Chapter 2
Through The Years
1rst Year:
It was only two weeks into first year and already Maci was already homesick. None of her friends understood. James and Louis had all their cousins and siblings and Chase…well as far as Maci could gather Chase didn't have much of a home to pine for. It wasn't that Maci didn't enjoy being at Hogwarts, on the contrary she loved. All of her free time had spent exploring the elaborate halls and rolling grounds the school.
That was how, on this particular sunny Saturday morning Maci found herself strolling in the fields behind the castle. James, Louis and Chase had decided to stay in and do god knows what, but Maci had politely excused herself from the common room escaping out into the sunlight. While it's warm red walls and comfortable overstuffed furniture was nice, sometimes it could almost be suffocating, surrounded by all those people.
Coming across a grove of willow trees that sat resided beside a small steam Maci ducked inside the confines of the branches. Slowly turning in a circle she admired how the trailing branches of the trees fell around her, creating a leafy room. Picking her way over to one of the trees Maci rested her back against its thick trunk.
Through branches Maci could see Hogwarts. From this distance it looked small, like a child's play toy. Maci could almost imagine a little girl kneeling down beside the castle, unhooking a latch and pulling it open. She would pick up a tiny figurine from inside and make it climb the turrets that spiraled into the sky or maybe it would explore the dark, dank dungeons that sprawled like labyrinths below the floor.
To the far right of the castle Maci could just see the memorial that had been erected on the grounds as thank you to all those who had fallen in the Final Battle with Voldemort. The sun beat down on the white marble and Maci knew from experience that if she had been close enough to see the names they would be glowing.
As Maci lay there beneath the shade of the Willow Grove, with the babbling stream in front of her, her mind began to wander and she started thinking about home. Today the first memory that came to mind was the day she received her Hogwarts letter…
Maci sat in her silver and neon green egg chair, that hung from the equally neon green ceiling of her bedroom in her family`s upscale loft in London. Gently pushing against the worn wooden floor boards, Maci sent her chair spinning in gentle circles. Repositioning her left foot so it rested on her right leg and letting the other foot dangle aimlessly, Maci continued reading the book she held in her lap. Just as she had gotten comfortable with the spinning, Maci heard her name being called from somewhere in the flat.
"Yes?" Maci shouted back, stretching her right leg so her foot touched the ground and stopped the steady turning of the chair. Popping the single ear bud she had in out of her ear, Maci`s world which had just been filled with the sound of One Direction's voices, now went silent as she listened for a response.
"Your letter just arrived." The loud and boisterous voice of her older brother, Grant, came from somewhere on the other side of Maci`s bedroom door. Within a moment of hearing this Maci had jumped out of her chair, sending it flying in violent circles. Sprinting down the hall, Maci came skidding to an abrupt halt in front of Grant, who stood letter in hand and a devious grin on his face.
"Give it to me!" Maci exclaimed, trying to grab the letter from her brother`s hand. Whipping the letter out of his sister`s reach, Grant dangled the letter just about her head. Maci, who had taken after their mother, was cursed with a petite build. Grant on the other hand had followed in their father`s footsteps with his broad shoulders and tall build. Standing six foot one at age seventeen, Grant towered above most of the students and teachers at Hogwarts.
Hogwarts, the reason Maci was jumping up and down like a five year old to reach a letter that was a good foot out of her reach. You see Maci had been waiting for this letter, her letter, ever since she had gotten her powers at age six. Inside the envelope that Grant held so carelessly in his hands was her acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry.
"Do you want the letter?" Grant asked Maci, the devious smile still scrawled across his handsome features.
Maci pushed her disheveled auburn hair out of her face, exposing her bright sea green eyes which were burning with frustration. "Yes. I would like MY letter." She managed to get out through gritted teeth.
"What`s the magic word?" Grant asked, his sea green eyes, which were a shade darker than Maci`s, were sparkling teasing laughter.
"MOM! Grant is-"Maci screamed at the top of her lungs, but was cut off by Grant`s right hand clamping over her mouth.
"Fine." Grant muttered, removing his hand and giving Maci the letter.
"Grant is what Maci?" Their mother, Anabella asked, appearing in the entrance to the hallway, a dish towel in one hand and a dripping plate in the other.
"Nothing mum." Maci told her mother, smiling sweetly up at Grant, an expression of victory on her face.
"Is that your Hogwarts letter?" Anabella asked, gesturing towards the envelope Maci now had clutched in her hand with the dripping plate and flinging water droplets in every direction.
"Yep." Maci informed her mum happily, "And now I am gonna take it back to my room and open it." Maci half ran and half skipped back to her room. Flinging open her hot pink bedroom door, Maci bounded across the room and landed on her neon blue comforter which was still crumpled from the previous night's sleep. Swiftly she tore open the envelope and tossed it aside, allowing it to flutter onto the ground. Unfolding the thick parchment, Maci held the letter in her hands and her eyes taking in the words. After finishing the last sentence, she flew up out of her bed and began conga lining around her room with her hands on an invisible partner`s shoulders. "I`m going to Hogwarts. I`m going to Hogwarts. I`m going to Hogwarts." Maci sung as she continued her absurd congaing.
A sigh escaped from between Maci's lip and for about the thousandth time she wished Grant was here with her at Hogwarts, instead of training to be a healer at St. Mungo's'. Her brother would make this whole experience ten times easier. If Grant were her he would regale Maci with tales of their childhood to cure her homesickness. 'But he wasn't here,' Maci reminded herself, 'and he wouldn't want me moping around wishing he was.'
After a while longer Maci picked herself up off the ground, brushing off her school skirt. With one last look around the grove she pushed the willow branches apart and stepped back out into the sunlight. Making a mental note to remember this spot Maci began the treck back to the castle which, with each step, began to look more and more like real castle and not a child's play toy.
o-O-o-O-o-O-o
"If I have to do one more 24 inch paper for Carizzo I swear I am going to jump into the lake and let the squid drown me." Chase announced slamming down his parchment and quill. The school year had flown by at an almost frightening pace and now Maci's, James' and Chase's first year was almost over. They only had one more week, full of finals and nerve wracking hours of studying, left to go and for once this year James and Chase were taking school seriously. In an effort to continue this new found scholarliness N/A had elected to study in the first year boys' dormitory, to avoid the loud and overcrowded common room and library.
The room in question was big enough to hold five beds (For that was how many first year Gryffindor boys there was that year), five night stands, five dressers and three closets. The beds were four poster twin beds, with red and gold curtains hanging around them, curtains which were currently pinned back as they normally were during the day. The floor which Maci and Louis sat on was worn and the planks were made of oak. Near the end of Chase's bed was a scorch mark, which James dad had told James was made when he was at Hogwarts.
Apparently Seamus Finnegan, the father of Jacob Finnegan a boy a year about Louis, used to have a problem with blowing things up, meaning it happened to him often and not intentionally. So one time in first year Seamus had been practicing a spell, Mr. Potter hadn't specified which one, and he happened to be standing at the foot of his bed. After Seamus had finished the spell his bed caught fire. Even though the boys managed to put out the fire and repair the damage to the bed none of them seemed to be able to fix the floor. Not even someone who James called Aunt Hermione could fix it.
"If you think your essays miserable now, then you are crewed for the rest of your Hogwarts career." Louis informed Chase, who groaned and flopped dramatically on his bed.
"Stop whining Chase at least your decent at potions. I am going to fail this final and then mum will make me study all summer or she'll take away my broom." James shuddered at the thought.
Maci coughed loudly and all three guys' heads turned to look at her, "I hate to interrupt this little complaint fest, but I need to know your guys' middle names."
"Sirius." James answered immediately and Maci rolled her eyes.
"I know that." Maci snapped, "I was talking about Chase and Louis' middle names." She turned an eye on them, "So, spit it out?"
"Why do you need to know?" Chase asked, looking up from his pillows.
"Lux won't take letters to anyone unless it has their full names on it."
Lux was Maci's barn owl, with which she shared a vicious love hate relationship. Maci had discovered that Lux's " thing" about full names after countless attempts to send letters to her parents and brother, only for the owl to return hours later, letter still firmly attached to her leg. At first Mace just thought that Lux was extremely lazy and since she didn't have time to train her or even deal with the problem, she just used school owls. One day however Maci had written a return correspondence to one of Grant's more annoying letters and in her annoyance at him she had scrawled Grant Alexander Morton across the envelope. When Maci went to send the letter all the school's owls were easier out hunting or delivering other letters, so she was forced to use Lux. To Maci's surprise the next time Lux turned she help a return letter from Grant and not the one Maci had sent.
"Your bird is messed up Mace, you know that right?" Chase inquired leaning his torso off the edge of his bed, so his head brushed the worn oaken floorboards.
"She's not messed up, she's just particular." Maci informed him hastily, "So c'mon give me your middle names unless you don't want to hear from me all summer.
"Oh tempting," Louis teased and Maci scowled at him, "Alright, alright it's William."
"That is the single most English sounding name I have ever heard, such a stereotype." Maci snorted.
"Oh coming from Miss. Maci Maya Marie Morton." Louis shot back and Maci covered her face with her hands, "Your turn Chase." He added turning to the younger boy.
When Chase finally spoke up after a long pause his voice was so quiet Maci had to strain to hear it, "Chase Albion."
"Albion?" Maci choked on the word because she was laughing so hard.
"It's a family name." Chase grumbled, looking down at his hands, as everyone dissolved into laughter around him, "It's not that funny." He snapped now sounding annoyed.
"I'm sorry but it's just so pretentious. Chase Albion Reed" James was now rolling around on the floor with greatly exaggerated laughter, simply to get a rise out of Chase.
"It's not like I asked to be named it. I wasn't exactly around to tell my parents what a terrible idea it was." Chase snapped and Maci nodded in solemn agreement.
"I understand your pain Chase."
"Thank you Maci. It's good to know that at least someone in this room isn't a complete moron. Now can we please go back to studying?" He begged.
"Whatever you say Albie." James ended the conversation with one what was to be the beginning a whole slew of jibes at Chase's middle name.
o-O-o-O-o-O-o
2nd Year:
Albus was at Hogwarts, Albus was in Slytherin, but he was still at Hogwarts. This was the thought running through James' head as he began his first day of second year. Well it wasn't the only though running through his head, he was also trying to figure out why Maci kept laughing at all of Louis' stupid jokes and why Teddy had been snogging James' cousin Victoire, but the predominate thought that was running through James' head was Albus.
"It's not that I don't love him and all," He had tried to explain to a skeptical Maci last night, "It's just well...I liked having the school to myself. I mean yeah all my cousins are here, but their more like friends than relatives. All last year Hogwarts was like my place and now I don't want to share."
"You realize like what a complete arse you sound like right?" Maci had questioned him raising her eyebrows at James.
"Yes." He had answered, his voice muffled by his hands which were covering his face.
"Well as long as you know." Maci's attention had then been reactivated by Louis who was telling some story, about some vacation that his family had gone on this summer.
Now almost twenty-four hours later James was sitting in the exact same spot, listening to first day back, buz of conversation that surrounded him. He couldn't really hear one whole conversations, just short snippets.
"Did you hear what Rebecca Jones did in potions?"
"Hey Davis can I-"
"Merlin pants Carizzo is even worse this year. She's riding us like-"
"What the hell happened to Finnegan, last year he was all….and now…"
The conversations swirled around the four long tables that rested in the Great Hall, each decked with their houses colors. They floated up past the candle sticks that were resting in their brackets or suspended in midair, drifting away into the starry ceiling above, far out of the reach of anyone's ears.
James' friends hadn't made it to the Great Hall yet. Maci was talking to Dom over at the Ravenclaw table, the traitor, Louis was still in class and Chase had went to send a letter to his mum before coming down. So James was all alone, or at least he was until his cousin, Rose, came bounding over, closely followed by a skinny blonde boy.
"Hey Jamie." She said, sitting beside him without asking, skinny blonde boy sat as well.
"Hey Rosie." He responded, looking away from her and down at his untouched plate of food.
"This is Scorpius." Rose announced, as if James had asked her, which he hadn't and he hadn't cared until he heard that name.
"As in Scorpius Malfoy?" He questioned his head shooting up and swiveling to glare at skinny blond- Scorpius, "As in the Scorpius your father told you not to associate with?"
"Maybe," Rose blushed, not looking at Scorpius who had yet to speak to James.
"Your dad is going to have a cow. No scratch that your dad is going to have the whole effing barn." James shook his head, not sure whether to admire his cousin's rebellion or stop it.
"He's not like his dad was when he went to school with mum, dad and Uncle Harry. He's in Gryffindor for Merlin's sakes." Rose said as if his affiliation with the house should be enough to redeem the years of bad blood between the families, "Al's in Slytherin." She added and James wondered what that had to do with anything.
"I still would like to see the look on Uncle Ron's face, when he finds out your friends with a Malfoy."
"I'll be sure to take a picture." Rose said dryly, "Where's your brother." She added looking around.
"Most likely at his house table."
"Have you talked to him yet?"
"No."
"Are you going to?"
"Sometime."
"Are you avoiding him?" Rose asked yet another question, but just then Maci walked over and sat next to James.
"Maci thank god. Rose you can ask her questions now," He announced rising from the table.
"Where are you going?" Rose questioned.
"To say hi to my brother."
"Why?"
"To get the hell away from you." Quickly James walked away from Rose, towards Slytherin table. His eyes scanned the table and then finally found Albus. Reluctantly James walked closer to the table and sat down next to his brother, ignoring all the glares he was getting from the other Slytherins.
"Hey Al how was your first day?" Albus was quiet starring down at his plate. James knew this look, maybe because James wore it quite often, when he was alone and there was no one there to see, "What happened?" James asked quietly and Al shook his head, "What happened Albus?" He repeated.
"It's nothing. It…it was just a really long day." Al finally answered, "I wish I had…"
"Albus Severus will you just tell me what happened." James ordered, beginning to get frustrated and more than a little worried.
"It's just I'm the first Potter in like the whole history of Potters to be put in Slytherin." Albus muttered.
"And your scared that dad is going to be horrified and disown you?" James asked in genuine concern which only made the sting of word worse for Albus.
"No. In fact I hadn't even though about that until you opened your mouth you prat." Albus snapped, punching a laughing James in the shoulder. The brother's sat there in silence for a moment before Albus spoke up again, "What am I going to do James. All my friends, all my cousins are in Gryffindor and I'm stuck in Slytherin?"
It was rare that James was ever a good big brother. It was even rarer that James was serious at the same time as being a good big brother. That was more of a job for their God-brother Teddy Lupin, but right now Teddy wasn't here and Al needed help, so James gave it his best try.
"Look Albus," He began, taking a deep breath, "Going to Hogwarts is scary to begin with, especially if you're not in the same house as your friends, but it's also an adventure. You meet tons of people, some of them you might become friends with, some you may only say a passing hello to in the hall. You take classes, and yeah maybe at points you'll hate them, but other days you'll be amazed at how much there is to learn. And in the end I promise it's worth it, you just have to give it a chance."
"You know James I think that may be the nicest and most helpful thing you have ever said to me." Albus told his brother in an amazed tone.
"Yeah well don't get used to it. I try not to make habits out of being nice to you or even acknowledging your presence for that matter." James informed Al with a rueful grin. As he started to walk away James suddenly had an idea. An idea that would make his father and Uncle Ron most likely disown him, but if it would help Al out than it would be worth it, maybe…
Cursing his genius James turned on his heel and walked back over to Al, "I thought you said you weren't going to make a habit out of this." Albus teased and James rolled his eyes.
"Well if you don't want to hear my bloody brilliant advice than I suppose I can just go…" He trailed off turning around for a second time, but Al's skinny arm shot out and grabbed James' wrist.
"No go ahead. I'm sorry." He apologized quickly.
"I was just going to say I know someone who is probably feeling just as out of place as you." James nodded towards Gryffindor table where Scorpius Malfoy sat skulking behind Rose, who was animatedly talking to Maci.
"Malfoy?" Albus asked incredulously and James nodded.
"He's in the exact same situation as you and if Rose can get over family differences maybe you can to."
Albus looked warily over at Malfoy, but James though he saw a little bit of relief in his brother's eyes, "Yeah maybe I can."
"Now if you excuse me my work here is done." James announced, already on his way back to his table and his friends when Al's voice rang out across the hall.
"Hey James do you plan on getting over family differences,"
James didn't look over his shoulder when he answered his brother, "Of course not I plan on making his life hell." And even though he couldn't see his brother's face James knew Al was laughing.
o-O-o-O-o-O-o
3rdYear:
The words in Chase's potions text book were beginning to look as if they were moving. Right now the word he was trying to read, botanical, was doing backflips across the page. Slamming his book shut Chase looked around the common room, which had begun to feel like home during the two year and a half years he had been at Hogwarts.
A couple people were scattered around the room, absorbed in various things or simply doing nothing at all. One girl, who Louis introducing him to, Torrin he though, but that could be completely wrong, Chase was bully with names. She was curled into the tattered gold arm chair that Louis said had been there in his parent's time, reading some muggle novel. From this distance Chase could barely make out the title, which read "The Hate List." In another corner of the William Harris, a fourth year chaser on the Gryffindor quidditch team was bent over a piece of parchment that unfurled onto the floor, scribbling away like a madman. His table was the rickety one that Chase always avoided because of the infuriating squeaking noises it always made when you wrote. Even from all the way on the other side of the common room Chase could hear the noises, but in the silence that hung suspended in the room Chase almost welcomed them.
Those were the only other people in the room aside from Chase. Normally there would be more, normally the room would be backed, but it was the Christmas holidays and the vast majority of the school was at home with their families. That included Chase's three best friends, Louis, James and Maci. They had all left him a week ago with promises to send gifts, not that it mattered to Chase if they did, their friendship was gift enough.
Chase was pulled out of his thoughts by the sofa seat dipping down as someone came to sit beside him. Looking up he saw it was William Harris. The older boy's scroll was now rolled up and tucked under his arm, along with his quill.
"So what's your story?" He asked and Chase blinked. Outside of a few conversations, in which Louis had been the primary talker, Chase had never conversed with William. So he was a bit taken aback by his sudden interest in conversation.
"What do you mean?" Chase retorted.
"Why are you here," William gestured with a wide sweep of his arm around the red and gold common room, "And not at home curled up next to a fire with your family."
Oh so that was what he meant. For a moment Chase though about not answering, simply blowing Will off, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, "My father forbade me to come home except during summer and the only reason he made that exception is because he couldn't get the school to take me then."
"See for me it's my dad's latest wife, I think we're on number five now, she hates me. He didn't directly ask me not to come home but I know when I'm not welcome."
"That sucks." Chase said, because he wasn't quite sure what else he was supposed to say.
"Yeah, so that's my dad's reason, but what's your dad's?"
Chase looked away from Will, it wasn't like it was some big secret, he had told the rest of N/A their first week at Hogwarts during one of their many lazy afternoons by the lake, but William was a complete stranger. 'Yeah he's a stranger, so what can it hurt?' Chase asked himself.
"I'm not technically his son. My mom had an affair with our gardener and she wasn't ever going to tell my dad, but then she got pregnant with me and I guess she didn't want to lie to him. He was real mad she told me, but they didn't divorce and now I've got three other siblings. My dad doesn't like it when I'm around though; I guess I'm like a permanent reminder of my mom's mistake or something." Chase didn't look at William while he was talking but instead looked down at the lumpy sofa he was sitting on, pulling at the many loose threads that poked up at him. When he did force himself to glance up Will was nodding as if he understood.
"That sucks." He said, repeating Chase's words from moments before.
"Yeah it does." Chase answered in a pained tone of voice.
"Why doesn't your mom stand up to him and tell him to let you come home? Or is she the same way as your dad?" Will asked after a long pause.
"I think she's scared of him." Chase said hesitantly, "Plus it's not like she stood up for me much before Hogwarts, I pretty much spent the majority of my life being raised by the house elves, so I didn't really expect her to say anything after I left for school."
"Does she write you?" Yet another question.
"Yeah once a week, she tells me about everything that's going on at home. It's kind her way of trying to make me feel like a part of the family, like I'm actually wanted."
"Does it work?"
"No." Chase looked down at his hands, forcing back the tears. He hadn't cried about his father or his mother in a very long time and he didn't plan on starting again now, "I think I'm gonna go to bed." He announced standing up off the sofa.
"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I just remembered you were down here last two years and it's not fun to be alone during the holidays."
"No it's fine. You're right it's not fun." Chase reassured him, gathering up his text books and dumping them back into his bag, "Night," He added, giving Will a slight wave as he climbed the oaken staircase to the boy's dormitory.
"Night." He thought he heard Will say back, but Chase was already turning the corner into his dormitory.
o-O-o-O-o-O-o
4th Year:
Platform 9 ¾ was packed with students in their families and yet the Weasleys and Potters managed to find each other. Louis looked around at his many aunts, uncles and cousins, the group seemed to be shrinking a little bit each other. First Teddy had graduated then Victoire and now Fred. The next one to go would be Louis and the prospect terrified him, not that he'd ever tell anyone that.
Through the smoky air of the station Louis could just make out the train over the sea of people. Over the summer the old steamer had been replaced with something sleeker, newer, more modern and Louis had even heard a rumor that they now had house elves to serve you during the trip. Of course it had just been a rumor. His Aunt Hermione would have gone bonkers if it was anything more. He could tell, from snippets of overheard conversations, a lot of people liked the train, but Louis himself was not among them. He for one missed the clunky old train, it had survived so much and practically radiated history.
Louis was pulled out of his thoughts by his father gently shaking his shoulder. He glanced up at his dad, whose face looked even more lined than it had been last year, or maybe that was just the scars, "This years a big year," his dad told him and Louis nodded. He knew how important this year was, his professors and parents had been telling him since he came to Hogwarts how important O.W.L year was. Sometimes, especially now, Louis found himself jealous of James, Maci and Chase, sure all four of them were friends, more than friends even, siblings, but he wasn't in the same year as them. They got to do everything together, while Louis more often than not had to go it alone. It wasn't that he didn't have other friends, he did. There was Will Harris, Zander Dean and a whole slew of other people he had become friendly with over his Hogwarts career. But it wasn't the same none of them-
Again Bill Weasley cut of Louis' thoughts, "Did you hear me son?" He questioned and this time Louis made sure to nod.
"Yes sir." He answered and Bill smiled squeezing Louis' shoulder with his hand.
"I know you'll be fine. Your mother wanted me to tell you to lay off on the pranks this year to get your priorities straight, but…" His father trailed off glancing over at Louis' mother, Fleur who was obsessively trying to smooth Dom's hair down, "But I won't because I know you won't. Just be safe, don't let James drag you into anything stupid or dangerous."
Louis arched his eyebrows at his dad, "Since when have any of James' ideas been anything less than stupid and dangerous?" He inquired and Bill chuckled, but before he could speak Chase came sprinting up to the group.
He was sporting a bruised jaw and he was cradling his wrist, but all of that was over cast by the look of complete shock and disbelief on his face, "Louis, where James? You guys will never believe what I just-" But before Chase could finish his sentence Louis' mum swooped in, tenderly examining the bruises on his face.
"Vhat happened?" She asked him, concern filling her silvery eyes.
"Nothing Mrs. Weasley, I just took a really bad fall off my broom this week." Chase said quickly, but it sounded to tire, to rehearsed, like he had said it a million times before, which Louis knew he had.
"This doesn't look like a fall Chase," Now Louis' dad was starting to lay in, "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Everything's fine. I went to the healers and all," This statement seemed to calm Louis' parents a little, but his mum still looked like she wanted to ask more questions.
"What will James and I never believe?" Louis asked quickly to prevent this from happening and Chase gave him a relieved smile and then winced like it hurt to do so.
"I can't explain. I just have to show you." Chase yanked on Louis' arm and they were off, Louis calling goodbye over his shoulder to his parents, along with promises to write.
When they got far enough away from his parents Louis stopped Chase with a hand on his shoulder, "What really happened Chase?" He asked, gesturing to the other boys face.
"Nothing." Chase lied and Louis shook his head.
"Try again."
Chase looked down at the floor, "The triplets were all away at our grandparents so Dad got into the firewhiskies, like way in. After a while my mum told him he had had enough and he didn't like that much. So he started yelling at her calling her names and accusing her of cheating again. Then he hit her and she kind of just stood there, not even looking surprised." Chase paused, still not looking up from the ground.
"So how did you get the bruises?" Louis pushed.
"When she didn't look surprised I realized it wasn't the first time he hit her and I snapped. I went at him trying to beat the shit out of him, but he just laughed and hit me to."
"Did you hit him back?"
Chase let out a bitter laugh, "Yeah, but he was just so much stronger than me." His hand went up to his jaw in an almost unconscious gesture. They were quiet for a long time, it wasn't the first time Chase had talked to Louis, or any of the members of N/A about his dad, but as far as Louis knew his dad had never hit him before, "Let's go find James." Chase said quietly and Louis nodded, remembering the reason Chase had come running over to him in the first place.
Finding James was easy, dragging him away from his circle of fan girls was the difficult part, but eventually they did so.
"What is the big deal?" James snapped, disgruntled at being pulled away from his posy of excited teenage girls.
"Maci." Was all Chase said and before the boys could ask Maci came into view.
Now Maci had always been pretty, or at least Louis had thought she was. She had long red hair that was almost always up in a bun. In fact Louis couldn't remember the last time he saw he with her hair down and fair unblemished skin. Her eyes were Louis' favorite thing about her, which he had been forced to share with the whole quidditch team last year due to a game of truth or dare. They were Bambi eyes as his Aunt Hermione said, big and almond shaped, with a rim of dark green around the outside of the iris, that slowly faded into a deep sea green. She was short and slim, but the rest of her body was constantly hidden underneath baggy robes.
Well today it wasn't. As Maci stepped through the mass of people on the Platform Louis had to keep his jaw from dropping. Her hair was down in long messy waves that looked purposeful, almost as if she had spent time styling them to fall just so, which was impossible, because that was just so un-Maci like. She was wearing make-up, black eye liner with something Louis though he remembered Dom calling eyes shadow. And she wasn't wearing her robes, instead she was in a short jean cur offs, with a lowish cut white lace tank top. The whole outfit was stopped off with a grey sweater like thing that skimmed the bottom of her shorts.
As Maci walked up to them she self-consciously tugging at her grey sweater, as if she wasn't quite used to this new her, "So what do you guys think?" She asked when she reached them.
James was the first to recover, "I didn't notice anything had changed." He said casually and Maci scowled at him looking at Chase, obviously hoping for a different answer.
But Chase let her down, easily pretending that he had not been the one exclaiming over the change not moments before, "Nope. You look the same Mace, if not a bit scrawnier."
Maci sighed turning to Louis the look of hope seemed to grow as she did so, but Louis simply shook his head, "Did you get your hair cut of something?" He questioned.
The look of hope in Maci's eyes was immediately replaced by a crestfallen one, "You know I think I'm gonna go say goodbye to my parents. I'll meet you guys on the train, save me a seat."
"You guys are such prats." Came the voice of Louis' sister, Dominique's, from behind them, as soon as Maci had disappeared back into the sea of people.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." James told her with look of utmost confusion that everyone present knew was an act.
"Yes you do Potter, but I'm not angry at you. She expects you to make an ass of yourself, we all do. You however," Dom growled turning to Louis who looked at her with real look of confusion, unlike James' adopted one, "You are supposed to be the nice one and then you go and say something so stupid. Your opinion really matters to her Lou. Oh merlin you are such an idiot." Dom ranted in a string of sentence that didn't make sense to Louis. Before he could ask what in merlin's pants she was talking about Dom had shoved past them onto the train and disappeared down the corridor.
"What in the name of Merlin's saggy left…" Louis trailed off staring after his sister in pure confusion.
"Don't. Girl's minds are far too complex for us to understand, so don't ask." Louis stopped him quickly and all three boys nodded.