"Okay!" James exclaimed, "First I need to write a letter to my parents, I'll just tell them Padfoot and I are with my uncle Marius, he lives up north and is bloody mental! I'm sure he'll cover for me if anything comes up!" We all nodded.
"Plus, even though we're all of age, none of us have ever been there, so we'll have to go the Muggle way! We don't want to be caught." I explained, Sirius pouted.
"Does that mean I can't take my baby?" Remus sighed.
"Suck it up, Pads!" James said, "This is going to be awesome!"
"Remember!" I warned, "Only Muggle clothing!" They nodded.
"Sir, yes Sir!" Both James and Sirius yelled, saluting me. I smiled and nodded my head in approval.
"I'm already good to go! Everything I need is packed in here," I said, lifting up my purse. "It's an Extension Charm, if you want I'll put all your luggage in it, too." They nodded.
"So, please tell me again why we're doing this?" Peter asked, nervously, the rest of us rolled our eyes.
"Because Wormy! This is our last summer before our last year of school! It's got to be spectacular!" Sirius said, enthusiastically, hitting Peter on the back.
"So, James and Sirius, you go get your stuff ready, after we leave we'll make quick trips to Remus and Peter's houses so they can pack and give lame excuses to their parents as well. I've got enough Muggle money on me for pretty much anything so you don't need to worry. We'll flew to the houses and then head to the nearest train station, do any of you might know where that would be?" They all shared a smirk.
"Kings' Cross." They said together, I rose an eyebrow at them but didn't ask.
"Right," I said, slowly, "Good! Now go get your stuff, and write that letter, James! Make it believable, I don't want to take any chances with nosy parents!" He saluted me once more and ran off with Sirius. I turned and saw Remus looking at me, curiously. "What's wrong with you?" I asked him.
"What's your reason?" I looked at him oddly.
"My reason for what?"
"Your reason for wanting to go, you're not from around here obviously, you're not spending this vacation time with any family or friends, and after one quick conversation with Sirius, you're just ready to hop on the nearest train! It's just odd, are you running from something?" He was too smart for his own good, I covered up my mixed feelings and smiled at him.
"I just want some excitement this summer is all, and your little group of troublemakers seem like the perfect boys to give me just that!" He rose an eyebrow but didn't continue, I knew that he knew I was lying; But right then, that didn't matter, because I was getting the summer I asked for, and despite Sirius' attempt at blackmailing me, I knew that I wouldn't be disappointed. After all, it was only one summer.
"Alright! Where too first, Boys?!" I said, excitedly, opening up a map. We were all standing in the middle of Kings' Cross Station ready to go, all of the boys' trunks were safely stacked in my purse and I looked carefully at the map, deciding the best route. "So, I think what we should do is take a train over to Cardiff, and then from there we would have to take a ferry ride to France. After that I think it'll be safe to say we can only travel on land!" I closed the map and stuffed it into my purse, I looked at them. "Ready?" They all nodded. We boarded a train that would take us straight to Cardiff.
"Ah, trains," Sirius put his feet on Peter and leaned back, closing his eyes.
"Take trains a lot, Black?" He nodded, not opening his eyes.
"It's how we get to school," Remus explained.
"Yeah, cozy isn't it? How do youget to school, Cass? Magic carpet?" I rolled my eyes.
"Don't be an idiot, they're illegal! I just floo to the nearest town and then take a carriage ride, nothing too grand, only takes about half an hour." Sirius made a face.
"Well that sounds dreadfully boring, don't you think?" I shrugged.
"I've done it for the past seven years so the effect kind of wore off a long time ago."
"Hm, wait- seven?" I nodded. "But I thought you said this is your last year."
"Yeah, we start at age ten, though, not eleven." He scrunched his nose up.
"A whole extra year? That must be horrible!" I shrugged.
"It's more similar to Beauxbatons than Hogwarts, I technically just got done with exam year; you take yours when you're fifteen, right?" They nodded. "Is Dumbledore really as great as everyone says he is?" They nodded again, smiling wide.
"Definitely!"
"Completely bonkers!"
"A real laugh!"
"The wisest wizard I've ever met!" I laughed.
"I can tell!" I sighed, "I wished I went to Hogwarts, all the stories we've heard! I have one teacher that went there! She's definitely my favorite, always tells us stuff about it, I always kind of thought she was exaggerating though!" They shook their head.
"Probably not! Hogwarts is amazing!" I nodded, eagerly listening.
"And there are four houses, right?"
"Ravenclaw, for the bright," Remus said.
"Hufflepuff, for the kind," Peter continued.
"Slytherin for the gits!" Sirius said, darkly, Remus rolled his eyes.
"He means sly."
"No I don't!"
"And the best one yet!" James exclaimed, "Gryffindor! For the daring and brave and loyal," he winked at me, "and attractive." I rolled my eyes.
"Three guesses on which one you're in, Potter." He laughed.
"All of us are in Gryffindor, it's how we all met! We've been best friends since first year!"
"We're called the Marauders," Sirius said, puffing out his chest.
"I wonder why," I said, sarcastically, I smiled at them, "Never met anyone else like you four, I can tell you that."
"Of course you can't, Love, we're one of a kind." Sirius moved over and put his arm around my shoulders. "Cass, get ready to be blown away! Not many people get the privilege of spending a whole summer with us!" Remus snorted.
"I doubt many people want to, Pads," he shrugged, still smiling wide.
"Still! It's going to be an adventure! We all love those!" I pretended to swoon.
"Yes, you all being such daring Gryffindors and all! How will I ever manage to keep up?" I said in a fake British accent, Sirius smiled and pretended to tip his head.
"Don't worry, Miss, we'll help you through it!" He said in a fake southern accent, I laughed and pushed him away from me.
"Good to know!" I put my head on Remus' shoulder and my feet on Sirius' lap. "Good thing I have you boys to keep me entertained! I honestly don't know what I would do without you!"
"Have a terribly boring life?" I grimaced.
"A terribly boring summer at least," I sighed, "this trip is just as much for me as it is for you four! I'm not exactly a big fan of Quidditch, but my boyfriend was so I was going to invite him," I frowned, "things didn't work out like that, though."
"Why not?" I shook my head.
"Like I said, things just didn't work out." I opened my eyes and shared a quick look with Sirius, he would understand, I thought.
"That's too," he said, staring back, he sent me an encouraging smile, "At least you have us now!" I smiled back and nodded.
"Yeah, I guess you're not too bad company." Sirius playfully nudged my foot.
"Not too bad? Sweetheart, we're the best! Just you wait and see."