I was completely numb the next morning when I woke up. I dragged myself into the bathroom and turned on the shower. The hot water felt good as it massaged my neck and my shoulders. I stood in the bathroom wrapped in my towel and staring at my reflection for what seemed to be an eternity. First I was thinking about what my mom had said, and then her words were drowned out by repetitive song lyrics. It got to the point to where I had to leave my bathroom so I could listen to the song that was on repeat in my head. The actual music helped improve my mood immensely. I was singing along as I brushed out my hair and put on my makeup. Once my hair was dry, I twisted it up into a knot on top of my head. I didn't like it when my hair got in my way. I did one last sweep of my room to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything and then made my way downstairs.

The house staff was up to their usual business as I entered the kitchen. My parents had a small staff on hand to maintain the house and to keep an eye on me while they were away. Since I was fifteen (almost sixteen) they didn't really keep a close watch on me like they used to. But still, it was their heads on the chopping block if I got into any sort of trouble. I greeted them all happily as I grabbed my favorite coffee mug and took my usual seat at the breakfast bar right next to the coffee pot.

The coffee pot was testing my patience this morning. It was taking an extra long time finish brewing the coffee. I held onto my mug and stared at it with anticipation. I couldn't be a functional human being without that first cup of coffee in the morning. As soon as it was finished, I had the carafe in my hand and was pouring the hot, decadent beverage into my cup. I helped myself to the creamer and sugar already on the counter for me. Once my coffee was prepared, I made my way outside to the covered lanai. It may have been the first of September, but it was still a lovely morning outside. I wanted to enjoy my last morning out on the deck.

As I was halfway through my second cup of coffee, a gray barn owl with a letter clamped in its beak landed on the table. I patted the owl on the head as I took the letter from its beak.

"Why thank you Scope!" I said excitedly. I recognized my father's handwriting immediately. I checked my watch and saw that I still had some time before I had to leave so I opened the letter. It read:

Natalie,

Congratulations on becoming a school Prefect! I am very proud of you! Keep up the good work and I'm sure you will earn the title of Head Girl. I will be sending you a gift within the next few weeks. I just need time to iron out some details first. I am so sorry that I was unable to make it to London to see you off at King's Cross today. I really did want to, but something came up. Please understand. I promise I will make it up to you when you come home for the holidays. Write to me as soon as you get settled in at Hogwarts. Good luck this year, it's a big one. I know you will study hard and do very well on your O.W.L. exams. Let me know when the first quidditch match is. I do love watching you play. I will definitely be at as many as I can this year. I love you.

-Edward

I smiled as I read through the letter again. I gave Scope a pat on the head and went back inside. I had just enough time to help load my luggage into the back of the car and then I would be off to Kings Cross.

By the time I arrived in London, I had forgotten all about the conversation I had with my mother last night. I was buzzing with excitement. It didn't take long for me to find my friends Angelina and Alicia. They both greeted me with lots of screaming and big hugs.

"Look at you arriving in style!" Alicia said while Angelina was still hugging me. They knew my family was wealthy, but they didn't know the full extent of it. I started laughing as Alicia was admiring the Mercedes that Igor drove me around in. He got out and helped me retrieve my luggage from the trunk.

"Have a good year at school Natalie" he said.

"Thank you so much! I'll see you when I get back!" I said happily. I held up my fist and he bumped it with his. This was our secret handshake that I came up with when I was nine years old. We stood outside the main entrance to the station and waited for him to leave. Once the car had disappeared around the corner, we made our way inside.

"I need another cup of coffee" I said promptly. I had developed an unhealthy addiction to the delicious beverage early on in my 3rd year of school. The big clock that hung above the entrance hall said it was only ten minutes past ten o'clock. I was happy that we had plenty of time to stop at the little café just inside the entrance hall.

Once we had our drinks, we started making our way towards the platform. I always liked to arrive early because I wanted to get a good seat. I preferred to have one of the larger compartments that had a small table and extra comfy seats. There was only one car that had these compartments and they always filled up fast.

"I won't be able to spend the entire train ride with you two" I started to say as we approached the barrier. "Prefects have to take turns patrolling the train. I will meet up with the Head Boy and Girl and sort that out. Once I know what is going on, I will meet up with you lot as soon as I can."

"Sounds good!" Angelina said. I looked to Alicia for a response but she was already staring off, looking for other students.

"Term hasn't even started yet!" Angie said, nudging Alicia.

"Exactly, that means the guys will have some free time on their hands" Alicia said with a grin. She was one of the biggest flirts I had ever met. She had a new boyfriend at the beginning of every school year, but they never stuck around for too long. They never seemed to match up to her expectations.

"I am dedicating this year to my school work. This is a very big year and I can't afford any distractions. Besides, after what Scott put me through, I never want to speak to a man ever again" I said coldly. I looked around to make sure that he wasn't anywhere to be seen. I wasn't in the mood to deal with him yet. I was hoping to avoid him for as long as possible, I wasn't sure if I could handle a conversation with him.

"Don't even get me started on that low-life scum!" Angie protested. "If he even looks in your direction I will have his head on a silver platter!" They were both well-aware of what happened between Scott and me at the end of last year.

"Oooh I hope he wanders off into the Forbidden Forest and never comes back" Alicia said maliciously. I couldn't help but smile. I truly had the greatest friends in the entire world.

Once ten-thirty rolled around, we were able to enter the platform. Luckily we were the first to make it through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. We climbed onto the train and settled into our favorite compartment. Before we stored our luggage in the racks above our heads, we took out our uniforms and hung them up on the back of the door. I pulled my prefects badge out and pinned it to the front of my robes.

"I'm glad they picked you to be Gryffindor Prefect. I don't know what I would do if they gave the badge to Stephanie or Chelsea" Angie sneered. Chelsea and Stephanie were the other two girls we shared a dormitory with. I didn't mind Chelsea for the most part, but she was an awful human being when she was with Stephanie. Stephanie was shallow and cold-hearted. She and Angie got into a fight almost every year. We were pretty sure she cheated off Alicia's exams last year but we had no way to prove it. The worst part about it was that we had to be nice to her because she was dating our quidditch captain, Oliver Wood.

"I don't know what he sees in her!" Alicia said as Stephanie walked by. "Even with all that makeup she still is ugly. And what's up with that hair! It looks like she has seaweed hanging from her scalp!"

"I think you're just jealous!" Angie teased. It was common knowledge that Alicia had the biggest crush on Oliver. That was the main reason she tried out for the team two years ago. It was a big shock for all of us when he put her on the team.

"You and I both know he can do soooo much better!" Alicia said coldly. "But we have more important things to discuss." She turned towards me as I was getting comfy in my seat right next to the window. I had already taken out my transfiguration textbook and was about to start reading it. "Has the lowlife tried to speak to you at all over the summer?" Both Alicia and Angie stared at me intensely.

"He sent me one letter about a week after the summer holiday started, but I never opened it. I just threw it into the fire pit. Either he got the hint when I never responded, or he just is that horrible of a human being" I said.

"I wish you kept it so I could read it" Alicia said. She was probably the nosiest person I knew. She knew just about everything about everyone. She had a special ear for gossip. She spent a lot of her free time listening to other people's conversations. If anyone ever had any doubt of rumors, she was the one to ask. She knew which rumors were true and which rumors were fake. She was so good, she could often figure out who started the rumors in the first place. "How did your parents take the news about the breakup?"

"I haven't told them yet. I didn't see them much over the summer and I wanted to enjoy the little time we had to spend together. I didn't want to insert him into all of the drama either. How was your summer Alicia?" I wanted to change the subject as soon as possible. I didn't want to talk about my parents just yet.

"Oh it was the usual. We went on our annual vacation in France. I spent most of it lying on the beach. I did some shopping. My brother proposed to his horrible girlfriend, which was actually really nice. He did the whole get on one knee while the sun set below the horizon. It was really romantic and he has set the bar really high for my future fiancé" she giggled. Angie and I have both met her brother's fiancée and despite Alicia's protests, she was actually really sweet.

"You should be happy for him! I love Mary, she is such a sweetheart and it's so obvious that she makes him the happiest in the world. Just the way he looks at her is so…" Angie started to say but was quickly cut off by Alicia.

"Nauseating" Alicia said coldly.

"I think you're just jealous that he has a girlfriend who has stayed in his life for more than a month" Angie teased. I started to giggle but stopped as soon as I saw Alicia scowling. I was so distracted by my friends I didn't realize that the train had finally started to move. I looked out the window just in time to see the platform slip away around the corner.

"Well this has been fun but I am going to make my way to the Prefect's car to see what the deal is with patrolling the train" I said. I shut the door and pulled the shade down so I could change into my school robes. Once I was dressed, I let Angie and Alicia check me over to make sure I looked good. Angie quickly adjusted my tie while Alicia eyed my hair.

"It wouldn't kill you to let your hair down. We aren't in class yet and you have such beautiful hair" She said combing through her hair. Alicia only put her hair up for quidditch and potions class. I only wore my hair down for special occasions, like dates to Hogsmede or quidditch parties.

"I want to leave it where it is. I don't really want to draw too much attention to myself right now" I said. I was dreading walking to the other end of the train by myself. I knew for a fact that I would run into Scott and I didn't want our first conversation to happen in front of everyone and I didn't want to be by myself while he was surrounded by his friends.

"Hate to break it to ya girl, but this right here makes you stand out just a little bit." Angie said, pointing to my prefects badge on my chest. "You're going to be fine, people respect you and will respect that badge as well" She said with a smile as if she knew exactly what I was thinking. "And don't worry about him. He knows he was wrong and there's nothing that he can do to make him look like the good guy".

"Thanks Angie" I said. "I will see you lot in a little bit. Please try to stay out of trouble" I giggled and stepped out of the compartment and closed the door behind me.