Back To Reality
Chapter One - Loudmouths and Letters
The Christmas holidays were fast approaching and the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were preparing to return home. The morning of the last day of term had arrived, bringing with it a fresh layer of snow which covered the grounds in a sea of brilliant white. The sloping lawns sparkled in the rising sunlight and the untouched snow made a blanket that stretched to the edge of the forest and covered the treetops beyond.
The school seemed to be buzzing with excitement about the approaching festivities and never had this been more noticeable than at breakfast that morning. The Great Hall was filled with the voices of friends chatting and calling to each other across the room, laughing and discussing their plans for the upcoming holidays. At the Hufflepuff table the pupils sat talking happily below the enchanted ceiling, which was now the same vivid blue as the sky beyond the windows, lit by the brightest winter sun. The twelve Christmas trees that stood around the hall lit up the room with their glittering decorations.
At the end nearest the teachers' table at the top of the hall sat a girl with the deepest brown hair that reached down her back, all the way to her waist and seemed to shimmer along with the many lights around the room. Alice Smith was a first year but even sitting down her tall figure towered above those of her classmates. She reached gracefully across the table, tucking her long hair safely behind her ear as she leaned over to grab a slice of toast.
She was waiting to be joined at the table by her closest friend Kate, and looked up towards the doorway of the hall to see where her friend had got too. At that moment, she spotted her amongst the trickle of students entering the room, making their way to breakfast. Kate bustled quickly down the length of the table and sat down opposite Alice, tying her hair in to a pony tail as she did so.
"That Peeves, I'll get him one day," Kate muttered. The two girls had bumped in to the school poltergeist on emerging from the staircase that led up from the basement, only to find he was armed with water balloons ready to aim at unsuspecting first years. Alice had managed to dash aside just in time whereas Kate had taken a full on blow to the head leaving her drenched though, forcing her to return to the dormitory to change in to fresh robes.
"I won't laugh," promised Alice, forcing herself not to laugh albeit with great difficulty.
"You dare," warned Kate, although Alice was relieved to see she was smiling.
"Pass me the pumpkin juice," said Alice, aiming to move off the subject of Peeves to save her friend any further embarrassment, and motioning towards the jug that lay to the left of Kate. She obliged and passed it over, taking care not to spill any over the array of bacon and eggs that lay on the table in front of them.
"Here you go," she said, "although I still don't know how you can stand this stuff, it's vile" and she gave the jug a look of disgust as though it contained something that had recently died.
"I can't get enough, I'm going to miss this over Christmas," sighed Alice. She had grown used to these small comforts of the wizarding world and she was reminded of her fears about returning home.
Alice and Kate were two girls who on the face of it seemed to be complete opposites. Alice was tall with dark hair and equally deep brown eyes whereas Kate was petite, with extremely pale blonde hair and bright blue eyes that matched the sky above them. In personality, too, they were different. Alice had always been quiet and shy and struggled to speak up for herself. Kate on the other hand was loud and bursting with confidence. But the two girls had one thing in common; they were both muggle-born.
They had met for the first time on the platform of Hogsmeade station. Kate, being considerably smaller than the average Hogwarts student, had become lost amongst the sea of people exiting the train and Alice had grabbed her arm to rescue her from the bustling crowd. The combination of Alice's height and Kate's loud voice and confidence when it came to shouting at older students to get out of the way had allowed them to rejoin their fellow first years, and the two of them hadn't separated from that moment on. They had shared a boat across the lake, stood arm in arm during the sorting ceremony and were eventually both sorted in to Hufflepuff, taking their seats next to each other at the very table they were sitting at now.
"Come on, where's the post got to?" moaned Kate, pushing away her half eaten breakfast and looking up anxiously at the high windows at the top of the Great Hall.
"Oh of course, you're expecting your parents reply!" exclaimed Alice, suddenly realising what it was her friend was so eager to receive. The girls had decided to try and meet up over the holidays and were waiting to hear if Kate's parents would allow Alice to stay over for a few days after Christmas. Alice had received the ok from her parents a few days before and they had already started discussing their plans.
Alice joined in the nervous wait as the girls sat in silence, glancing up every few seconds to try and catch sight of the first owls emerging from the sky beyond the windows. She had pinned all her hopes on the meet up happening, for she was apprehensive about her return to the muggle world and the thought of knowing she would be able to see her best friend and fellow witch over the holidays had been reassuring her immensely.
"Where are you Mason?" sighed Kate, prompting an outbreak of s******ing from behind her. Alice looked up as Kate whipped her head round to investigate the noise. Alice took in the familiar sight of the gang of first year Slytherins who had paused on their way to their own table and she groaned. They were a regular source of trouble to the two girls.
"Who's Mason, your boyfriend?" mocked one of them, a girl called Lydia who had mousy brown hair and an extremely wonky nose. There was an outbreak of giggling from the group surrounding her and a smug expression appeared on her face; she was apparently very pleased with her joke.
"Try my owl," replied Kate confidently, with a satisfied smile adding "idiot" under her breath as she turned away. Alice laughed as Kate gave her a wink. But the smiles had faded from the faces of the group of Slytherins.
"Watch who you're calling idiot," snarled the boy to the right of Lydia, a dark haired boy named Stephen who took a step forwards and glared at Kate.
"Hmm, you have a point," she quipped, turning back round to face him and narrowing her eyes, "I would have been better off aiming that comment at you, clearly,"
Alice was impressed but fearful at the same time. Much as she admired Kate's confidence in situations like this, Alice herself would never dare say something like that to somebody who seemed so intimidating. Kate, however, was completely undeterred and continued to try and stare him down.
"Try it why don't you, mudblood," he breathed viciously. The Slytherin gang behind him were all smiling, the girls smirking horribly at Alice and Kate.
"Right that's it, go, now!" ordered Alice, finding her voice at once, the anger rising up inside of her uncontrollably as she stood up, waving the group away.
"Don't waste your energy, they're not worth it," said Kate calmly, who was acting completely unfazed by the situation and she turned once again to face the table and helped herself to a cup of tea. Grudgingly, Alice returned to her seat.
"Yeah well, I'm not going to let them speak to you like that again," replied Alice, who was clenching her fists at her side in an effort to contain the emotion that filled her up. The students around them had clearly noticed the drama that had unfolded and a sixth year girl a short way down the Hufflepuff table spoke up.
"Hey, are those lot bothering you?" she asked, eyeing the Slytherin group suspiciously as they made their way towards the other side of the Great Hall.
"Oh nothing we can't handle," Alice smiled at her.
"They're just jealous," chipped in Kate, and she raised her voice so she could be heard from the other side of the hall to add "can't handle the embarrassment of being out-flown by a muggle-born girl!" she called, referring to Alice's natural flying ability and Stephen's lack of it. During their flying lessons that term he had shown all the grace of a flobberworm and had been unable to stay on the broom long enough to move more than an inch through the air before falling off. Alice and the sixth year girl laughed.
"Well it seems like you girls have it under control," she grinned, looking impressed, "but you know where I am if they bother you again."
"Thanks," said Alice gratefully. Although she knew she was fine as long as she was around Kate, she still felt instantly reassured by this added offer of protection.
Any remaining tension was broken as suddenly there was a great rush of noise and the sound of flapping wings and hooting filled the vast hall. The owls had arrived with the morning post.
"Oh yes!" squealed Alice, clapping her hands together with excitement.
"Finally," groaned Kate, who sounded relieved at the sight of the owls.
The two girls scanned the mass of swirling birds for the small figure of Mason, the barn owl. All around them owls were landing in front of their intended recipients and holding out their legs to deliver letters and Christmas cards, or else dropping parcels to those waiting below. Nerves were now taking over Alice, what if Kate's parents said no? Could she really spend weeks completely isolated from the world she had come to love so much? Her stomach churned at the thought. At last the tiny brown owl appeared at the back of the pack of birds and descended towards the Hufflepuff table. With a dull thud he dropped on to the wooden surface in front of them and Kate reached towards him, untying the rolls of paper fixed to his leg.
"There's more than one letter here," said Kate, sounding slightly puzzled and Alice watched her as she unrolled the letters.
"Who's the other one from?" asked Alice as Kate scanned each of the pieces of paper she was now holding.
"My friend Lara, my parents must have forwarded it on... Oh, they said yes!" she cried suddenly, obviously reaching the most crucial part of her parents letter and she began to read aloud.
"Of course your friend can stay darling, and she's more than welcome to invite her parents round for a cup of tea,"
"Typical, she'd invite the whole country round for tea if she could"
Alice laughed and the knot in her stomach relaxed at once. Things were looking up and a wide smile spread across her face as she thought about the holidays ahead.
"I'm sure they'd love to come, it'll be good for them to meet people in the same situation," Alice said enthusiastically. She knew her parents were still wary about their daughter being out in world they knew so little about. It had been tough on them having their only child move away from home and having to adjust to having a witch in the family.
Kate had now moved on to the letter from her friend which was written on paper that was a garish shade of pink.
"Lara and the girls want to meet up in the holidays," Kate said rather half heartedly. "Want to come along for moral support?" she added and she looked up at Alice pleadingly.
"Sure," Alice replied immediately, although she regretted not investigating why her moral support was needed before she answered, "What are they like?"
"Oh they're lovely," Kate added quickly but she still looked troubled. "It's just that this is the first I've heard from any of my old school friends since I started here,"
Alice thought this over for a few moments, suddenly realising that she herself hadn't heard anything at all from her old school friends since leaving for Hogwarts. She felt the knot in her stomach return and hastened to push the thought to the back of her mind.
"Come on let's go, we'll be late for first period" she said glancing at her watch, and she downed the last of her pumpkin juice. Kate emptied her mug of tea and both the girls stood up and made to leave the Great Hall.