightly so since they were already on the way to defeating the dark wizard Voldemort at my age. However, I didn't want to be an Auror, a healer or even a member of the Ministry, I wanted to be a professional Quidditch player and somehow I thought that this would be a disappointment to my parents as I was academically outstanding and I wanted to throw all of that away to join an international Quidditch team. I was on the Gryffindor team at the moment, so if I got in enough practice then maybe one day I could achieve this.
So there you have it, my life plan.
Finally, Alex and I took the stairs to the girls' dormitory to the familiar four-poster beds to find that our trunks were already waiting for us beneath each one. Alex collapsed on her bed and sprawled out over the covers like a cat. First days were always tiring and I could feel the drowsiness crawling over my skin.
I pulled my pyjamas out from my trunk worrying that I had forgotten something crucial. An odd chime sounded across the room and I scanned the underneath of my bed to see a small object reflecting the eerie light of the moon, contrasting with the darkness around it. Dumping my clothes on the covers, I bent my body so that I could reach the peculiar item, stretched my arm and grasped the object. I examined it and saw that it was a gold ring. But it was a gold ring with an unusual inscription on the inside, which extended out and joined to an emerald stone that was spiralled with gold leaves at the base. The lettering of the inscription was unfamiliar to me but nevertheless; it still gave me an unnerving prickle in my stomach.
I wondered if it was one of my dorm mates' rings that had oddly found itself into my trunk within the last few minutes.
"Hey, is this any of yours?" I held the ring up clearly but each of the girls shook their heads and few yawned. If it wasn't anyone else's then how could it have ended up in my trunk? Had my parents sneaked it in there while I wasn't looking?
"It looks tacky." Alex observed from the bedpost and leaned over to get a better view. I strained my arm and put it in her hand.
"Whose do you think it is?" I wondered aloud, I often did this with my best friend but most of the time I was unable to help it so it became a habit. However, I failed to notice that the ring hadn't so much as touched her hand before it pinged across the bed and mutely landed on my pillowcase. Alex had cried out as if it had burned her. We stared at the ring.
"What just happened?" I asked slowly, the question was likely to be rhetorical, as neither of us had, in fact, any idea of what had just occurred. Though, Alex snapped out of it pretty quickly.
She grumbled, "It's probably some idiot first years trying to play a trick on us." Tiredness crept back into her voice as she plodded back to her own bed one over from mine. "Just go to sleep." She almost pleaded.
I could touch it but Alex got burned. I went over this in my head. What were the chances that a group of pesky first years would pull a prank on the first day back? Very likely indeed. And the fact that it was at my expense, me being wizard famous at birth for having the most well-known parents alive, would make sense for it has happened many times in the past. So, I carelessly tossed the ring back into my trunk and kicked it under the bed before putting the thought to rest along with my sleepy body, changed into my pyjamas and slept.
Thank you! Please follow, favourite and review! I will be a lot more active if you do, no pressure. Also, let me know what you think of my OCs (Alex and Miranda), I'll be doing a lot more with them in the chapters to come x
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