Disclaimer: Yada Yada Yada, you should know everything by now (unless you don't even read this) but everyone you recognize belongs to JK Rowling, everyone you don't belongs to some obsessed fan.
Author's Note: The end of their first year (by the tital) Hope you enjoyed going through it with them! Don't wory, it's not over yet! I might not have chapters up as often now (since school's starting and all) but don't give up on me!
Chapter twelve
Another year behind us
"Another school year is behind us!" Albus said a week later at the end of the year feast. "Luckily for us, we've all survived!" he continued, joking. Most of the students laughed, and a few teachers joined in. "Now, it's time for the awarding of the house cup!"
Many Gryffindors groaned, including Maken, Cade, and Celestial. Thorn watched as her house snickered and nodded to each other.
"In fourth place, is Hufflepuff, with three-hundred and sixty-three points," Dumbledore continued.
A few Hufflepuff first years broke into tears, the others looked rather disappointed. Then Taffy Trelawney stood up. "Oh, don't worry, all will be well, don't fret, we just have to hope for the best and-"
"Shut up, Trelawney!" Antonette said as she threw a fork at her. The blonde screamed and dove under her table.
"In third place is Ravenclaw, with three-hundred and seventy points." There was a fair amount of cheering for this one. "In second place is Gryffindor, with four-hundred and twenty-seven points."
There was a good amount of applause for this, yet Thorn dreaded the next announcement.
"And in first place is Slytherin, with four-hundred and fifty-five."
The hall exploded at the Slytherin table. The house had not lost the cup ever since Charlie Weasley left the school. Thorn was not disappointed that her house had won the cup, but she was disappointed at her fellow students' poor winning habits.
The hangings from the ceiling remained the green and silver design of Slytherin for the next year, until someone else won the cup.
They ate their dinner at a slow pace, seeming to want to make it last, for tomorrow they would be on the Hogwarts Express.
Thorn stayed at her own table for the feast, for two main reasons. She was a Slytherin, and her house had just won the cup, what would be the point of going to another house table? And even if she'd wanted too, there was someone else sitting in her spot.
Piper Ceaira was sitting next to Maken. Her silver blond hair fell to just beyond her shoulders, and her bright blue eyes shone with every word she said.
"I thought Maken was more into burnets," Sparkie stated, "Wait, blondes are stupider. Hmm. Yeah, he definitely is a blonde person."
Thorn rolled her eyes, "You're so nice, Sparkie."
"Hey, someone has to be," he replied as he leapt to the table and began eating a dinner roll.
After a while, Sparkie got rather bored. He sighed and sat down on top of Thorn's now empty plate, picking at the last scraps of mashed potatoes. Then a sudden idea came to him, and his eyes gained a sly glint and he suddenly disappeared from view.
Thorn watched as he shimmered to nothing and followed his presence through the air. She could sense as he landed, right next to the bowl of mashed potatoes on the Gryffindor table.
Thorn sighed and turned back to her table and strained her ears to hear what was happening.
Sparkie snickered in his invisible state and grabbed a clawful of the white mush. Taking careful aim, he threw it directly at Piper, hitting her right in the face.
In Sparkie's opinion, the look on Maken's face was priceless. His mouth gaped open, and his eyes were wide. Then he clenched both his teeth and fists and said, "Sparkie!" right before getting a face full of mashed potatoes himself.
Maken wiped the food from his face and helped Piper do the same. "Okay, where did that come from?"
Maken looked as if struggling for words, finally he said, "Well, it's just Thorn's stupid lizard," another glob of mashed potatoes struck his face. Wiping them off, he said, "He likes playing jokes."
Piper's eyes hardened. "Thorn Rose?" She sighed, but said nothing more. She obviously wasn't very fond of Thorn, and obviously didn't want to say something that would anger Maken. She probably knew how much he hated it when people talked bad about her, though he never said anything.
Maken lunged towards the mashed potatoes as another clawful came towards him and Piper. He tried to grab the invisible lizard, but his fingers brushed air and he felt the draft from Sparkie's wings as he flew upwards.
He sighed, "Thorn!"
She rolled her eyes as she felt Sparkie land on her shoulder, and his body shook in silent laughter. Then she turned to Maken and said, "Yes?"
"Can you try to control that bloody lizard of yours?" he asked, the smallest note of pleading in his voice.
Thorn looked over to Cade, who looked to be suppressing laughter, and to Celestial, who rolled her eyes. "Maken, I cannot force him to do what he wishes not to do."
He shook his head, then said, "Please, Thorn, please."
She sighed. "Don't worry, he's done."
Maken smiled to her and turned back around. Thorn heard Piper whisper something, but didn't quite catch it.
"Are you angry, Thorn?" Sparkie asked her as he became visible again.
"No, Sparkie, you did nothing wrong," she replied in his tongue and turned back her table.
"No, not at me, but because that girl took your spot at the Gryffindor table."
Thorn looked to him, then back over her shoulder at Piper, who was clinging to Maken's arm. "No," she concluded. "Why would I be? It's not really my spot."
Sparkie sighed, but dropped the subject.
"Maken! Hurry up!" Thorn was saying as they boarded the train, "Why do you always sleep in?"
Maken climbed into the train after Cade and followed Celestial to the apartment Thorn had reserved for them, seeing as she had been one of the first ones in the train because of her early waking habits.
"What about Shooter and the others?" Celestial asked as she sat across from Thorn, "Are they back at your place?"
"Yes, they arrived yesterday afternoon," Thorn consented as Maken took his seat next to her.
Cade nodded, "Yeah." They were silent for a moment, even Maken being unable to think of something to say, then Cade continued, "Home is going to seem so, boring according to all of this."
Celestial nodded, "Yes, just me and Uncle Albus. I'm going to miss you all terribly!"
Maken sighed and said, "Just my mum, my dad, and me. Oliver's going off to Quidditch camp for the summer."
Thorn looked out the window, then back into the compartment and said, "I don't think there will be as much excitement at my house, but it definitely will not be boring."
"Well, yeah," Cade said, "You have a unicorn, pegasus, pegacorn, hippogriff and, what was the new one? A thresel?"
"Thestral," Thorn corrected him, then continued, "Well, yes, there's that, yet Severus and I always have something to do, weather it be practicing occlumency, or just talking."
Maken nodded, "Well, we should meet up, or something. Thorn, you know where I live. Cade, what about you?"
"I live in London, with my father," Cade replied.
"London!?" Maken half exclaimed, half asked, "I live in London!"
"Really?" Cade asked, the excitement in his voice obvious, "Where?"
"Well," Maken said, "We're more or less away from muggles; we're on the outskirts of the east side. How about you?"
"Well, I live in the North side, near the muggle school there."
"Cool!" Maken said, "We should hang out this summer!" Then he turned to Celestial, "Where do you live, Celestial?"
She looked hesitant, "Well, I can't say, but it doesn't matter anyway, Uncle Albus and I are going to be busy this summer."
"Right," Cade said, a bit confused, then he turned to Thorn, who was staring out the window with Sparkie sleeping on her shoulder, and said, "Where do you live, Thorn?"
"In the middle of a forest," Thorn answered blandly. She, like Celestial, could not tell anyone where she lived. Besides, she was telling the truth.
Cade laughed, "C'mon, seriously."
"Serious," Thorn stated as she looked back to him.
"Oh." They all fell silent again. They stayed that way till they were nearly at King's Cross, and then they only spoke for a brief time as well. They were all, including Thorn, not wanting the train ride to end, for then they would have to part ways.
"The train will be arriving in a quarter of an hour," a passing prefect was telling the students, "Get your things ready to be taken off of the train."
Again, the task was done in silence. Thorn was happy to be going home, but she had never had any real friends, aside from Maken, her entire life, and she knew that her summer would be different without them. In her mind she noted to make sure to visit, no matter what.
Then the train pulled into the station and slowed to a stop. The group of them gathered everything together and exited the train.
At the platform the four of them looked for their guardians. Severus was going to come by portkey later on, after he did everything that he had to at the school. Maken's father had borrowed a muggle car from the ministry and Cade's father drove a muggle car anyway. And Thorn had no clue how Celestial was going to get home.
"Ah," Oliver said as he stepped up next to his brother. "There's Mum and Dad." He turned to his friends; Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinet, Katie Bell, and Fred and George Weasley, and said good-bye. "C'mon, Maken." Then he began to walk towards Gary and Jamie Wood.
Maken sighed then turned to his group of friends. Thorn smiled slightly to him and said, "Good-bye, Maken, hopefully I'll see you over the summer."
Maken smiled back and said, "I'll keep an eye out for you, actually, the room you stayed in at our house is still the same," he laughed, "My mother actually said that she'd miss you around the house, her, oh what did she say, 'Fill in daughter.'" He laughed.
Thorn chuckled. Poor Mrs. Wood had no daughters and three sons, if you included her husband, Sparkie always joked. Thorn suspected that she had enjoyed having her around, another girl in the house, even though Thorn always kept to herself.
Maken turned to Cade and said, "Wind will be visiting you!"
Cade laughed, "And Cody will be at your place a few times as well!"
Then Celestial said, "Have fun this summer, Maken!"
"Oh yeah," Maken said, "Don't worry, I will."
Maken waved to them, dragging his maroon trunk, his owl cage under arm, as he and his family walked into the crowd of muggles.
Not long later Cade's father came. He was a fairly built man, his face set, as if he had seen something that had changed his life, which he had, Thorn reminded herself.
"Cade!" He called and his sad mouth widened into a smile as he embraced his son. "Ah! Good to see you again! So, how was your year?"
Cade smiled the biggest smile that Thorn had ever seen him wear. He was obviously very close to his father, just as Thorn was very close to Severus. "It was great, Dad! Oh! And, Dad, these are my friends, Celestial and Thorn. I wish you coulda met Maken, he left not long ago."
Cade's father smiled warmly to the two girls. Celestial smiled back to him and Thorn smirked. Sparkie yawned and woke up, looking up at the muggle man.
He held his hand out to Celestial, who shook it, then to Thorn, who did as well. He had a strong grip. "Nice to meet both of you. I'm glad to see that Cade met people."
Thorn nodded, "Yes, sometimes finding people that you can get to know is harder then any class you may take. Hogwarts has drastically differing students."
Cade's father laughed slightly and said, "Same goes for any school, magic or not. Well, Cade and I must get going, again, nice to meet you." Then the two of them walked off.
Thorn and Celestial looked to each other then sat down at one of the benches to await their rides home. When near to everyone had left, and very few people remained at the platform, Severus came walking down the way. He was wearing just black pants and a black shirt, his robes and cloaks probably back at the house.
"Ready?" he asked as he reached the two of them. Thorn nodded and stood, Sparkie, who had hidden in her book bag before muggles could see him, popped his little head out and smiled up to Severus before Thorn pushed him back in.
"Alright," Severus continued, then he turned to Celestial and nodded slightly in recognition of her presence, then the pair of them walked off, Thorn waved slightly behind her.
When they were out of sight of any muggles Severus took a glass bottle from the floor and pointed his wand to it, "Portus." Then he handed the new portkey to Thorn and said, "I'll see you at home."
