The Christmas holidays passed too quickly for Meghan's liking. All too soon, she found herself standing at platform 9 ¾ at King's Cross railway station, waving a farewell to Anna from a distance as the latter boarded the Hogwarts express.
They had spent Christmas Day together, along with some of Meghan's relatives (although she had forgotten how they were related). Augusta Longbottom and her grandson Neville, a round-faced little boy who was a year younger than Meghan, had come over for dinner. When Meghan opened the door for them, Neville was puffed out with pride, holding up a small toad in her face.
"Look, I showed my first sign of being a wizard!" he babbled excitedly, forgetting even to say hello. "Great Uncle Algie bought me this toad because I'm really magical! I just don't know what to name it yet!"
Meghan smiled indulgently and led him and his grandmother into the house. By now, he was pouring out the whole story.
"Uncle Algie was hanging me by the ankles from the window upstairs, and when Auntie Enid offered him a meringue, he let go…and I bounced! I didn't die or get hurt, and now I know I'm going to go to Hogwarts when I turn eleven!"
"That's nice." Meghan had smiled weakly, thinking that mentally levitating books seemed like small potatoes after hearing this story. Then again, what happened during the fight with Alec was another thing…
"The incident was months ago, and he's still talking about it to everyone he meets," Mrs. Longbottom had told Lacerta. "I know that this is probably the highlight of his young life, considering…well, you know."
Mrs. Longbottom's face darkened, and Meghan knew what she was talking about. As her mother had told her once, when Neville had been only a year old, his parents had literally been tortured to the point of insanity. It had been soon after the defeat of Him-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, by a few Death Eaters who were later imprisoned. Neville's parents were now permanent residents of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, and he and his grandmother frequently visited them.
When Meghan's mother sensed a dark cloud about to form from Mrs. Longbottom's words, she quietly called Trevor to her side and told him to go play with Neville.
"Show him all your muggle military tanks and model planes," she whispered to her son. "Have him play with all those toy soldiers you have. I sense that little Neville is lonely and could use an older boy's influence in his life." Trevor understood and obeyed.
Apparently, the experience turned out to be good for Neville and bad for Trevor. When the Longbottoms left the house that evening, the toad had consumed a plastic piece of one of Trevor's model airplane kits, rendering the whole thing useless. Worse yet, Neville promised Trevor that he would make it up to him by declaring the toad his namesake.
Before Trevor could protest that that wasn't necessary, Mrs. Longbottom exclaimed, "What a lovely idea!"
Knowing the trouble Neville had about his parents, and how long it had taken him to prove his magical ability, Trevor decided that it would be best not to say anything more. He just nodded meekly and said, "All right."
Meghan was slapped upside the head by her disapproving mother when she and Anna had sniggered at the news.
The memory made her smile even as she thought about it here. Now, Anna in her school robe was hardly more than a skinny patch of black with a spot of sandy hair, boarding a train. As Meghan watched, that patch raised an arm into the air and waved good-bye.
The wind whipped loose strands of dark hair into Meghan's face, and it was getting harder to see. She strained her eyes until the dot disappeared onto the train.
In a few minutes, a shrill whistle interrupted her thoughts. The train was moving. Meghan frantically tried to look through the windows, hoping to get a last glimpse of Anna before the train departed. She could not. Since she was unable to see any distinct person, she imagined that the scarlet steam engine was filled with happy young students, blissfully going back to continue a year of magical education.
The very thought caused her to salivate. She wondered what kind of friends her best friend had there, and what kind of boyfriend.
The train finally disappeared, leaving Meghan standing there alone. Anna was gone.