The last week of August was coming to a close and Meg couldn't of been more pleased. Don't get her wrong, she loved spending 6 weeks out of school to be around her family. She loved the hot weather and the late nights crowded around the makeshift bonfire her dad would spend the majority of the day making; the whole family sitting around and scrambling for the marshmallows. The older kids such as herself and her older brother Ryan rolling their eyes at the younger ones, such as her little twin sisters Phoebe and Ella, who always seemed to get the gooey goodness everywhere but inside of their actual mouths.
But do you know what she loved more? Hogwarts. That was where she knew deep down in heart she belonged. Not in the Muggle world where the rest of her family had to stay. She quite enjoyed being the only wizard in her family, it was something that was hers and hers only; away from her prying and invasive family.
However, at the same time it sucked that she was the only one who got to experience how utterly fantastic it felt to be a witch. To know that you were special, and to know that you were part of something that not even in your biggest and wildest dreams would you even begin to imagine.
"I'm going to miss you, you know." The soft voice next to her startled her out of her thoughts and she turned to find Ryan looking back at her. She smiled weakly.
"I'm going to miss you too, Ry." She reached her arm out towards him, and squeezed it in what she hoped was a comforting way. Making people feel better was never really her forte, so she always felt awkward around people who were upset.
They were lying in a the huge field that was at the back of their home and it was late at night, after their final bonfire of the summer. Star gazing was something her and Ryan loved doing. Ever since they were little, they'd sneak out in the middle of the night and just stare at the stars in wonder and fascination until the sun began to show and they knew they'd have to sneak back in. 99% of the time they got caught because Anne Stansfield was always up early to make breakfast for herself, her 4 children and her husband. The outcome was the same every time, they'd grin guiltily at her and she'd try to scold them, but she ended up smiling fondly and them and said that they needed to be careful, and for goodness sake next time will you at least take a coat or a blanket with you because it's cold out there and you'll get ill one of these days!
"I know you've still got two years left at Hogwarts, if you include this year, but you will come back, won't you Meg?" Meg looked up at him, startled. She'd never really thought about her life after Hogwarts but now she had, she knew she wouldn't be returning. She loved the magical world too much to ever leave it. But there was a look of such desperation and sadness on his face, she knew she couldn't be honest with him.
"Maybe," was the reply she went for instead. She felt guilty but tried to convince herself that she wasn't completely lying. She still had two years to completely make up her mind, right? She bit her lip and shook her head at herself, wondering how the bloody hell she'd ended up in Gryffindor.
No longer in the mood for star gazing, she stood up and wiped down the grass from her jeans, before offering her hand to her brother who accepted it and she pulled him up. The last night of August was the only time that they didn't stay out all night, as Meg didn't really fancy falling asleep on the train ride on the way to Hogwarts. She preferred looking at the scenery and chatting with her friends instead.
They made the walk back to the house in silence; reflecting on their summers. They bid one another a good nights rest before sneaking up the creaky staircase and trying hard not to wake up their parents, or worse, the twins.
When they reached the top of the stairs they gave one another a final smile before retiring to their rooms for the night. Meg changed into her pyjamas and moved her already packed trunk beside her door, ready for Mike Stansfield to carry to van in the morning. She slipped under the covers and brought them up to her chin, wiggling around to warm up. Meg sighed contently and it didn't take her very long to fall into a peaceful slumber.
..OoO..
Rays of sun light shone through Meg's bedroom window and were resting on her face. However, it was Meg's father who shook her awake at 8 am.
"Wakey wakey sleepy, breakfasts cooking and everybody wants to see you for at least a few hours before you leave."
Meg groaned in protest and pulled her covers closer to her. But them she remembered what day it was and bubbles of excitement were in her chest, taking over her body. She flung the covers off of herself and rushed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
She did her usual morning routine; shower, moisturise, get dressed, put her hair in a high bun like always and apply make up.
Meg looked at herself in the mirror and studied her appearance. She'd changed a little bit over the summer. Not much, but it was noticeable. Her brown curly hair had grown from shoulder length to just below her boobs and she was still debating with herself as to whether she should cut it or let it grow for a change. For the first time she actually had boobs. She chuckled to herself at the thought. She'd always felt self concious about her body and was always cursing to the God's about how she still looked like a 9 year old boy. It seemed they had finally answered her prayers.
She'd grown a little taller, too. Not by much. Most of Meg's family were short, expect her father who was 6'1. She herself was barely 5'4 and she always felt awkward about it because when she used to tell people her age, they'd always look at her in shock and claim they thought that she was a few years younger. Her legs were long but her body was short. She was just grateful it she was curvy instead of overweight. Her spots had cleaned up a lot , which was quite a relief to her. Her achne has always been her biggest insecurity. Blue eyes twinkled back at her and she grinned at herself.
When she'd finally made it downstairs her family were already sitting at the table waiting for her. The twins were being their usual selves and were making as much mess as humanly possible. Baked beans was their food of choice this time, the sauce covering their mouths, hands and t-shirts. Meg shook her head and smiled fondly; it was little things like this that she was going to miss whilst she was away. Meg had been in Hogwarts when the twins were born and she hadn't really seen them grow up. However, they seemed to adore her when she was home, and the feeling was mutual.
Her brother was slumped down in his chair and was using his fork to stab at his eggs instead of to eat. He always got like this when Meg was leaving. There was 18 months between them and they had always been close growing up; Ryan was very protective of Meg and was devastated to know he'd be away from her for so long whilst she was at Hogwarts, but he was happy for her at the same time.
"Morning everyone," Meg said softly, trying to downplay her excitement. She didn't want her brother thinking she wasn't going to miss him. She was of course, more than anything, but she wasn't as upset as him because she was so excited to be going to Hogwarts.
"Hey," was his reply. He looked up and give her an awful attempt of a smile and then looked back down at his plate.
Meg sighed. She'd give him a proper goodbye at the train station. He'd be fine in a few days.
"Morning, sweetie. Are you excited?" Her mother smiled, placing a plate of toast, eggs, beans, sausage and a hash brown in front of her. Meg thanked her and tucked in, as well as pouring herself a glass of orange juice.
"Yeah mum, I can't wait. I can't believe I'm already in my 6th year, it's crazy. Doesn't feel like yesterday since I got my letter."
Anne nodded at her daughter and then proceeded to clean up her younger ones, before helping them down from their chairs and began clearing the table.
"We'd better be leaving soon or you'll miss the train," Anne said, looking up at the kitchen clock. Mike went upstairs to retrieve Meg's trunk, and carried it out to the van for her. The whole family went with her to say goodbye, it was tradition.
Once they'd gotten to the station and through the barrier, the huge Hogwart's express greeted them. The sight of it overwhelmed her with fondness and she really couldn't help the huge grin that had spread over her face; she was going home.