The noise of all the students excited at leaving school was loud. James could barely hear the person next to him. Since there were three different schools, each would have its own method of transportation to get back home. For the Hogwarts students, they would take the Hogwarts Express back to Hogwarts, pick up the younger students, and then go for Kings' Cross. It would be a long journey, but at least they got to go home.
"Potter!" James looked back and saw Professor McGonagall shouting his name. "Please see me for a minute."
"What did I do?" James asked his friends. Fred shrugged.
James ran in the opposite direction of the students back toward Beauxbatons. "Yes?" he asked the headmistress apprehensively.
"No, you're not in trouble, if that's what you're wondering," McGonagall said. "At least not with me. But somebody wants a word with you." She pointed toward the door to the Hall.
James walked toward it and opened the door. The Hall was so empty it was weird.
"Over here." James turned to see his worst nightmare sitting at the staff table.
"What do you want?" James asked. "Make it quick. I don't want to miss the train."
Monsieur Moreau laughed. "You won't miss the train. I'll be quick."
"Go ahead."
"How many times do I have to remind you of manners?" Moreau said. "Manners are very important… very important. Well, I just want to make sure that you don't tell anyone about what you discovered on the sixth floor."
"Why not?" James asked.
"Because that letter was a secret between me and a friend," Moreau replied. "You weren't meant to see it, and neither were your cousins. You weren't even meant to find the room."
"A friend? The letter didn't sound like that person was a friend. He sounded like he was threatening you. And besides, I already did tell many people. My friends, and some of my cousins."
"I know you did," Moreau said. "I don't care if your friends know. They aren't important. But don't tell your parents."
"Why not? You can't control what I do!"
"I can, Potter, because I am a judge in the Triwizard Tournament," Moreau said. "And I have lots of contacts in the Ministry. If you tell someone, I will make sure that you definitely do not win the tournament."
James glared at the man. "Why do you hate me so much?"
"Because you found that letter and the secret room!"
"No," James said. "My name was on that letter even before you knew I had found the room. There's some other reason."
"Mind your own business, boy," Moreau said. "It doesn't concern you. Oh, and just in case you thought you were smart, I know you contacted your father. But he can't do anything. And you won't tell him about this meeting, will you?"
James shook his head.
"Good, you're learning," Moreau said. "Now leave, before the train leaves."
James left the room and ran back onto the train, and told Fred and Oliver everything.
Lily stood outside the Hogwarts castle with Layla, waiting for the Hogwarts express to come. Elena and Olivia were staying at Hogwarts for Easter break, since they had gone home during Christmas. Layla and her mother were planning to go to The Burrow with Lily, since her father had to stay at Hogwarts.
"There it is!" Lily pointed to the train, which was rolling into view. She waited for it to come to a stop, then got onto it.
"Where do you want to sit?" Layla asked. "The compartments look like they all have people in them."
"Let's find our old compartment," Lily said, and the two of them walked toward it. Lily opened the compartment door and saw some seventh years sitting there. "Oh, sorry."
"Nice," Layla said. "Let's go sit with some random seventh-years!"
"Why don't you find a compartment, then?"
Layla shrugged. "I don't know. Why don't we just sit with your cousins?"
Lily sighed. "I guess so." The Potters were known to hold long grudges, and Lily still hadn't gotten over her grudge against Rose and Albus. "But I'm warning you, the compartment's going to be crowded."
"That doesn't matter." Lily and Layla started walking down the aisle of the train, looking into every compartment to try to find the Weasleys.
"Found them!" Layla said a few minutes later.
Lily walked over and opened the compartment door, where some of her cousins were sitting, crowded together. Every compartment was meant for only eight people, but there were more than eight sitting there. James, Fred, Oliver—a friend who had been to Lily's house multiple times—Dominique, Roxanne, Molly, a friend of Dominique's that Lily had seen before, and two other boys who Lily had never seen were talking and laughing together.
"Hi, Lily!" James said, seeing the door open. "How was school?"
"Good," Lily replied. "Wow, you seem crowded."
"Yeah," James responded. "There's not exactly space for you to sit, sorry. Albus and Rose are next door, though, if you want to sit with them."
"Thanks," Lily said, and closed the door.
"Was that your whole family?" Layla asked. "That's a lot of people."
"Nope, that's not all of them," Lily said. "There's more." She slid open the door to the compartment next to the one holding her oldest cousins. Inside sat Rose, Albus, Scorpius, Louis, Lorcan, Lysander, and Lucy. They were talking too.
Lucy looked up and saw Lily and Layla. "Hey. Do you want to sit with us? I know there's not much space, but, you're small, so you'll fit."
"Thanks," Lily said, and walked into the compartment. She and Layla sat down next to Scorpius, where there was an open spot.
"Are these all your siblings?" Layla whispered to Lily.
"No, not all of them," Lily replied. She pointed to each of them as she said their names. "That's Albus, my brother, Rose, my cousin, Scorpius, a friend of theirs, Lucy, a cousin, Louis, another cousin, Lorcan, a friend of theirs, and Lysander, another friend. Those two happen to be twins."
Layla nodded, processing it.
"What's your name?" Rose asked politely.
"Layla Longbottom," Layla replied.
"Oh! You're Neville's daughter?"
"Yep."
The tension in the compartment decreased suddenly for some reason and they all started talking again. "So, you're good friends with Albus and Rose?" Lily asked Scorpius, trying to make conversation.
He nodded. "Best friends. But in a competitive sense too. Rose and I compete to be the best in everything."
"Huh. So are you coming to the Burrow too?"
"Yeah," Scorpius replied. "They were nice enough to invite me."
"Lily and Layla," Lucy said. "We were playing truth or dare before you came. I mean, we had about seven hours to do nothing, and we'll have another five hours now, so we got really bored. We were in the middle of this game. Want to play?"
They agreed, and they starting playing. Lily realized that her family was really quite friendly, to her and to Layla. They got bored of truth or dare after a while and just talked. Finally, after a few long hours, the train stopped at Hogwarts Express.
Lily got up and stretched, tired of being crowded in-between Layla and Scorpius. The nine students got off the train, looking for their parents.
"Daddy!" Lily spotted her father and mother standing nearby and ran toward her dad. She hugged him hard. "I missed you so much."
"Me too, Lily," Harry replied.
"I missed you too," Lily said, turning to her mother. She gave her a hug.
"You're still your daddy's little girl, aren't you?" Ginny asked.
Lily nodded. "Remember I told you I'd bring Layla home? This is Layla." Her friend walked over and shook hands with her parents.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Potter," Layla said politely. "Nice to meet you."
"You don't need to be so formal," Ginny said. "You can call us Ginny and Harry."
Layla nodded. "Thanks for letting me come."
"Oh, don't thank us," Ginny said. "Thank Grandma Molly and Grandpa Arthur. We're going to be staying at their home anyway."
Layla nodded and turned around, spotting her mother. She ran toward her and hugged her. Lily smiled and turned away to see Uncle Ron and Rose in an argument. Ron was shouting something at Rose, and she was shouting back. Scorpius was looking awkward.
Nearby, James was talking to his father about something, and they were deep in conversation. All of Rose's cousins were reuniting with their family.
Ginny looked at her watch. "Whoa, it's almost seven; we should head back before Molly starts worrying and her food gets cold. Lily, would you help me get everyone to stop talking?"
"Sure." Lily walked over to Ron and Hermione, who were close by. Rose and Ron had stopped arguing, and now there was just an awkward silence. Lily coughed loudly to get their attention.
"What?" Rose asked grumpily.
"We're leaving now," Lily said. "To Molly's house. So hurry now."
"Thanks for telling us," Hermione said. "How was your term, Lily? Did you have fun? Make new friends?"
"Hogwarts is great," Lily replied. "I brought along a friend who you can meet later. I have to go tell everyone else to leave now, though." She went along and shouted at George and Percy to leave.
Lily, Albus, and James sat in Harry and Ginny's car as it drove along to The Burrow. It zoomed along at high speed, and Lily sat next to the window, watching the trees blur by. "Are we there yet?" Lily asked.
"Almost," Ginny said as they turned off the freeway and drove onto a bumpy road. The road seemed quite empty, and every now and then there was a house. Lily knew where they were; her grandma's home was close by.
Harry drove the car into a long driveway that led toward The Burrow. As soon as the car stopped moving, Lily opened the door and jumped up. "I've missed this place," she said, and looked around the yard. She spotted a gnome staring at her and Lily ran toward it. "I've missed you, gnome." The gnome stared at her and then ran away.
"Lily, don't annoy the gnomes." Lily was surprised to hear her oldest brother's voice. "They can be violent and even bite you."
"I know, James." Lily returned to the driveway and saw another car appear. Layla and her mom were sitting in it. Lily rushed up to their car and watched Layla come out. She showed her friend the way to the house. "This is The Burrow."
"Whoa. It's quite… tall," Layla said, at a loss for a better adjective.
Lily laughed. "I know. I love this place. Wait till you get inside." She ran up the path toward the house and knocked on the door.
Grandma Molly came over and opened the door. "Hello Lily! You're the first one back! How did you like Hogwarts?"
"It was really fun," Lily said. She gave Grandma Molly a hug and entered the building. "This is Layla." She pointed toward her friend.
"Hello," Molly said politely.
"Thanks for letting me come to your house," Layla said. "I hope it's not too much trouble."
"Oh, no, of course not," Molly said. "It was no trouble, no trouble at all." She turned around and walked toward the kitchen. "Oh, I think the chicken's ready!"
"Do you need any help?" Lily asked. She stared around and saw the clock on the wall, which had a picture of all the Weasleys. There was a hand that belonged to her name that was currently pointing to 'home.'
"No, I'm fine," Grandma Molly said. "Why don't you show Layla where you're going to sleep tonight? In Ginny's old bedroom."
Lily nodded and led Layla up the stairs. The Easter Holidays only lasted for a few days, and the Weasleys/Potters were spending it together at The Burrow. "Um, Lily, I think that my mum and I are going home tonight," Layla said. "Back to our house."
"Oh, okay," Lily said. "That's fine. Well, do you want to see our room?"
Layla nodded and they walked up the stairs toward Ginny's old room. "This is where Rose, Lucy, and I usually stay," Lily said, pointing toward the room. "It's really small and cozy, but it's nice." Lily put her trunk down and left the room. "I'll show you the rest of the house."
She led Layla up and down the stairs, toward Ron's old room, where Hugo and Albus stayed, toward Fred and George's old room, where James and Fred II stayed, toward Percy's room, where Dominique, Roxanne, and Molly stayed. Lily felt a sense of nostalgia as she walked up and down the stairs. This building had a sense of history.
"Dinner's ready!" Lily ran down the stairs where the whole family was now gathered. She realized that, at Hogwarts, she had felt a bit lonely. Now, the whole family was reunited once again.
Lily got into a seat next to James, while Grandma Molly was charming the food to fly toward the table and settled down. Once everyone was sitting, they started eating, while talking about Hogwarts. Lily told her brother about all her classes, while James told her about the Triwizard Tournament. Their whole family was having a great time.
Lucy was feeling really awkward. She was sitting in-between Louis and Luna Scamander. Luna was talking to Lucy's father about magical creatures, while Louis was looking down at his plate, eating fast. Lucy was doing the same. There were too many people around, and she felt self-conscious.
"So how do you like Hogwarts?" Luna asked Lucy. Percy had turned around to talk to another adult.
"Er, it's good, I guess," Lucy replied. She didn't know what to say to Lysander's mom. Luna was known to be really relaxed and imaginative, but it was still awkward.
"What's your favorite class?"
"Charms," Lucy replied.
"I loved Care of Magical Creatures," Luna said. "Except with Hagrid, we didn't learn much."
"Hagrid's a great teacher!" Lucy said. "He's the best."
"No, I didn't mean to say he was bad," Luna replied. "But when I had him he was knew to teaching, so I don't think he got into his routine yet."
"Oh, okay." Lucy attempted to have a conversation with Luna, but it didn't go so well. Luna had a big imagination and had different interests from Lucy, who was more down-to-Earth. Lucy liked Luna, but she was different.
When everyone finished their meal, Luna went to help Grandma Molly with the dishes, while the rest of the children relaxed. Lucy sat down on a couch, and, to her surprise, Rolf Scamander sat down next to her. Oh, this is going to be awkward, Lucy thought.
"Hello," Rolf said to her.
"Hi, Mr. Scamander," Lucy said politely. Newt was tall, with short brown hair and brown eyes. He looked a bit like a salamander.
"Please call me Rolf," the man said. "There's no need to be polite."
Lucy nodded, unsure of what to say.
"Lysander's said a lot about you," Rolf continued.
"Really?"
"Yep," Rolf said. "Every summer. About how you're really smart, and great at everything."
"Oh, no, that's not true," Lucy replied. She made a mental note to shout at Lysander the next time she saw him.
"Really? Your parents are both quite bright, so you must be too."
"Er…"
"I'm sorry, I'm being really rude right now," Rolf said. "I didn't mean to embarrass you. So, you must know, but I'm Rolf Scamander, Lorcan and Lysander's father."
"I know," Lucy said. "I've read all your books. I can't believe you've really met all those creatures."
"Oh, it was an exciting adventure," Rolf said. "But it took a long time…"
Lucy and Rolf got into a deep discussion about magical creatures, and Lucy decided that she liked him. He seemed more realistic, and quite intelligent.
"Is my dad annoying you?" Lysander appeared in front of Lucy.
"Of course not," Lucy replied. "We're having a conversation about Fire Crabs. They're quite interesting, you know."
"Sure," Lysander said. "Well, just to let you know, your grandma said that your room was ready if you wanted to unpack your trunk."
Lucy nodded. "I'll be there in a minute." She turned to Mr. Scamander. "It was nice to meet you." She extended her right hand, and Rolf shook it.
"Nice to meet you too."
Lucy got up and ran after Lysander, who was heading up the stairs. "Your dad said that you've been talking about me the whole summer."
Lysander turned red. "Did her really say that? Ugh… I'll have to tell my dad to stop talking about me all the time."
"So you actually did talk about me during the summer?"
"A little," Lysander said. "Not that much."
"Sure," Lucy said sarcastically. "Well, your dad is really nice."
Lysander groaned. "I thought my dad was annoying."
Lucy shrugged. "I liked talking to him. Anyway, see you later, Lysander." She had arrived at Ginny's room.
"See you later."
Lucy opened the door to Ginny's old room and spotted Rose and Lily already in there, but, oddly, they weren't talking to each other.
"Hi," Lucy said.
"Oh, hey, Lucy," Rose said.
"What's up with you two?" Lucy asked. "Are you two fighting?"
"I don't know," Rose said. "Lily just won't talk to me, for some reason."
Lucy turned to Lily. "Why not?"
Lily crossed her arms. "Because she was an idiot."
"What? Me? When?" Rose said, irritated.
"Because you and Albus and Scorpius left me alone at Hogwarts while the three of you went off to Beauxbatons!"
"Oh, that," Rose said. "That was a long time ago."
"Yeah, well, you then decided to stay at Beauxbatons after the Second Task, too."
"Well, um…"
"I think I'll leave you two alone," Lucy said, and closed the door. She went back downstairs, and relaxed on a couch.
A/N: Do you think this story is going too slow? Should I just go directly to the third task without all these fillers?
Anyway... 2 more reviews until 100! I'll give a virtual cookie to whoever submits the 100th review!
And no updating tomorrow... sorry.