DISCLAIMER: I am not JK Rowling, nor do I claim to own Harry Potter. All ideas are my own. I found this chapter particularly hard to write so I am sorry for the late in day update! New to this so please be nice! Updating daily :)
I sleep through the train ride there, which is so unlike me. I never miss the journey to Hogwarts: the winding tracks, the rising mountains dressed in evergreens, the raw beauty of the Scottish highlands is a sight to behold. Perhaps it is the exhaustion of the summer finally hitting me, ironic isn't it, the summer holidays are meant to be relaxing yet living in the Burrow is anything but.
The entire Weasley-Potter clan make our way towards the carriages, and the reality of my current situation suddenly hits me, I can see the Thestrals. I was never able to see them before, but since watching my Opa take his final breaths I can now perceive the strangely beautiful creatures.
I'm unsure how to take this. I realise that someone next to me has stopped too, and am relieved to look up and see Al. He recognises the confusion on my face which has slowly blended into realisation. That boy can read me like a book, he knows me like no other does.
"Hey Rose, they're fine, they're friendly I promise", he says, attempting to reassure me.
I forget that Albus can see them too.
A couple of years ago he was out in London and watched a man drop to the floor, clutching his heart. He was pronounced dead from a heart attack only minutes later, he spent his final moments lying on the cold cobblestones, surrounded by people trying to call for help.
In the rare moments that Al mentions it, he says that the cries from his family made his blood run cold. He will never be able to forget it, watching the life literally leave someone, but then how can you forget witnessing death?
That's the thing about death, you never know when it is going to take you.
My Opa was dying from a muggle disease called cancer, and because of that we knew he didn't have long left, but we were never sure of his final days. For the family that Albus witnessed, one minute their husband and father was alive, and the next minute he was dead. It was all over so quick, so suddenly. Death erratically chose him as his victim and plucked him from the grasps of life. Personally, I find that the speed in which death creeps in and steals your loved ones is scarier than death itself.
I wonder how long Astoria Malfoy has left. It's awful to put it like that, as if she is food that is about to pass expiry date, and of course I don't mean it that way, but she is of course aware that her time is limited, as it was evident all over her face at the platform. I wonder how you get the strength to go on, to continue living your life knowing that you're going to miss your children's graduation, their wedding, the birth of your grandchildren. I don't know whether I'd choose to give up or choose to fight to stay alive. I guess that question will only ever be answered when I face that choice.
It's not the Thestrals which scare me. True, I can understand why people are apprehensive about them, but it is what they symbolise that scares me more. Epitomising the fact that your loved ones are gone, and never to return.
"Albus, I'm fine, I promise.". I smile at him, hoping it doesn't look false or as if I am about to burst into tears, "Come on, let's get to the feast"
I grab his arm and drag him up to the carriage doors. As I climb up, something tells me to look around. I do, and there I see Malfoy, looking very much out of character. He appears sullen and low, he is looking at his feet.
I ponder for a moment, wondering what or who it is that he is avoiding, but then something comes to me. It must be the thestrals! He can't see them yet, and maybe he knows deep down that the next time he rides the carriages he may be able to. He is trying to avoid the transparency that is currently there, as next time they will be opaque, and real, a reminder that the one you love is no longer there.
It is easier to ignore something if you pretend it was never there in the first place. It will be easier for Malfoy to ignore the reminder of his mother's death, if he never acknowledged it to start with.
—
A blanket of noise smothers the Great Hall. All that can be heard is the excited chatter of first years, laughter of friends reuniting after summer, and of course the occasional grumble from a disgruntled 7th year reminded of their upcoming NEWTS.
The Sorting Hat, as it does every year, spouts some rubbish about the important of inter-house unity. Yeah right. As if anyone pretends that we mix between houses. That is very much disproven on the Quidditch pitch. Which reminds me, team tryouts are next week and if James is going to continue to act as if I have shat in his coffee, I won't even bother turning up, which will only anger him further.
He's annoyed at me because I refused to play a last-minute Quidditch match before he we left for the platform. Funnily enough, I had bigger issues on my mind, like opening my OWL results, but of course to James "they don't mean anything". I guess I have to think about it from his point of view, he wants to go and play Quidditch professionally, so doesn't care too much for academics. It's the equivalent of something telling me that they're going to read the stars instead of playing Wizard Chess, I don't believe in or care much for Divination, so to me that would just be shocking.
With the exception of my cousins, and my best friends Alice and Evelyna, both Ravenclaws, and maybe Lorcan and Lysander to a certain extent, I don't really hang around with anyone outside of Gryffindor. I'm quite happy in the comfort of my warm red palace, while they can stick to their cold and slimy dungeons for all I care.
I run up to Alice and Evelyna, who are sat at the Ravenclaw table. Hugging them both and showering them with "I've missed you" and "How was your summer?", we agree to meet tomorrow to properly catch up. The day after the Welcome Feast is never a proper day of lessons, just a way to familiarise yourself round the castle. Not that we need it, we've been here for 6 years now.
Making my way back to the Gryffindor table, I see Anto sat with James, he has been staring at me for a while and clearly wanted to get my attention as he winks at me. I desperately try to not turn red, and collecting my thoughts, sit on the opposite side of the table next to Ciara and Astrid.
"Hey Rose", says Ciara, "Good summer?".
"Yeah no too bad thanks. What about you?"
Ciara Finnagan is, shock, daughter of Seamus Finnegan and Katie Bell. Bit of a random pairing if you ask my dad, but they're both avid Quidditch players so I can understand them.
I think that common interests are probably one of the keys to a healthy relationship. Not that I know much about relationships, my first kiss was during a game of spin the bottle and apart from the occasional love interest, my knowledge of romance is little to none.
"It was fine thanks. Spent most of my time with Astrid as my parents were working in Ireland"
When she says working, she means playing Quidditch professionally. They both play for the Ballycastle Bats, who are based in Northern Ireland. Their love of Quidditch has definitely rubbed off on Ciara, she rivals James with her obsession.
"Most of your time? I think there was only one day where we weren't together Ciara.", Astrid chips in playfully.
Astrid Thomas is Dean Thomas's and Fay Dunbar's daughter. While not as much of an avid Quidditch lover as Ciara, she plays on the Gryffindor team too. She prefers to spend her days with a good book, much like me. Ciara, Astrid and I are the only girls on the team, along with Roxanne. Fred, James, and Lucas make up the rest.
Astrid and Ciara are inseparable. You will never find one without the other. It's quite cute actually, where one goes the other follows. Like Albus and I really, or James and Fred, and Malfoy and Zabini if I dare to think about it.
Actually, speaking of the devil, where is Malfoy? I haven't seen him since the carriages pulled in, and unless he fell in the black lake (one can dream) he is definitely missing from dinner.
If it were anyone else, I would think it was a good reason, as no one dares miss the Welcome Feast, however as it's Malfoy, he's probably off shagging Belle somewhere. But that can't be, as Belle is, unfortunately, seated only 3 people across from me. Zabini is there, and so is Nott and -
Oh crap, they've seen me staring. Look down at your plate and pretend you were doing no such thing Rose.
But it's too late, Nott is already sticking up his middle finger at me and Zabini is looking between us with an amused smirk, but not the similar smirk of Malfoy that makes me want to slap him in the face. I retort with an equally rude gesture before finishing my pudding. Chocolate fondant. My favourite.
—
Luckily for me my thoughts on Malfoy leave themselves behind in the Great Hall. I begin unpacking my trunk, before Astrid and Ciara coerce me into playing a game of Exploding Snap.
It is so nice to be back in the familiar comforts of the Gryffindor dormitory. Continuing well into the night, and luckily managing not to singe my eyebrows like I did last time, I start to properly relax until the door is rudely thrown open and Eliza and Belle strut in. Bitches. Fortunately they make themselves scarce, ignoring us and resisting the temptation to make a snarky comment, which I can tell is hard for them as Eliza looks as if she might explode. Until -
"Anything you want to say to Albus, Rose? I'm on my way to the Quidditch pitch now?", Eliza says, false sweetness heavy in her voice.
She knows I can't stand their relationship and constantly rubs it in my face that she is with my favourite cousin.
"Yes there is actually, thanks Eliza"
I know I should ignore them, but I can't help myself.
"Dear Albus, why is your girlfriend such a massive bitch?, love Rose"
I hear Ciara and Astrid snigger behind me. Trying with all my might, I manage to keep a straight face, as if we're just having a boring conversation about what we had for dinner.
Eliza's smile falters for a second, she looks as if I have slapped her, but she recomposes herself and responds just as falsely as before.
"Of course Rose, would be my pleasure." She smirks, leaving the room. Before she does though, Belle chips in.
"Ignore her Eliza, Rose is still salty that you got prefect and she didn't".
Belle smiles as if her Christmas's have come at once. Stupid cow.
"Oh please", I reply, "don't flatter yourself. As much as you won't believe me I'm really not bothered. Unlike you I don't need validation from others to estimate my self worth".
Nice one Rose, I say to myself. With that, Belle glares at me once more, and follows Eliza out. "Run along doggy!", I want to say but stop myself. No need getting into a huge argument on the first night.
When I say I wasn't bothered about Eliza getting prefect, I truly mean it.
Professor, or should I say, Headmistress Mcgonagall, explained to me that the reason I didn't get it is because they're trying to avoid the impression that the Weasley-Potter clan are the favourites. Which I know we are, but nevertheless understand the reasoning behind her logic all the same. Eliza and Toby Windsor were made Gryffindor prefects, Mateo Nott (how he got it I will never know) and Lucy Lovelynch were made Slytherin, Alice and Lysander were made Ravenclaw, and Tommy Porter and Ella Macmillan were made Hufflepuff.
I think my Mum was more upset about it than I was, as not getting prefect pulled me out of the running for Head Girl. As she never got the chance to be Head Girl, I think she was living out that fantasy through me. She nearly sent in a Howler, stating that it is unfair that because of my family's background I am deprived of certain privileges, but couldn't bring herself to send a Howler to one of her favourite professors.
—
It's after midnight when Roxanne finally makes her way up to the dorm. She says it's because she was on the Quidditch pitch, which is complete bollocks because I know she would've mentioned seeing Al and Eliza if she did, as she hates them as much as I do. She was probably off snogging her boyfriend that's no good for her.
Roxanne and I aren't extremely close when you compare us to the likes of me and Al, or Lily and Hugo, but we still tell each other most things. I know she will always be there for me, and likewise.
Looking out the window, a streak of platinum blonde catches my eye. Following whatever caused this disruption to my peaceful watching, I am met with the sight of Malfoy, striding across the courtyard. I'm not sure where he's going, and frankly I couldn't care less, as long as I know my competition for the year has returned, I am satisfied.
4th chapter done! I will have the next chapter up tomorrow afternoon. I am on British standard time, and should have it up by 7pm tomorrow at the latest. P.s, - bollocks is British slang for crap or rubbish :). Please let me know what you think!