Thanks for all the great reviews, keep them coming! The answer to the riddle was the letter "E" for anyone who didn't get it!
Cathy slung her bag over her shoulder and smoothed her robes, ready to face the day in an almost cheesy musical fashion.
It had been over a week since, "The Bad Thing", as she had named it. The school seemed to have forgotten, as Madison got caught attempting to have sex with Joe in a broom cupboard, so everyone was talking about that now.
After what didn't seem like long enough crying into George's shoulder, he lent her his jumper and told her the answer to the riddle. Although she didn't say it, she was very grateful, and discovered that she had what were the makings of a crush on the red –head.
She hadn't really seen him much since then. The odd grin in the great hall and the loan of some parchment had been about it.
Everyone was very excited as it was the last day before the Christmas holidays. Cathy had arranged to go home as always, and was actually beginning to look forward to sitting beside George on the train home, if he remembered that was.
She arrived at Charms early, in the hope to secure a seat closer to the twins. They hadn't been in class for the last few days, or anywhere for that matter, but she just assumed that they were skiving off and sneaking out of the castle.
Cathy looked up hopefully every time someone entered the classroom, but by the time the lesson has started, they hadn't appeared.
" 'Ere, Lee. Lee." she prodded Lee Jordan in the back with her wand.
He turned his head looking irritated, "What?"
"I was just wandering," She fiddled with her quill, trying to seem casual, "Where's Fred and George been the last few days?"
"Did you not hear? Their dad was attacked on some ministry work. It's all very hush-hush, but he's really hurt. They've all gone home early."
"Oh" was all she could say. As the lesson began, a sudden selfish thought washed over her, "Who will I sit beside on the train?"
Cathy woke up with a sudden jolt to find that that they had arrived at Kings Cross. She looked around the empty booth she had secured that morning. No – one had dared ask to sit with her, so she read for a bit then fell asleep.
Grabbing her trunk, she made her way off the train and began scanning the platform for her parents. She couldn't spot them anywhere and was about to try the other side of the platform when she heard it, "Catherine! Catherine darling!" came a screeching cry from not far behind her.
She turned, "Mother, Father, what a delight!" she put on a fake smile copying her mothers finishing school accent.
"Catherine!" her mother shouted again, her dad following and looking a bit embarrassed.
"I'm right here. There's no need to shout." Cathy said flatly
"Less of the lip." Her dad's rough Scottish accent, in contrast to her mum's, warned.
Her mum wrapped her arms around the cringing teen, tickling her face with her fur coat, "How are you? Was the train journey satisfactory? Did you get a little sleep? Have people been nice?"
She shrugged, "Yeah, s'pose."
Her mum stroked her face, "Good. I've got a lovely dinner on for you at home. Samuel, bring her trunk to the car darling."
She patted her platinum blonde bob and wandered through the barrier.
Cathy's dad went second, with his daughter following close behind.
"So," he started, once through, "how are thing's really Monkey Socks?"
She scowled at his pet name that referred to her toe talent. "Shhhh. I'm fine really. Nothing that interesting has happened, apart from the fact that Timmy has gone."
"Your rat! Aw Cathy, I'm very sorry but we can't do very much about that. Can't say Barbra will be too distraught though."
Mum always hated Tim, "Yeah." She murmured, then had a thought, "Dad, do you know anyone called Arthur Weasley?"
He raised his eyebrows and looked thoughtful, "I'd see him at the Ministry every so often but he works in Misuse of Muggle Artefacts, completely different department to myself. Why?"
"It's just that I'd heard that he'd been attacked and he's at St. Mungos."
He opened the boot of the car and threw my trunk in, "Really? Jesus, did u hear that Barbra?"
"Language Sam! What?" she was already in the passenger seat of the car.
He got into the drivers seat, "Arthur Weasley, the father of all those gingers at Cathy's school, your mate Sharon's cousin's husband. He's in hospital apparently."
"How terrible!" she didn't sound bothered at all, "Cathy, dear, I must show you the new dress robes your father bought us…."
She switched off at that point and stared at the scenery that surrounded them as they drove through London. Although her parents had been to Hogwarts, they were both Muggle born, so her Grandmother Jackson forced her mother to finishing school and her Grandfather Williams insisted that her dad learned how to drive. This all made it much easier for them to pass themselves off as a boring family of Muggles, well a boring rich family of Muggles. Samuel Williams, a respected doctor, lives an easy life in Harley Street, with his glamorous wife Barbra and their quiet daughter, Catherine who attends a boarding school in Scotland. Perfect.
After unpacking her things from her trunk, Cathy sat down on her bed and stared around her room. She had missed it a lot as she liked her privacy and hated sharing with those bitches at Hogwarts. It was a rather big room with old fashioned mahogany furniture and dark blue walls. However, you couldn't have been able to tell the colour as they were covered in posters of Muggle bands. There was a stack of tapes at the bottom of her bed and a walkman that she was unable to take to school with her.
"Timmy! Timmy! Timmy!" she thought, "Why? Why? Why?"
She put one of the tapes into the walkman and sang along with a voice that only a mother could love;
"Girls who are boys who like boys to be girls,
Who do boys, but there's girls that do girls like they're boys.
Always should be someone you really LOVE!"
Cathy's dad burst into the room, pretending to be worried, "Where's the fire???" he joked.
"Aw, stop taking the mickey!" she giggled
"You know I love you really, despite the ruddy awful singing. The boss say's dinner's ready."
The "lovely dinner" was a bog standard Sunday roast, a bit inferior compared to the food at Hogwarts, but she ate it up and made little yummy sounds anyway.
She spent the next few days doing homework, listening to music and going for the odd walk. Her mum insisted on taking her on a shopping trip the day before Christmas Eve. Diagon Ally was completely packed.
"Why today of all days?" she asked her mum as they squeezed their way past Quality Quiddich Supplies.
"I thought it would be a lovely treat, last minute sales and all."
Cathy had never really liked shopping with her mum because they had completely different tastes.
"Oh look Cathy," she pointed at some pale pink dress robes, "Aren't they gorgeous?"
She rolled her eyes, "More dress robes!"
"Why not? An early Christmas present."
Just then she spotted a black and red set of robes, lined with silver. "Aw! Mum, can I have those instead?" she pointed at them
Her mum frowned at them, "They're awfully dark. And you're so pale already, they'd make you look sickly."
"Please!"
Barbra walked away from the shop, "No. Maybe another time."
Cathy picked up an empty Butterbeer bottle and pretended to aim it at her mothers head. "If it's not her way it's not the right way!" she thought.
Christmas itself wasn't particularly spectacular. Cathy got a new scarf from her living grandparents, a strange humming contraption sent to her from Luna, money from her dad and a pair of red velvet, pointy toed boots from her mum.
"Oh they're lovely!" she said giving her a hug and she actually meant it for once.
A few days later, she returned to Diagon Ally alone. She went straight to the shop where she had seen the robes and to her delight, they were still there.
They cost nearly all of her present money, but she thought that they were worth every penny. She decided to take a proper look around as she hadn't been there for a while. Business seemed to be going well for most, but she noticed that one or two shops were having closing down sales.
"Why is that?" she asked the owner of a small bookshop.
He looked around, as if it was some sort of massive secret, "Things are changin' miss. And not for the better neither. Y'see only a few are feelin' it now, but by and by you'll be feelin' it too, and ye bests be packin' up when you do. Now buy sumthin' or get outta my shop!"
That left Cathy none the wiser, but it did give her an idea, for something to do over the summer.
I hope that you liked it! Keep up the idea's/ reviews etc. I really appreciate it.
