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Kings Cross Train Station was the same as it had been a year ago: it was dirty, overcrowded, and loud. I danced after Uncle Bud, who was pushing the small luggage cart. This summer had been nice; it was a much needed change from the craziness that was Hogwarts.
The summer was spent like all other summers of my life were. Uncle Bud and I would drive out to the large lake about an hour away from home and we'd walk all the forest trails. He'd point out all the animals and the history of the forest and I would try to keep up with his long strides. Then we would rent one of those rickety old row boats and try to fish. We'd never catch anything, but it was nice to sit and talk after barley speaking to each other during the school year. We'd head home, usually sunburnt, and watch bad movies. Summer was filled with day trips, bad movies, good food, jokes, and love.
Just like how it always was and always will be.
But, all good things come to an end. We found ourselves back in England and back in the train station before we could blink. We'd gone through the platform and were waiting for a familiar face or the whistle of the Hogwarts Express.
"This year won't be like last year, right? You'll write me back?" I asked, looking up at my Uncle. Uncle Bud had been upset when I told him that Aunt Rondala had been less than accommodating, but there wasn't much he could do about her attitude. Uncle Bud sighed and bent down on one knee. His crystalline blue eyes shone with love and a shaky smile crossed his face.
"I'll try as best as I can." He promised. "Don't ever feel alone. You always have me. And your friends." Uncle Bud said, his sunburnt ears perking up at the sound of someone calling our names. The crowd started to part for the two new-comers.
"Dean! Neville!" I shouted, seeing my two brothers-in-Gryffindor start shoving themselves through the crowd. We hugged, laughing and jumping up and down. We released each other and began scouting for any of the others.
"Did anyone else get a strange letter from Harry a few days ago?" Dean asked quietly, pulling out a crinkled letter from his pants pocket. Neville and I both nodded, pulling out similar crinkled papers.
"I sent him a few letters over the summer, but he never answered them until now. " I said, unfolding the letter. "Dear Toka. Sorry I haven't been able to write back, but I'll explain when I see you an everyone else at school. Hope you're having a good holiday. Harry."
"Mine says pretty much the same thing." Neville said, showing us his letter too. We spent the next few minutes searching the crowd for Harry. We couldn't find Ron or Hermione either. Where were those three? They better not be causing trouble without us!
"Hey!" A voice shouted over the roar of the crowd. Hermione dashed towards us, dragging her trolley of luggage behind her. We hugged hello and asked Hermione about her summer, which she had spent traveling with her parents.
"Where are Harry and Ron?" Hermione asked, her big eyes searching the general area. It was getting dangerously close to the departure time. We decided to split and search, and to meet back up. We gave our luggage and pets to the train workers, who went to work packing the train.
I scuffled away, catching sight of Uncle Bud speaking with Dean's mother and Neville's grandmother. I looked high and low for any sight of Weasley red hair. I spied Ron's twin brothers, Fred and George, but I knew that if I went over there and asked them where Ron was, I would only get more riddles than answers.
"What're'ya looking for, kid?" A voice called to me just as I poked my head into the men's bathroom. I spun back around, blushing, to see none other than Aster Khan, the now fourth year Slytherin.
"Harry and Ron are missing. Have you seen them?" I asked, rocking back and forth on my heels. Khan frowned, looking around the crowd. Khan had grown a few inches over the summer and his usually tanned skin looked darker, his deep brown eyes still glimmered in mischief.
"I can't say I've seen them, then again, I haven't been looking." Khan replied honestly. "I'll keep an eye out, okay kid? Go get on the train."
I smiled at Khan and rushed passed him. I met up with the others, but no one had been able to find Ron or Harry. Dean had talked to Mrs. Weasley, who said that Harry and Ron had been with them earlier. They must already be on the train.
So, none of us were worried when we boarded the train. We were slightly worried when we didn't see hide or hair of them on the train. Hermione rationalized that they must be in another compartment, and that we'd see them at the first feast. As the hours on the train ticked by without word from the two boys, my anxiety started to rise.
"G-guys!" Neville cried, his face pressed against the window.
Please, don't tell me he thinks he saw a bigfoot again.
Dean, Hermione, Neville, and Seamus, who had entered our compartment halfway through the trip, all looked out the window. A flying turquoise colored car was flying passed the train. It suddenly jerked to the side and a figure slid out of the car. The person hung from the open door, a horrified look on his face.
"Harry?!"
"What the hell were they doing?!" Hermione screeched, storming up the steps to our dorm room. He hadn't seen Harry or Ron yet, but we knew that they were around.
"They have it under control." I muttered, adjusting the collar of my dark robes. "I hope. If we don't see them at the feast, then we can lose our minds and go to Professor Dumbledore."
The great hall was just as glorious as I had remembered it. Candles hung in midair and the night's sky shone on the ceiling. We older students sat down, anticipating the newest batch of students that were going to be sorted.
Harry and Ron never came to dinner. We saw Ron's baby sister, Ginny, be sorted into Gryffindor house. She was a little put out that Ron missed her sorting ceremony, but she was happy that her other brothers had seen her. At the end of dinner, we all filed out to get to our dorms for a well-deserved rest. I was about to go over to Tabitha, a third year Hufflepuff, when someone grabbed onto my wrist.
"Kato." Malfoy said, gripping my wrist with one hand. In his other hand he had a rolled up newspaper. I jerked my arm away, grimacing.
"What, Malfoy?" I asked as kindly as I could. There were millions of people on the planet and I wasn't going to let one out of a million ruin my mood.
"I didn't see you at Diagon Alley with Potter and the other Weasles." Malfoy said, watching me. I snorted, turning on my heels and marched away. I didn't want to spend my first night back at Hogwarts answering one hundred questions from the world's most pompous ass.
The next morning at breakfast, Harry and Ron were there. Hermoine gave the two a verbal lashing, but she quickly got over her anger to hug the two boys. The Gryffindor table tucked into breakfast, loud and boisterous as always.
"We met up with Malfoy and his ruddy father in Diagon Alley." Ron said, stuffing his mouth with mashed potatoes. I cringed, my content mood slightly soured by the mere mention of Malfoy.
"The lunatic touched Harry, too! Pushed his hair back to get a peek at his scar!" Ron continued, jamming as much food into his mouth as he could. Hermione and Harry grimaced at the memory. Harry rubbed at his scar, looking forlorn.
"Does it still hurt?" I asked, worried about the pain. Last year, Harry was suffering every day from the acute pain in his forehead. Harry smiled at me and shook his head.
"It's fine now." Harry said, forcing a calm smile. I pouted; giving Harry a look that he knew meant I was wary of his fibbing.
"I still can't believe you two have detention." Neville said, shaking his head. "On the first day!"
Dean snickered, nudging Ron's shoulder with his own. "That's got to be a record."
"I think you should count yourself lucky that's all you got." Hermione said, scooping some hash onto her plate. It was true, one night of detention was practically a slap on the wrist with a feather. Harry and Ron had stolen a car, crashed into Hogwart's property, and then almost died. One night of detention was almost a vacation.
Trying to avoid a Ron-Hermione fight on the first day of school, I shoved my plate away from me. "Let's go. We've got herbology."
My other Griffindor's grumbled, and we filed outside to the greenhouses alongside the Hufflepuffs, who didn't look too happy to have herbology first thing in the morning. The professor, Professor Sprout, was eagerly awaiting us.
"Welcome to Greenhouse Three, Second Years." Professor Sprout said, slapping a large clay pot with a dirty hand. " Today, we will be re-potting Mandrakes. Now, who here can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?"
Without missing a beat, Hermione's hand shot up.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
The class ended as many classes do; with an assignment and Neville passed out on the ground. The next few classes were similar, but were dull and repetitive since it was the first day of the semester. Everyone met up for lunch, looking equal parts bored and tired.
When I arrived at the table, parting ways with a friend I had made from Hufflepuff, I saw Hermione nose-deep in a gaudy looking book. The title said 'Travels With Trolls'; the cover a puce tan with a large picture of a man with an upturned nose. Ron was glowering at the book, mindlessly twirling Spellotape over his broken wand.
"Say it. I'm doomed." Ron sighed, tossing his want uselessly on the table.
Harry grimaced. "You're doomed."
A flash of light blinded me for a moment. I shook my head, tucking underneath Dean's arm to rub at my eyes. What was that? When my eyes adjusted from the flash, there was a small boy standing at the end of the table.
"Hiya, Harry." The miniature boy chirped, holding an ancient looking camera. "I'm Colin Creevey! I'm in Gryffindor, too."
"Hello, Colin." Harry said pleasantly, always happy to meet new people. "Nice to meet-"
Colin cut Harry off, holding up his camera again. "They're for my dad, the pictures that is. He's a milkman, 'ya know, a Muggle, like all our family's been until me. No one knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till we got my letter from Hogwarts. Everyone just thought I was mental."
Ron snorted into his goblet. "Imagine that."
"Say, Harry. D'you think your friend could take a photo of me and you standing together? Ya' know, to prove I've met you?" Colin said, looking in Ron's direction. Ron's face started to burn like molten lava.
"How about I take the picture, ya? I was raised in the Muggle world, too. I'm not sure all these Wizards know how to use one correctly." I said jokingly, hoping that Ron wouldn't explode.
"Post is here!" Dean exclaimed, just as a flock of owls stream into the Hall. Letters and packages rained from the sky, dropping into students lunches and hitting people on their heads.
"Bloody bird's a menace…Oh…oh no." Ron said, pinching a small envelope out of his soup.
Seamus, who was sitting a few benches down, spoke up. "Heads up, everyone. Weasley's gotten himself a Howler!"
Ron held the damp envelope in his hands, biting his lip in worry. I'd heard of Howlers before, but I had never seen one in action. Ron's hands were shaking.
"Go on, Ron. I ignored one from my Gran once... and it was horrible." Neville said softly, encouraging Ron to open the letter.
Nice going, Nev. Let's make the poor guy more terrified.
The stark-white Ron slowly peeled open the envelope. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the paper blasted into the air and began to fold over itself into the form of a paper mouth.
"RONALD WEASLEY!" Mrs. Weasley's voice boomed from the paper mouth, so loud that our plates began to rattle. My goblet tipped over, spilling juice all down my front. I yelped, grimacing at the sticky liquid seeping into my robes.
"HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR! I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED! YOUR FATHER'S NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK AND IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT HOME!" The Howler screamed bloody murder. Everyone in the Hall was dead silent, staring at the Howler in horror.
Then, Mrs. Weasley's voice softened. "Oh, and Ginny dear. Congratulations on making Gryffindor. Your father and I are so proud!"
Further down the table from Seamus, the youngest Weasley sat. Ginny looked up from the book she had been writing in and blushed pink. The paper mouth seemed to smile at the young girl, before blowing a raspberry in Ron's face and ripping itself into pieces. It was a silent for a beat before the entire Hall burst into laughter. Little Creevey even snapped a few photos of Ron's aghast face.
"Back off, Creevey." I said, shoving my hand in front of the camera lenses. The little Gryffindor had enough honor to look ashamed, letting his camera hang by a black strap around his neck.
Harry, ever the optimist, tried to smile. "Look at it this way. How much worse can things get?"
I groaned, pushing myself up to go change. If there was anything I knew, it was that 'how much worse can things get' was the prelude to things getting much, much worse.
