Chapter 11
ANNAS POV
"Ann!" Lorelai shouted from the dorm, I spat the water out my mouth, dried my face and walked into the dorm
"yeah?!" I hollered back
"HAVE YOU SEEN MY GREY SWEATER?" she bellowed, not realizing I had entered the dorm and was standing right above her as she tossed through the cupboard. The dorm was a mess, clothes and books everywhere, Sel, Rox and Dom had left ages ago (smart) but I was helping Lore pack
"Lorelai" I groaned "you have to be at McGonagalls office in twenty five minutes, why didn't you pack yesterday?"
"I did" she replied indignantly, tossing a white t shirt into her trunk "i just.. needed more stuff" she finished lamely
"you have got enough. And even if you don't, Gem's gonna wanna take you shopping as soon as touch down, so don't worry. Lets go down so you can say goodbye" I commanded, locking her trunk before she could protest. The nut was going to miss her flight if she wasn't careful/
grumbling unintelligently, Lore put a charm on her trunk to make it levitate and walked down the stairs, me close behind
"THERE'S MY FAVOURITE RED HEAD" Finn shouted dramatically, running to pick up Lore, who swore at him and tried to get down, he ignored her and continued to swing Lore around
"I am going to miss you! Oh how will I survive four days without my precious red head? My heart shall ache with the absence of thy!" he continued dramatically, clenching his heart with his free hand for dramatic effect
"Finn, put me down or so help me Merlin your 'clenching heart' will be the least of your worries!" Lorelai commanded, and Finn dropped her
"idiot" she scowled, brushing her black skinny jeans. She was wearing a typical airport outfit, black jeans, a simple grey t shirt, and a black leather jacket on top. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun, and her feet donned black ankle boots, her suitcase lay at her feet, and a black Adidas rucksack was swung on her shoulder
"we should get you too McGonagalls office" Mark told her, glancing at his watch, fifteen minutes to go.
We all nodded and walked towards the exit, Mark had picked up Lore's suitcase and was pulling it with him effortlessly
when we reached the office, I turned to Lore
"you take care of yourself, okay?" I commanded, I know it was for four days, but still, after spending every day with the girl, it was hard to let her go, especially seeing as America brought so many bittersweet memories to thought
"I will, I will miss you" she smiled, I grimaced and hugged her.
After we let go, Lore said her goodbyes to the Wotters, Mark and Finn, who insisted on being extremely dramatic towards the whole matter, but its not like we expected anything less from the boy.
"we should head back" I suggested as we exited McGonagalls office, after watching Lore floo away
"yeah, lets go get some lunch, I am starved" Finn replied, heading in the direction on the hall.
Everything was working itself out, thank Merlin
FINN'S POV
"you know what we haven't done in forever" I began, Mark, Ann and I were lounging around in the common room by the fire, Ann was doing her homework, Mark was revising for mondays quiz and I was... I was counting the number of loose thread on the rug as I dangled upside down off the couch
"hmmm?" murmured Anna, not paying attention
"snuck out to a bar!" I exclaimed
"No" stated Ann simply, not caring for my reason
"comeee on!" I pleaded, sitting straight as my head began to grow dizzy
"Finn, we are not sneaking out! Are you forgetting that we might get expelled?! Again?!"
"Annie, its been months, I doubt they are watching us too carefully!" I reasoned
"no, Mark, tell him!" Anna exclaimed, staring at Mark for support
"well.." began Mark, shutting up when Anna gave him a harsh glare
"come on An's, Finn is right, I mean, what harm is one night?" tried Mark
"but what about Lore?"
"Lore's in America having fun, she won't mind" yes! She was breaking, I could tell
"fine, but only if I finish this essay, and if we get caught, I will kill you" agreed Anna, heavy hearted, but I knew deep down she was excited. She wouldn't be An if she wasn't
LORE'S POV
"we will be landing in five minutes, please fasten your seat belts" called out the speaker, yawning I quickly fastened my belt and packed up my notebook where I was doodling and writing stuff down
'you visiting family, dearie?" asked the old women next to me, I had been speaking to her for a while when we first took off, and she was pretty sweet'
"um, kinda, I have some close friends in America, they are practically family, plus, my sister" I shrugged, not wanting to give my whole life story in five minutes while the plane was bouncing up and down
"thats nice" she smiled, further conversation was cut as the plane had landed and we were all told to wait until we exited.
I grinned brightly as I got off the plane and was greeted by Americas fresh air, I hated how stuffy the air was on air planes.
I got my luggage from the airport and went to the waiting room, where Seth and Gem were going to pick me up.
I spotted their heads near the water cooler and gasped in shock, there was a third person with them "Sky?" I questioned, trailing my suitcase towards them
"Lai!" she squealed, running up to me and wrapping her arms around my waist, I picked her up and she shifted her hands to my neck, burying her head in my shoulder
"what are you doing here?" I asked her, letting her down and hugging Seth and Gemma
"Seth invited me! Dads at a business meeting and mom's in France visiting Aunt Lauren"
"you were at home alone?" I questioned, concerned
"nah, Ging was there, and Alex was supposed to be there, for the weekend, but I think he went to visit some friends or something"
"well, I am glad you are here" I settled
"you ready Lore?, we should get going, Emily has a lovely pie in the oven" Seth spoke, glancing at his watch
"sure, lets roll" I grinned, going to grab my suitcase, but Seth had already got it, I thanked him and fell into pace with Gemma, who was telling me about her Potion lesson.
I was so happy to see them
"=and then she gave me detention! I didn't do sh-t! I hate Professor Vance, shes so f-cking biased!" complained Gemma as we in the car, driving home, I was in the front and Gem sat in the back with Sky
"Gem, language" Seth scolded lightly, he was chill, and only said it so Emily wouldn't kill him
"sorry dad" grimaced Gemma.
Even though Luke never felt comfortable calling Seth 'dad', Gem had no problem. I guess, for her, Seth was her dad, as she had no memory of her actual father (the arse hole). Luke on the other hand, did remember his father, and although he considered Seth to be his parent, he felt more comfortable calling him Seth, and Seth was 100% supportive
"so, hows school going Lore?" Seth asked me, stopping at a red light
"its good, professors are piling up homework, but other than that, its great. Finn and Mark have a match coming up in two weeks, so James is training them up for that"
"how are those two? I miss them" Seth commented. He loved Finn and Mark like they were his own sons, and would always take them, Luke and I too quidditch matches, Ann and Gem would opt to stay with Emily and gossip
"they are great, might have an interview with Tutshill!" I boasted, proud of them
"oh yeah, Finn told me in one of his letters" Seth replied, further proof that they loved Seth, I mean Finn never wrote to anyone. Lazy arse
"why aren't you on the team?" Skylar asked me "you loved Quidditch in Ilvermorny"
"I dunno, Quidditch in Hogwarts is way different, they aren't as many matches, and its just less exciting, plus there were less open spots.. so I left it. We usually have matches between us whenever we can"
"can we have a match today?" Skylar begged
"Sky, its almost seven, shouldn't you be getting home?" I was the cool sibling.. most of the time, when it came to Sky's safety though, I was very protective
"Lai" she whined
"sorry kiddo, but I am beat, tomorrow?" I suggested, guilty for blowing her off, but I was bloody tired
"finnee" she pouted
"buck up cowboy" I joked reaching back to pinch her cheeks.
"do I have to go back?" whined Skylar as we cleared up our dishes, Seth was right, Emily's pie was marvelous
"Sky, its 9 o clock, the last thing I want is Amanda finding out I kept you out this late, she won't only have my head, but yours. I promise to pick you up early tomorrow, and we can spend the whole day together" I reasoned. Personally, I couldn't care less about whether Amanda hated me or not, but the last thing I wanted was Sky to suffer
"5 o clock?" she asked hopefully, looking at me with her bright, big eyes
I chuckled "sorry kiddo, what about 8?" I suggested
"fineee" she moaned, pouting
"don't pout, its nor becoming" I mocked, before turning to Emily
"I am just going to drop Sky off, and go for a walk, I should be back by 11"
"okay, remember to take a coat, its pretty cold out" she replied, smiling. I nodded, threw a grey coat over my clothes (I never got changed from my airport outfit) and headed out, Sky clutching my right hand
"you are leaving on tuesday?" she asked me
"yup, McGonagall agreed as long as it didn't affect my work"
"you have to spend one whole day with me" she commanded. I agreed straight away. I still felt guilty for leaving her to handle all this on her own
"Sky" I began, it was now or never "did you ever... hate me? For leaving?"
she paused, and looked at me, biting her lip, face scrunched in thought "yes" she finally answered slowly, I felt a stab to the heart, but remained impassive ".. I was. At first, I felt so angry, thinking how you could just leave but then, when I thought about it, I wasn't angry, I just... was upset, that you could leave, and I couldnt" she finished
'I am sorry, Sky, I really am. I never wanted to leave you, you were the only reason I stayed so long. But I want you to know, no, I need you to know, I will always be there for you. Always. Just because I left America, doesn't for one second mean I left you. I will always be there for you, if you ever need anything, I am an owl away" I promised her
"I know, trust me. And I want you to know that I don't hate you. You are my sister, and I love you. I dont hate, or blame you. You left for a reason. I don't face half the problems you did, so I can't understand." she told me, with far too much wisdom for someone so young
"I love you, kiddo" I grinned, she smiled back, wrapping her arms around my waist, as I bent down to her level to hug her back
"bye then" I told Sky as we walked towards her house
"wait!" she stopped me, I halted and looked at her expectantly
"whats up kiddo?"
"I have your birthday present inside, lemme get it!" before I could protest, she was running inside, leaving me in the cold.
After about five minutes of impatient foot tapping, she came back
"here!" she thrusted a silver package in my hand
"I was going to send it to you, but I thought I should keep it as leverage to make sure you visited" she explained as I peeled open the paper
"I hope you like" she added nervously, twiddling her fingers.
I didn't reply, awestruck, it was a key chain, a simple rectangle piece of wood, and there was a picture of the us and Luke ontop of it, covering it. The picture was taken when I visited her last year, on an Ilvermorny weekend. Luke and I stood infront of our tree house,
holding Skylar in between us, she lay horizontal, Luke supporting her feet, and me holding her head, as the three of us laughed.
I remember that day, Luke and I had showed her the tree house, as she was complaining about never being able to hid from anything.
On top of the picture, in the corner, Slai, was engraved. I laughed "Slai" was our name we came up with ages ago, after hearing a couple of muggles saying the word Slay, to express how cool something was
"its beautiful" I breathed, she grinned in relief and I pulled her into a tight hug
"I love it" I whispered honestly as she clung to me
"you didn't see the key" she observed, I set her down lightly and examined the key at the end, it looked familiar
"its for the house" she paused and continued "i know, you said you were never coming back. And I am sorry if I overstepped, but the key isn't me trying to get you to come back... its more of a reminder, that I am still here"
I froze, and twirled the key around, before looking at her 'I love it' I repeated
"you sure?"
"I do. And I want you to know that I will always be there for you, key or no key, I love you kiddo"
"Love ya too Lai"
after I dropped Sky off, I headed down towards the cemetery, the path all too familiar. The gates to the yard where only open slightly, but enough for me to slither through. I followed the stone path to the patch in the corner, walking off the trail to get to Luke's tombstone
"hey Luke" I smiled as I got to his tombstone and stood in front of it, hands in my pocket and rocking on my tiptoes
"I told you I would visit, so I did. I just came from England, got permission, and I am staying till tuesday. Its friday, just in case you didn't know. My birthday was a couple of days ago, I had so much fun,, the idiots threw a whole surprise party, black and white, like I wanted, and had pictures of me everywhere. We got drunk as hell, and ended up knocking out in the astronomy tower, with a hangover the next day"
"so, I am seventeen. I don't feel that different, maybe because I haven't technically used any magic out of school, unless you count the light weight spell I stuck on my trunk, but then again, I always used that spell, even before I was seventeen"
"A lots happened since I saw you last. But, then again, its me, so its not too shocking." I breathed deeply "I umm.. I got disowned. After christmas holidays, or well, technically after I visited you. But I am really happy, to be honest. The others don't get it too much, but you knew what it was like. I was never truly apart of their family anyway. Its now a.. relief. Knowing I won't have to go back. My only regret is leaving Sky, but I owl her all the time. And you have to loose some to gain some, huh?
Finn bought an apartment, in Diagon alley. Didn't cut back too, its got four bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and dining room. Store room, three bathrooms with Jacuzzis in em all, plus a room for exercising and pool on the terrace. But you know, daddy's money" I chuckled "I have to go, its 10 50, and I promised your mom I would get back by 11. I will come by again tomorrow. I love you Luke, goodnight" with that, I walked away, I didn't get far, as I bumped into someone on the path
"oh sh-t, sorry!" I apologised, scrambling to pick myself up, and offering a hand to the girl in front of me
"its okay, I shoulda been looking at where I was going" she replied, taking my out stretched arm. I got a proper look of her when she stood, and felt a strange sense of recognition, she looked so familiar, but I couldn't place my finger on where I had seen her. She was about 5'5, with light brown hair pulled into a pony, swaying at her shoulder, and bright, blue eyes
"Lorelai?" she gasped, looking at me
"yeah.." I trailed, feeling agitated that I couldn't remember who she was
"its me, Sienna Fredricks" she smiled,
"S?" I breathed in recognition, of course!
"how are you?" she laughed, pulling me into a hug
"I am good, and you?" I asked. S had been in our grade back at Ilvermorny, different house, but we were good friends. There was a big group of them that we used to hang out with
"great! I didn't know you were in town, otherwise I would've visited!"
"yeah, I came to visit Sky, and the Bishops, it was pretty last minute" I explained "what are you doing here?"
her easy smile slipped slightly "visiting Luke" she whispered "I.. um, usually come say hi, whenever I can. And I haven't been here since a week before christmas break, so I wanted to come down and I had to visit my Gran anyways"
"you visit him?" I asked, surprised. I saw the presents from them last time I came, but I never.. thought they would actually take the time to visit
"yeah, I try to. You know, to keep him updated on everything in Ilvermorny. You know how he loved hearing the gossip" she laughed lightly, it was true, Luke gossiped more than a third year girl "I just tell him everything, who's dating who, who won the Quidditch match. Stupid things"
"it's not stupid" I replied "I am sure he loves it"
we fell into a few minutes of silence,
"I was going to write" she suddenly blurted out, shifting her feet uncomfortably
"I wanted to.. I mean" she hurried on
'why didn't you?"
"I... didn't know what to say" she admitted
"a hi would have been nice" I joked "thanks for the necklace, by the way" I added, referring to the present I got from her on my birthday
"you are welcome. And I.. I guess I had too much to say.. stuff that felt wrong just writing"
"what do you mean?"
"I guess I just feel guilty" Sienna admitted, this shocked me, why did she feel guilty?
"guilty for what?" I voiced
"for you all getting expelled! I was going to go to the head, tell her she was being an idiot! I mean, she was completely nutty, kicking you all out for punching that arsehole. Dallas completely deserved it! He was an arrogant douche.. but the others kept on telling me to leave it, and save my own arse, so I did" she told me, ashamed
"S, there was nothing you could of done. I appreciate the support, I really do. But to be honest, it was a long time coming, I don't think you could of changed her mind. Us getting expelled was something that was going to happen, it was just a matter of time, if it wasn't for punching Dallas, it would be for something else" I said honestly, sitting on the bench with her
"it wasn't fair, you getting expelled. After everything that happened with you all!"
"S, I would have been pissed if they didn't" I answered honestly, and continued as she looked at me, shocked "if they made excuses out of sympathy, I would have been seriously annoyed, you know us, we hate sympathy"
"it still pisses me off that Dallas went off, free, the douche"
I laughed "do you know why we got expelled?" I asked her, maybe then she would understand
"no... there were rumors, about what he said. But nothing was confirmed"
"it was after Transfiguration. Finn, Mark and I were heading to lunch, An was in the library. Dallas came up, and began insulting us, Ann mainly, telling us that the only reason we hadn't been kicked out yet, was because we were the school's pity case, ironically. We ignored it, or, Mark did, and held Finn and I back" "but then he started on Luke, and his family. Calling Gem all these names, and saying Luke... Luke deserved what happened to him, and I shoulda gone too" cue gasp from Sienna
"that was when Mark flipped, let go of us, and punched Dallas straight up, Finn and I joined him, kicking the crap out of that arsehole. And then the Headmistress and expelled us, not even waiting for an explanation"
"that piece of sh-t" swore Sienna, angrily. I laughed, it was so weird to hear S swear, she was always so sweet about everyone
"I hope you know that we all boycotted Dallas after it happened. Even though we had no idea what happened, he has no friends now. And he deserves it"
my heart swelled at the support we still had at Ilvermorny
"thanks S" I smiled sincerely
"we miss you, all of us. Ilvermorny isn't the same without you all' she carried on
"we miss you all too, and I am sorry for not owling too, we should definitely keep in touch" I told her genuinely, S was one of a kind, and I really did like her
"definitely, and try to visit us too!"
"I will" I promised "I have to go, or Emily will have my head. See you around?"
"definitely" we hugged, and then parted ways, me towards the exit, and her towards Luke's grave.
MARCUS'S POV
"-what a physco!" slurred Anna, tumbling down the Hogsmede streets, I caught her quickly, and we both stumbled down the road together, Finn by our side, carrying the alocohol
"I can't believe we got kicked out!" I agreed, nodding my head enthusiastically
"we didn't ev-en get our n-in-th dr-ink" protested Finn, looking back at the pub sadly
"d-on't worry Finnie, we ha-ve the whiskey!" Anna consoled, rubbing Finn's back comfortingly.
"lets sit down to dri-nk" I suggested, pointing to a bench nearby
"no! I am c-o, col-, I am not hot!" Anna exclaimed, frustrated. She wasn't the smartest of drunks, I have to say
"lets go back to the castle and finish our booze!" Finn grinned, bounding down the streets in the direction of Honeydukes, but his lack of co ordination and the lack of light led to him tumbling over. We rushed over to help him and headed back to the castle
"shhhh" hissed Anna as Finn tumbled into a suit of armour
"its not my fault!" whispered Finn
"yes it was!"
"no it wasn't"
"was"
"wasn't"
"uh huh"
"nuh huh"
"guys shut it!" I whispered sharply, as each of their protests got louder and louder. They hushed up, and instead chose to glare at each other as we tumbled towards the direction of the room of requirements, planning to have a sleep over and drink. A lot.
"remember when we thought Olsen spread rumors about Lore, and jinxed his so everything he said came out in an off key song?" laughed Finn, chugging down some more alcohol. We were beyond drunk, as one could tell by the eight empty bottles lying on the floor. It was about 3 in the morning, and we had gone from playing never have I ever, to truth and dare, to 21 questions to now just re counting random memories of us in Ilvermorny.
"or when we ditched home during the winter holidays and took a holiday to Australia?" I suddenly remembered
"and Finn kissed a koala?" Anna giggled, hiccuping
and so the night continued, with us laughing our arses off until we all knocked out.