Another year gone by. As crazy as it seemed that sixth-year had passed so quickly, it seemed even crazier how fast my six years at Hogwarts had passed. I had just one more year at Hogwarts, and that thought saddened me. Even though I loved my parents and my home, and I knew that both were waiting for me, it had been difficult to leave the castle to board the train back to London.

"Are you okay?" asked Kitty, jolting me from my thoughts. "You seem kinda quiet."

I drew my gaze away from the window to look at Kitty on the other side of our compartment. I nodded, and said, "I'm just going to miss Hogwarts. I can't believe we have one year left." I gestured to the window in the direction of the castle, though it was now out of sight.

"Yes, of course we're going to miss it! But just think - this time next year we'll be adults and graduated!"

"Speak for yourself; I turned seventeen two weeks ago!"

She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

I opened my mouth to give a witty comeback but was distracted by several loud bangs thundered from the corridor. Shrill screams echoed the explosion. Without thinking, I leapt up and slammed open the door.

"What the-" I broke off gagging. A gray, peppery cloud of smoke billowed in my face: pepper pellets.

"Charlotte!" squealed Kitty from inside our compartment.

Coughing, I stepped back inside to the relative safety of our compartment. I went to slam the door shut, but two girls got in my way.

"Hey!" I yelled, but it came out as more of a splutter as my lungs were dying.

"Sorry!" said one of the girls as they scurried into our compartment.

"Close it!" gasped the other in between her hacking.

If I had the time, I would have grumbled, but seeing as the smoke was sneaking in, I just shut the door. By the time I turned around, Kitty had thrown open the window. Gray smoke was quickly dissipating from our compartment. The smoke in the corridor, however, remained thick and constant.

"Oh, gosh," coughed Kitty. "How many pepper pellets was that?"

"Like a bazillion," I answered, gasping. It felt like the smoke had sucked out all the moisture from my lungs. I glanced over at the two girls, who sounded worse than us. I recognized them, but I couldn't put a name to their faces. I guessed them to be several years younger than us.

After a few minutes, the four of us calmed down and our coughing ceased. Through the window in the door, we could see that the smoke from the pepper pellets was slowly clearing, but still heavy. I presumed that none or few of the windows in the corridor were open.

"Thank you," said one of the girls after her first deep breath.

"It was nothing," I said.

"Do you know who set it off?" asked Kitty. Both girls shook their heads.

"Well, whoever did this is an idiot," I grumbled. "With that many pepper pellets, someone could have actually choked to death!"

Kitty's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh … should we go check?"

"No one else was around," said one of the girls, who had a mop of black hair that was in a messy braid. "We were standing outside of our compartment when it happened. Actually … the pellets came from inside our compartment."

"You set them off?" asked Kitty. Both girls shook their heads.

The other girl frowned, and said, "We must have been pranked."

"Some prank," I muttered.

"Was anyone else in the compartment?" asked Kitty, concerned.

The black haired girl shook her head while her friend said, "No. Not at the moment."

"And then - we couldn't see, couldn't breath - and someone started shooting more pellets at us," explained the black haired girl. "So we ran the other way, towards you. Towards here."

"You're one compartment over, right?" I asked, trying to recall their faces when Kitty and I boarded.

"Yeah," said both girls at once.

Kitty and I looked at each other. Then Kitty shrugged and crossed her legs. "If you want to be a hero and go investigate, by all means, Charlotte. But I think I'll stay here."

"How'd you get sorted into Gryffindor again?" I said, frowning.

"Well," said Kitty slowly. "I sat on the stood, just like everybody else. The Sorting Hat was put on my head. A few seconds later, the Hat cried out, 'Gryffindor!' And the rest is history."

The two girls giggled, but I gave Kitty a deadpan look. Kitty grinned.

"You're both Gryffindors, right?" asked the black-haired girl.

"That's right," chirped Kitty.

"Sixth years," I added. "My name is Charlotte. And this is Priscilla."

"Don't call me Priscilla!" said Kitty angrily. She turned to the two girls. "My name is Kitty. Call me Kitty. Call me anything else, and I will cut you."

"Stop it, Priscilla," I scolded. "You're scaring them."

Kitty glared at me, and it was my turn to smile at her. The girls' eyes were wide as they watched our light bickering. Kitty then dropped the glare and turned to the girls with an amiable expression. It's almost scary how fast she can swap faces. "What are your names?"

"I'm Nora," said the black haired girl. "Ravenclaw.

"And I'm Annabelle," said the other, who had sleek brown hair and eyes like a doe. "Hufflepuff. We're both third years."

"Nice to meet you," I said politely.

There was a moment's pause where no one was sure what to do or say next. If Kitty hadn't been there, I probably would have given an awkward smile, ducked my head awkwardly, and then sat in awkward silence, gazing out of the window. Thankfully, Kitty was there, and I didn't have to display my flourishing skills of social awkwardness.

"How have your classes been?" Kitty asked Nora and Annabelle.

"Good," both answered in looked over at the other and giggled. Kitty have them a warm smile.

"What's your favorite class?" I asked, making an effort to be social.

"Herbology," answered Annabelle.

"Defense," answered Nora. "But I'm sad that Harper is leaving."

I nodded in agreement. A week before exams, the professor announced that this was her final year of teaching. The school was sad to see her go. Me especially, as she had been one of the few to recognize and praize my interest in spell invention. "I'm sad, too," I sympathized. "I had her for six years, you know? She was good."

"The new professor will probably be just as good," said Annabelle.

"Maybe," I said, "but it won't be fun for the seventh years to get a new professor in our last year."

"Glad I'm not taking it anymore," chimed in Kitty.

"I just hope the new professor will be up to speed," I explained. "I don't want to waste time as they figure out where we're at."

"Yes, well." Kitty gave me a knowing look. "Good thing you work ahead so much."

Nora and Annabelle gave me a curious look. I ignored them; I didn't fancy it being common knowledge that there was some spellwork of the seventh year curriculum that I could already do.

A knock on our door made us all look up: Ralph stood outside of our compartment. He met my eyes and then opened the door.

"Hey," he greeted, standing with one hand still on the door. The smoke had finally disappeared. "I, uh, heard the explosions and came to make sure you were alright."

I smiled. "That was thoughtful of you."

"So you're alright then?"

"Yup."

"Good," he said. He held my gaze for a few moments, drumming his fingers on the glass door.

"Ralph?" I asked tentatively.

"Yeah? Hey, Charlotte, do you think I could have a word?" His gaze darted to Kitty, who was pointedly not looking at him.

"Sure," I said evenly. I stood up and followed Ralph outside the compartment. We took a few steps down the corridor, out of sight from my compartment, or more likely, out of sight from Kitty. When we stopped walking, I asked, "What's up?"

Ralph ran his hand through his dirty blond hair. "So I know we talked about this before-"

"Ralph," I interrupted patiently. "Is this about visiting you?"

He nodded, and I sighed. My mom's letter containing her crisp answer had come two weeks ago. I told Ralph her response the day I received the letter. Every few days since then he had been bringing up the topic of how we could manage to get me to the Netherlands to visit him this summer.

"I already told you what my mom said," I began. "And she said no."

"I know, I know-"

"Look, I'm sorry. I really am," I said, layering my voice with sympathy. "But it's not up to me."

"You're seventeen now," Ralph pointed out. "You're a legal adult."

I gave him a weak smile. "My parents are Muggles; they don't see me as an adult just yet. And you're sure there's no way I can come a different date after the wedding?"

Ralph sniffed and pushed up his round glasses. We had discussed all of this before. Ralph's parents were divorced; their child custody agreement had Ralph's summer holiday split between each parent. This summer he'd spend the first month with his father in the Netherlands. The second month would be with his mother in Cornwall.

At my question, Ralph shook his head. "Oma and Opa Schimmel are staying the weeks following your visit." He scrunched up his nose. "And they don't like the English much."

"What about when you're in Cornwall?" I suggested.

"Mum keeps talking about taking me to France to meet her new boyfriend," he said with a sigh.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well. It's whatever." He shrugged in a nonchalant sort of way, but I knew better.

"Look," I said, trying to cheer him up. "I'll talk to mom when I get home. See if I can change her mind."

He immediately brightened. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," I agreed.

"Sweet! You're the best!"

"And don't you forget it!" I teased.

Nora and Annabelle ended up staying in our compartment for a couple of hours. They were pleasant company, so I didn't mind. They were also understandably hesitant to return to their own compartment. They insisted that Kitty and I walk them back, which we did. We found the source of the pepper pellets: it seemed like someone had placed a bag of them next to their trunks when they weren't looking. We assured them that if anything happened, we'd only be one compartment away.

"It feels good to be admired and adored, doesn't it?" Kitty commented once we were back in our seats. I snorted.

The rest of the trip passed by without further event, which was saying something considering that we were on a train packed with mostly underage witches and wizards. Before we knew it, we were pulling into King's Cross.

The platform was crowded, as usual. There was an insane amount of shouting people, hooting owls, and screeching cats all going every which way. I followed Kitty as she parted through the mob of people. Unlike me, she had no qualms about elbowing people to move out of her way. I just had to follow in her wake.

She came to a sudden halt and spun around, eyes wide. "Hide me," she hissed.

"Hide you?" I looked around us, and when I saw Brian up ahead I understood. Her ex-boyfriend was chatting with whom I presumed to be his family. Unwittingly and most inconveniently, his family was standing right next to Kitty's mother. Both parties seemed oblivious to Kitty's predicament.

I looked to Kitty. "I thought you said you were over him."

"Yeah, well," she snapped. "That doesn't mean I want to be around him."

"No," I said stubbornly. I wasn't the greatest when it came to pep talks, but I sure wasn't about to let Kitty get mowed over by the jerk: "It means that he doesn't get to be around you. Don't feel bad or awkward. He should be the one feeling awkward." I smiled. "And he will."

"Oh, no," she groaned. "Don't tell me-"

"Come on," I ordered. "We're going to see your mom. And then he has to deal with it; not you."

She looked like she wanted to protest, but I started poking her until she conceded. "Alright! I'm going!"

And sure enough, when we strode up to Kitty's mom, Brian took one look at Kitty and flushed pink. As I predicted, within moments he and his family took off. Served him right.

"'Kay, Kitty," I said, semi-interrupting their mother-daughter hug. "I'd better find my family."

"Oho, Charlotte!" Kitty squealed. She let go of her mom and threw her arms around me. I grimaced. Hugs weren't my thing, but I awkwardly patted Kitty on the back. "I'm going to miss you so much!"

I smiled at her. "I'll miss you, too."

"Stay out of trouble," she warned jokingly.

"Me? Trouble?"

"Oh, right. I forgot who I was talking to," she teased. "You'll probably be indoors all summer, reading books. I'll mistake you for a vampire next September because you won't get any sun."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll write to you, too."

"Bye, love!"

"See ya," I said. With a final smile and wave, I took my trunk and marched off to find my own mother.

It didn't take long. My mother was standing in front of one of the brick pillars. She wore a light blue summer dress that reached just passed her knees. Her muted gray heels were low and elegant. Pearls adorned her neck and ears. When she spotted me, her face split into a warm smile. In contrast with her elegant, refined appearance, she broke into a near-run, which was impressive considering all the people she had to weave through to reach me.

"Charlotte!" she cried as she enveloped me in a hug.

"Hi, mum," I said, my voice muffled.

"Look at you!" She took a half-step back to eye me up and down. "You look well."

"Thanks, mum. You too."

"Have you seen your brother?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Not since we left."

"He better show up soon; Rogers is waiting."

Suddenly her expression turned sour: her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. I turned around, and, as if he just apparated, Ralph was not two feet from me.

"Oh, Ralph!" I startled. "Oh my goodness, I didn't see you there."

"Hey, Charlotte," Ralph said. Then nodding to my mom, he said with all formality, "Hello, Mrs. Ward."

"Mom, you remember Ralph?" I prompted.

Mom gave Ralph a quick smile, but her words were stiff. "Of course I remember your friend Ralph."

"Charlotte," began Ralph, turning to face me fully. "I forgot to say goodbye."

"Oh, right. I forgot too." I gave him a warm smile, which was returned. "I'll be sure to write over the summer."

"Yeah," he said. His arms twitched upward, raising them, extending them outward towards me -

"Ralph," interrupted my mom, who's smile had vanished. Ralph gave a jump, and looked up at my mom. "Have you seen Charlotte's brother, Colton?"

Ralph's face turned bright red, and he dropped his arms. "Uh, not since getting off the train."

"Oh, well," she said. "If you see him, can you direct him over to us?"

"I - yes, I will do that. If I see him, yeah," Ralph stammered. Looking up bashfully at me, he said, "Good-bye, Charlotte."

"See you, Ralph," I said.

"Yeah, I'll see you real soon!"

And with that he gave a miniscule wave, turned, and walked away. I watched him until he disappeared in the crowd.

"Charlotte!" My mom's voice was sharp. "What did he mean, 'see you real soon?' I told you, quite clearly, that you're not going to visit that boy over the summer."

I looked at her, trying to keep the glare off my face. "I know, mother. You made it perfectly clear."

"Then why-"

"I don't know!" I said, throwing my hands in the air. "I don't know why he said it."

She pursed her lips, but didn't press. We stood in silence until Cole found us. She greeted him with the same excitement as she had with me, but I could tell it was somewhat forced. For some reason, what Ralph said bothered her. She never liked Ralph; I could never figure out why.

The three of us walked together off the platform and to the curb. As usual, Rogers was waiting outside our car. He came to attention when he saw us, and opened the doors for us and placed our trunks in the back. It was only when Cole and I were sitting in the back seat that I noticed a heavy smell of smokey pepper wafting up from my brother.

And then it dawned on me. I leaned over to Cole and muttered, "Were the pepper pellets you?"

Cole shrugged. "Why? Can you prove it?"

"You're going to get in so much trouble," I told him.

"Mum and dad won't know unless someone tells him," he muttered.

"I wouldn't be worried about them. I'm sure some prefects told school."

"Well … can they prove it?"

"Did anyone see you?"

"I don't think so," he whispered in answer. "But maybe it was in fact me. Or maybe it was a guy that looked like me." He gave me an oblique wink. "Identity theft is a real thing, you know."