Disclaimer: I forgot this in the first chapter, so this applies to both of my chapters. I own nothing. Nothing. Except my muse and my lovely computer, which likes to freeze and kill off my muse.
A/N: Thank you so much to my first reviewers ever: Marie, Cecilia Orechio, animegirl-mika, and one anonymous! You guys were very sweet. I hope to post to chapters at a rate of one every two to three days. You'll have to forgive me if I sometimes get sidetracked with school! This is my first fanfic, so any thoughts are welcome – praise, criticism, flames, whatever. I have some ideas as to where this is going, but feel free to give me suggestions! Ok, I'll let you read now…
Katie and Angelina were staring at me with excited looks on their faces. I took a deep breath and continued.
"Ok. So remember how I told you at Lee's party that I'd been having really vivid dreams since school let out?"
They both nodded.
"Well, as the summer went on, they got more and more vivid. All I could ever remember, though, is the six of us just sitting around. And we'd all just be sitting there, in perfect silence, and it was like there was so much to be said but no one was talking. It was really creepy."
"You had that dream all summer?" interjected Angelina.
"Yeah. Almost every night. But then, about a week before the end of the summer, I had a – well, I really don't know what to call it. A vision maybe?"
Katie was looking at me, one eyebrow raised.
"But Al, you've been having visions, since, well, forever. What's so different?"
I sighed, trying to think of a way to explain. Katie was right, in a sense. Ever since I had started at Hogwarts, every so often, I would get "flashes" – little glimpses of the near future. Nothing major – just stupid stuff. Like I'd see that Katie was going to get top marks on her Transfiguration homework (although you didn't need any psychic ability to see that). Or that Lee would forget to wear his tie to breakfast. Little, petty things, but they persisted throughout my years. Granted, it was creepy, but it had its benefits. For one thing, I was top of the class in Divination. No thanks to Professor Trelawney, of course – that old bat wouldn't see a vision if it smacked her in the face. But what I had experienced that night only a few days ago hadn't been a flash. Instead of a blurry glimpse that had only lasted a few seconds, this had been a full out color motion picture. According to my sister, she had called my name for almost ninety seconds before I "snapped out of it" and responded. I thought for a minute before speaking again.
"Here's the thing. I was working in the store, since Mum had to go do some out of town business for the afternoon. Patti and I were running things, and it was pretty slow. I remember that it was pretty slow, so I was just sitting there, staring at the register, and Patti was helping some lady who wanted to gift-wrap gillyweed. And I was just sitting there, staring out the window, and then suddenly, I just wasn't there anymore. I was in the Gryffindor common room, except that I somehow knew that I wasn't really there, that I was just kind of observing. And I saw Fred. And he was just sobbing. Sitting there with his face buried in his hands and bawling. And I saw you, Angelina; you came in to comfort him. And you sat there, and you guys just held each other, and then you said to him – I distinctly remember this – you said to him, "I know George. He'll be okay. He'll get her back." And then the next thing I know, Patti was yelling at me and snapping her fingers in front of my face. I was freaked out beyond belief."
Katie and Angelina just sat there in shocked silence.
"What do you think it means?" said Katie, finally.
I shook my head in frustration. "The only thing I could think of would be a repeat of what happened in fourth year… and I don't think any of us could handle that again."
Angelina inhaled a sharp breath. "You think Ginny will be kidnapped again?"
I shrugged. "George tried to go after her last time. If he hadn't bumped into Professor McGonogall and been sent back to the common room, who knows what would have happened. If he had gotten into the Chamber… And especially with You-Know-Who coming into power again, what if someone tries to use Ginny to reopen the Chamber again? George was crazy enough to go after her last time, no reason to think that he'd change. I can't even imagine how terrible that would be…"
I trailed off, letting them imagine the horrific possibilities. Before we could further speculate, however, the door to the compartment burst open.
"Ladies," said Fred, with a dramatic bow. Fred, George, and Lee sat down on the seat opposite from where us girls sat.
"Gee, did we interrupt a funeral?" George surveyed the glum looks on our faces.
"Actually, we were just talking about Elise. So of course we had to get a look of depression and dismay going," fibbed Katie, using a tone icy enough to freeze over Hades. I had to fight to hide a smile. Angelina and Katie had agreed not to be mad at George, respecting my wishes, but that didn't mean that they didn't seize every free opportunity to insult his girlfriend. You have to love having great friends.
"Oh…" said George, looking down at the ground.
"There, there George," said Fred, sympathetically patting his brother on the shoulder. "Obviously you three dolts haven't heard the tragic news; otherwise, you wouldn't be hurting poor George like that."
"What news?" said Angelina. Lee shook his head in pity.
"Er… I got an owl from Elise right before the end of summer. She doesn't want to date anymore. Apparently she met some Beaubaxtons boy while she was taking her holiday in France…" George had a look of sadness on his face, but I could swear that somewhere in there I saw a bit of relief, too.
"Thank goodness! Finally!" Angelina grinned as if someone had just told her Snape had been fired. Catching glares from the boys, she quickly backtracked. "I mean, gosh, George, that's a tragedy. Oh, well, you know, plenty of fish in the sea."
George sighed. "Yeah, something like that." Fred and Lee shared a knowing glance while Angelina and Katie beamed at me.
"Quit it!" I muttered under my breath. The last thing I needed was for George to become suddenly observant in his stages of grief.
"So! Let's discuss happier things said Katie, reaching into her bag. "Did everyone else figure out what subjects they're taking? I made a chart so we can figure out what classes we all have together."
We all stared at her blankly.
"Katie, sweetheart," said Lee, reaching over to pat her knee, "We all know what classes we're taking with each other. We always have Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Astronomy, Herbology, Divination, and Defense Against the Dark Arts all together. And then you and Angelina signed up for Advanced Care of Magical Creatures, and me, Fred, George, and Alicia all signed up for Advanced History of Magic."
"And I don't envy you a bit," interjected Angelina. "Hours of in depth study with Professor Binns. Sounds like as much fun as giving Snape a pedicure."
"Anyways," Lee continued, "We really don't need a chart."
"I know." Katie sighed and put the paper back in her bag. "I'm just so anxious for school to begin. I can't help myself from doing school like things."
"Right then, the summer has made you go completely bonkers," remarked Fred, leaning back and folding his arms across his chest.
"Oh come on! You can't tell me that you're not the least bit excited." Katie seemed shocked by the idea that schoolwork was something to dread rather than cherish.
"Well, let's see." Fred paused a moment. "If you mean am I excited about classes, my answer is an empathetic hell no. On the other hand, I'm excited about quidditch, playing pranks, going to Hogsmeade, spending time with my friends, and snogging my wonderful girlfriend."
Angelina smiled while the rest of us made gagging noises.
"A sweet bit of sentiment from Fred Weasley," I commented dryly. Fred shot me a sweet smile in return.
"And the start of another year would not be complete without Alicia's biting sarcasm," he shot back.
Before I could answer him, Lee held his hands up in the air. The arguments between Fred and I were stuff of legend.
"How about we save the vicious fighting at least until we get to the castle?" He looked at Fred, then at me, and then back at Fred. "I'll by you both something from the sweet cart if you shut up."
Fred and I nodded in agreement. "Deal," I said.
"Deal," added Fred.
"Look, why don't you boys go buy a bunch of stuff off of the cart? We'll give you our money and tell you what we want," said Angelina, digging into her bag.
"And why would we do that?" asked George, speaking for the first time since the subject of Elise had been brought up.
"Because," I said, staring at him, "Guys are supposed to wait on girls hand and foot. It's the natural order of things."
"Ha! There's a funny joke!" said Fred and George in unison. There was a moment of silence before all of us cracked up.
"C'mon then," said Lee, standing up and motioning for the twins to do the same. He held out his hand. "Give us the money and we'll leave you to do girl talk, or whatever it is you three do when we're not around. What do you want us to buy?"
"Pumpkin pasties," said Angelina.
"Bertie Bott's," said Katie.
I looked up at Lee. "Do you even have to ask?"
"Nope," he grinned, and the boys filed out of the compartment. The instant the door had shut behind them, Angelina and Katie let out a unified shriek.
"What!" I yelled, glancing back and forth at them.
"You heard George!" Angelina was practically jumping up and down with excitement. "He and Elise aren't together anymore! Now you can go after him again! Oh, it'll be so perfect! The six of us all paired off! No more awkwardness! Finally!"
"Angelina, hold up!" I yelled. "Just because George isn't with Elise anymore, doesn't mean that he wants to date me!"
"Angelina never said that," Katie cut in. "All she means is that now you have the opportunity to finish what you started last year."
I sighed in frustration. Privately, I would have loved to tell them how much I wanted George and I to become an item, but the last thing I needed was to get my hopes up and then have them brutally crushed. "First off all, I'm not even sure that I like George anymore. Second of all, there was nothing last year! He doesn't like me! Breaking up with his girlfriend won't change that."
"Fine. If you won't do something then about it, then Katie and I will just have to do something for you." Angelina gave me a self-satisfied grin. Katie nodded her agreement.
"NO! You wouldn't!" One glance at their faces assured me that they most definitely would. "Fine. I'll do it. Will that make you happy? I'll do it do it DO IT!!!"
I had jumped off of the bench at this last statement and was facing Angelina and Katie with my hands on my hips. They were keeping suspiciously silent, and I heard a cough behind me. I slowly turned around to find the boys standing in the doorway, arms full of sweets and quizzical expressions on their faces.
Lee shook his head. "Alicia, if you insist on having Snape's love child, could you at least keep it to yourself?" Everyone laughed as the boys settled back down and dumped their purchases on the table.
"Just for that comment, there better be at least four chocolate frogs in there," I said, leaning forward to sort through the loot.
"Of course," said Lee, tossing a frog my way. I caught it, opened it, and bit off the head. I sighed and leaned back, relishing the familiar taste. Chocolate Frogs are the absolute best candies in the world. Hands down.
"Hey George. You want to try a really great Bertie Bott's bean?" asked Fred, offering out his hand.
"I know it's a vomit flavored one. Why do you even try?" George shook his head and bit into a Cauldron Cake.
Fred considered this for a moment.
"Hey Angelina. You want to try a really great Bertie Bott's bean?"
On that note, the train continued towards Hogwarts.
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Alright, I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Please R&R!!!