Shit.
I only have fifteen minutes until we leave for London and I am currently standing in front of my mirror, wearing a towel and staring at the pimple currently growing on my chin. Granted I've already packed, but fifteen minutes to get dressed, change my mind, get dressed again, do my hair, grimace at my appearance then cover my face in make up? Not likely.
I pull on the jeans I bought the other day and search my wardrobe for a top. Most of the clothes I like I have packed already so there really isn't much left. I grab my brother's old football top and put it on. It goes half way down my thighs but at least it's comfortable. I tie my curly brown hair back into a pony tail and then start to work on my face. I'm not usually that keen on make-up but I would rather not have a giant red pimple visible on my face on my first day back at school. After lightly covering my face with foundation the pimple is less obvious. That would have to do. I glance at the clock again, five minutes until Mum said we were leaving. I grab my trunk and heave it out of my room and down the stairs. Its times like these I wish I could use magic outside of school. Unfortunately I'm only fifteen so I have another two years before I am of age. Morgana, my kitten, spots me when I get to the bottom of the stairs and meows as she prances over to me. She was a present from my parents for my fifteenth birthday, probably the best present I have ever been given. My parents aren't really the type for giving me things that I would actually like, they prefer the whole 'practical gift' thing. I had been asking for a kitten since I was probably about five, so Morgana was a complete surprise when I got home from Hogwarts. Hogwarts is the school I go to, a school for witches and wizards. I had no idea I was a witch until I got my letter five years ago, accompanied by a little old wizard who I later found out was Professor Horton, the Muggle Studies professor. He had explained everything to me and to be honest, I didn't believe him. I mean, if some old man came to your house telling you that you were a wizard, you'd think him mad too. It wasn't until he produced a bouquet of flowers out of his wand for our living room that I actually took him seriously. My mother had fainted. And now, five years later, I am preparing to go back for another year.
"Charlotte," Mum said as she walked into the living room where I was seated. "Are you ready?"
I nodded as I went over the location of all my possessions. My broom was already in the car, my trunk was at my feet and my handbag containing my wand was already in the living room where I left it last night.
"Excellent, we're right on time. Do you know where your father went?"
"No, I haven't seen him since breakfast" I replied, looking around as if I expected to see him hiding in a corner. "Is he outside?"
At that moment he walked in the backdoor, my little sister in tow.
"Are we leaving now?" he asked as he glanced between my mother and his watch.
"For God's sake Thomas, are you really going into London dressed like that?"
Dad was wearing a pair of suit trousers with a button up shirt. I couldn't see what was wrong with it. I mean, if it were me it would be much more casual, but for my parents taste? It was fine.
"Well, yes" Dad replied uncertainly. Obviously he couldn't see what was wrong with his outfit either. Mum sighed.
"Alright then," she said impatiently, "everybody in the car."
The four of us piled into Dad's car, with Morgana in a cat carrier on my lap, and I stare intently out the window. It would be three whole months before I saw Bath again and despite the fact that Hogwarts feels more like home then my house does, Bath is where I grew up and I love it. We pass my old primary school and the park I used to play on every afternoon. We pass the house of my childhood best friend. We grew apart once I left for Hogwarts, I couldn't tell her I was a witch, and so it was difficult whenever we would hang out. I started to distance myself. I stopped writing to her when I was at school. It felt weird looking at her house go by, somewhere so familiar yet so distant. We go pass the football field where I used to play every Saturday morning. As we passed the field I settled back into my seat, not bothering with looking outside. By this point we will be leaving Bath, with another two hours to go until we get to London.
We arrive at Kings Cross Station with half an hour to spare. My parents will be taking my sister shopping in London once they've dropped me off so Hannah is particularly keen to see me leave quickly. We walk in silence to the barrier between platforms nine and ten before we stop. I glance around at the people surrounding us. I vaguely recognise some of the people as Hogwarts students but I don't see anyone I really know. Mum clears her throat.
"Charlotte," she starts, "good luck this year at school"
"Thanks"
"And remember to study hard, otherwise we'll have a repeat of your grades last year"
"Yes Mum"
"And this year you have important exams at the end of the year, yes?"
"Yes"
"I'm expecting straight A's"
"O's"
"What?"
"O is the highest grade, not A"
"Well, straight O's then"
"Okay"
"And make sure you train hard for your Quidmitch team"
"Quidditch"
"Sorry, Quidditch team"
"I will"
"Make me proud sweetie" she finished as she kissed me on the cheek.
"Bye"
Dad just kisses me on the cheek and mutters, "see you later pumpkin"
"Bye Dad"
Hannah just waves.
I make my way onto the platform alone, pushing my trolley in front of me. The platform is busy now and I see plenty of people I know. I smile at Heidi, a girl in my dormitory as I look out for my friends. Unfortunately I wasn't looking where I was going because I ran into someone.
"Look where you're going Collins" I hear a familiar voice laugh. I look up to see Sirius Black grinning at me. Oh god. I try to look as casual as possibly but I'm fairly sure I'm blushing. I suddenly remember the pimple on my chin and I think I blush more.
"Hey Sirius" I reply, concentrating on keeping my voice casual. God Charlotte, he's your friend. Calm down. I used to be fine around Sirius before I got this stupid crush on him. Well, when I first met him I hated him but then I got to know him. He's funny, he's smart, he looks out for his friends… And that's what I am. A friend. But towards the end of last year I started to see what the other girls saw, he was also insanely attractive. And then whenever he looked at me, my stomach dropped. Whenever he touched me, I got goosebumps. I was hoping that over summer I would have gotten over this crush but apparently not.
"Have you seen James?" he asked, looking past me.
"Nope, not yet" I replied, "I've got to go, umm, meet the others"
"Sure" he replied, turning his attention back to me, "I'll see you later"
He walked off to find his partner in crime and left me standing on the platform, feeling like an idiot. Why couldn't I be more perfect? Then I could hold Sirius's attention, and not be too shy about it. I would be taller, and my hair would be stylishly wavy rather than insanely curly, and I would be a little thinner and I would be confident and I would make him laugh all the time…
"Charlotte!"
I was brought out of my daydream by one of my best friends, Lucia Taylor. She was standing by the train with another of my friends, Ruby Moore. I pushed my trolley towards them and embraced them in turn.
"How are you guys?" I asked, grinning. I had gone crazy at home over summer, and had only been able to visit them a few times.
"Pretty good" Ruby replied, brushing her hair behind her ear, "we spent the last few weeks in Penzance with Mum"
"My holidays were pretty boring" Lucia added, "I spent the entire time playing Quidditch with my family"
"Better than mine" I replied, "I couldn't even do that"
We chatted like that for a while, only stopping when we were joined by our friend Avery. Eventually we got onto the train, luckily finding a compartment for ourselves. As I sat down I looked at my friends, appreciating how much I missed them. Lucia is tall, half Italian and gorgeous. She is also completely stubborn, a tomboy and doesn't seem to completely understand the concept of tact. Ruby is the shortest of the four of us and is a little more rounded then the rest of us. She keeps her blonde hair in a bob haircut and she is quiet and reserved. She is also incredibly funny and quick witted. Avery is also quite short and sometimes it's hard to believe that so much enthusiasm can fit in one person. She naturally has dark brown hair but last year she discovered muggle hair dye and it became her new favourite thing. Well, until she turns seventeen. We all play Quidditch, which can be the source of many arguments considering the four of us are all is different houses. Lucia is in Slytherin, Ruby is in Ravenclaw, Avery is in Gryffindor and I'm in Hufflepuff. I'm not sure if I enjoy being in Hufflepuff. I mean, I hate the teasing and stereotypes accompanied by being a Hufflepuff, but honestly, I do like the others in my house and let's just say being positioned next to the kitchens isn't at all bad.
"Did you guys hear about the Death Eater attacks just outside Manchester last week?" Avery asked once we had all settled into the carriage.
The others nodded grimly.
"No?" I asked. The problem with having a muggle family is that for pretty much all of the summer, I'm out of the loop in the Wizarding world.
"Well, there was this family living in a village outside Manchester, I think the mother was a muggle born and they were all murdered" Avery explained.
"The kids were really young too, I think the youngest was something like three" Ruby added.
Death Eater attacks didn't happen often, just often enough to keep the Wizarding world in terror. When I first started at Hogwarts, You Know Who was only just starting to become known. He would randomly kill muggles and muggle borns, like me. But it happened very rarely and you could distance yourself from it – he was a murderer you hear about in the news and that was all. But then he started to gain followers, people who agreed with his obsession with pure bloods. The news started to report not only on the crimes but on how aurors couldn't track him down. He started to become someone people were frightened of all the time. Now everybody follows the attacks closely, trying to find a pattern so that they can keep away. Groups of Slytherins started to talk about joining You Know Who, becoming Death Eaters. I'm still not sure if any of them actually did or if it was just talk.
"It's horrible" Lucia said quietly. Lucia gets really effected by the attacks. I think it's because she is surrounded by the wannabe Death Eaters constantly at school, she sees firsthand the influence You Know Who has over people.
The topic is changed after that and we chat for the rest of the trip to Hogwarts, but the attacks still run through my mind in every silence, and judging by the faces of everyone else, it is in theirs too.