CHAPTER SEVEN A Grand Reunion

Ophelia awoke the morning of 31 August, to Remus pouncing on her bed. "What do you want?" she whined.

"You have to get up."

She pulled the covers up to her chin. "No, I really don't."

"Yes you do."

"No. Last day to sleep in and I'm planning on taking full advantage, thank you very much."

He ripped off her blankets. "Come on!"

"Moony, stop it!"

"Ophelia, we have to be at King's Cross in two hours!"

She sat up and stuck out her tongue. "You don't have to act like a Prefect at home, you know."

"How'd you know?"

"Give me some credit. Who else would Dumbledore have picked?" answered Ophelia, throwing a pillow at his head. "Now let me sleep!"

"Please can we get ready?" pleaded Remus desperately. "If we hurry, we might run into James or Sirius before we board."

She shook her head. "You're pathetic, really. Fine. I'll wake up now, but I'm not getting dressed yet."

Remus took her by the hand and sat her at the vanity. "Do what... ever it is you do, and meet me downstairs in half an hour."

"I'm not liking you very much right now!" she yelled after him as he left the room.

Ophelia slowly dressed in one of the outfits she and Becca had bought, and applied a bit of makeup.

She then shoved her books, cauldron and clothes into her trunk. "Remus?" she called. "Can you bring my trunk downstairs?"

He arrived a few moments later, already wearing his Gryffindor robes.

"You're wearing that?" they said in unison.

Ophelia tugged at her pink t-shirt. "What's wrong with this?

"It's not part of the uniform." he snorted.

"The uniform doesn't go into effect until we get to school." she smirked. "I would have guessed that our new Prefect would have known that."

Remus kicked her trunk down the stairs and they joined Uncle Adolphus at the front door.

"Well, are we ready?" he asked, his violet eyes twinkling.

"Yes." Remus beamed. "Now we're ready."

Ophelia elbowed him in the ribs. "How are we getting to the station?"

"Portkey, how else?"

She breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled out the old soup can, and they all touched a finger to it's surface.

They were instantly transported to King's Cross, which was busier than usual owing to the Hogwarts students coming through the Platform.

Ophelia craned her neck, looking for any sign of Lily. "Do you see her?"

"Who?" said Remus distractedly, sticking his chest out importantly.

"Well, I've seen you safely to the train," Adolphus began, "I must be on my way. Important business at the Ministry, you see. Be sure to write."

The gave their uncle a quick hug and boarded the Hogwarts Express.

Remus looked at his pocket watch and cleared his throat. "I have to go. Prefect business. Can you take my trunk?"

"You're kidding, right?" she chuckled, motioning to her own and Bel's wicker basket. "I can barely manage with mine."

"Please?"

"Fine, go."

"Thanks Phe!" said Remus, leaving her standing in the empty corridor.

With a jolt, the train started moving along the tracks.

"Great." she muttered to herself, nudging the luggage along with her foot.

Ophelia entered the second car of the Hogwart Express, staggering slightly under the weight of her and Remus' trunks, and all the while peering into the train compartments for James and Sirius.

Finally, she caught sight of James' unkempt hair through the glass door. She heaved her luggage inside and collapsed next to him, startling Sirius and Remus from their perusal of the latest Daily Prophet.

"Hey Phe!" James cried happily. "Missed you."

Sirius jumped to his feet. "Welcome back! Let me help you with these." he said, stowing away the chests.

"Thanks. I missed you too." she replied, hugging James tightly.

"Did you miss me?" asked Sirius.

"What's with you?" replied Ophelia. "You're acting very odd."

"No I'm not."

Peter began shaking with silent laughter. "What about me?"

"I can honestly say that I did not spend one moment of my holiday regretting I wasn't in your company."

James and Sirius howled with laughter, tears streaming down their faces. After a moment, Phe punched Pete in the arm.

"I was taking the piss, Worm." she smiled. "Of course I missed you."

"How was Paris?" asked James, wiping his eyes.

"Yeah, did you bring us back anything good?" Sirius grinned.

"Yes. I brought your mother back a seventeenth-century elf's head." she smirked. "Very excellent quality."

"Ha ha ha." he said dryly. "It's nice to know that you care"

"Ophelia!"

She glanced up to see Lily standing in the doorway, looking more beautiful than she remembered.

Ophelia leaped up, nearly knocking Lily onto the ground as she embraced her. "Oh, I missed you so much, Lil."

She laughed. "A summer spent entirely with Petunia and not my best friend is a summer wasted."

"I agree." replied Ophelia, as they sat down together. "Let's never spend more than a week away from each other."

"Sounds good to me."

James poked his head in between them. "Evans, long time no see."

"I wasn't complaining, Potter." she said coolly. Lily looked from Sirius to Phe, and shook her head. "They're called breasts, Sirius."

"W-What?" he sputtered, turning red. Remus entered, squeezing in between him and Pete. "I wasn't..."

"You weren't what?" grinned Remus, eager to catch up on what he had missed.

"Nothing." blushed Ophelia, pulling on her robes.

"Did you bring me back anything?" asked Sirius, who was now sulking.

Remus went into his bag and retrieved a smaller, burlap sack.

"We're doing it now, then?" said Ophelia.

"Might as well."he answered.

Sirius' eyes lit up. "You did bring us presents!"

"Aw, you didn't have to do this." replied Lily sweetly.

Phe pointed at her. "See Padfoot? This is the kind of attitude you should have." He stuck his tongue out at her. "Fine, Lily goes first."

Remus gave her a garnet-tipped writer. "It's supposed to be for good luck, or something." he mumbled.

"It's beautiful Remus, thank you." she said, kissing him on the cheek.

"Alright, alright. I'm next."

"You got her a book?" Sirius sniffed. "I hope my present isn't a book."

"You're present is going to be a dirty toad if you keep this up. And it's not a book, it's a KnowitAll, it knows everything. Just tap your wand to any of the pages and clearly tell it what you want to know." she instructed.

Lily opened the soft, brown leather, touched her wand to the first page and said, "The fifth year OWLs.", making a tall Wood Elf leap out of the book.

"Good afternoon, Lily, you are looking quite lovely today," his deep voice echoed throughout the cabin. "You were inquiring about the OWLs? They will take place in exactly two-hundred and ninety-one days and will cover all of the material you have studied up to- and including -your fifth year. It is best to--"

"Yes, yes, we understand. Thank you." said James, closing the book and sending the Elf back inside.

"That was rude." Lily scoffed. "Phe, it's perfect, thank you very much."

"You're welcome, Lil. Who's next?"

Sirius began jumping up and down, frantically waving his arms.

"James should go." Remus smirked.

Ophelia handed him a small, locked case, which he promptly opened.

"Wow," he breathed. "I've always wanted a miniature Quidditch pitch, thanks, to both of you..."

"You can use it to strategize for your next game." said Remus, handing Pete a pack of Gobstones. "They multiply as you get better."

Peter smiled his approval, then turned his attention to Ophelia, expectantly.

"I didn't exactly know what to get you." she apologized, tossing him a brown paper package.

He tore it open and rolled the colourful jar in his hands. "Flavour beans?"

"French sweets, actually. They're hexed, so don't dive into them." she warned.

Pete laughed maniacally. "This will be perfect for the Slytherins..."

Sirius coughed loudly. "No, it's alright really. I've managed to make my parents believe I don't exist, my friends following suit doesn't surprise me in the least."

"Here," said Remus, giving him a Zonko's kit. "It has a bunch of new jokes, and some tips on how to make your own."

He grinned. "Ah Moony, you know me to well."

Ophelia looked out the window, the train had come to a stop. "Here we are."

The six friends made their way into the grey night and boarded the coach. They rode most of the way in silence, the pending year casting a dreary and bleak shadow over their thoughts.

Upon arriving at Hogwarts, they went straight to the Great Hall for the start of term feast.

Sirius stretched his arms over his head and growled. "I am so hungry."

Ophelia linked her arm through his. "That's what Snivellus said last year and looked what happened to him. Are you really that desperate?"

He laughed once again. "I'm getting close. Look at all the damn First Years; it will take at least half an hour to get through them all."

She reached into her robes and placed a candy bar in his unsuspecting hand. He lit up. "My present?"

"No. I was going to eat it on the train but I got distracted." she answered. "Your present is somewhere in my trunk."

"Aha! So there is a present for your dear friend Sirius."

"Of course. Kind of a 'Congratulations on not blowing yourself up over the summer' present." she giggled.

They got to the long Gryffindor table, and sat down, herself between Remus and Sirius, who throughout the lengthy ceremony insisted on handing her pieces of chocolate.

Once or twice, Ophelia was sure she saw Dumbledore glance their way, but chose instead to ignore it.

When all of the First Years had been sorted, the Headmaster rose to give his usual speech.

"First, I would like to welcome you back to Hogwarts. New students are asked to note the Forest is strictly forbidden, hence the name, the Forbidden Forest. Some of our senior students are reminded that the Astronomy Tower is off limits to those not accompanied by a teacher."

Ophelia quietly held back her laughter as she remembered an incident last year when James tried to lure Lily up to the Tower. She heard those on either side of her stifling the same memory.

"During the Christmas break we will be holding a Winter Ball open to all students in Fourth and older years." he continued, to the tumultuous sound of applause. "With these announcements out of the way, let us eat."

A plate of spaghetti appeared in front of Ophelia, and only Ophelia. She immediately looked up at the faculty table to Professor Flitwick, who raised his glass to her.

Ophelia grinned and did the same.

Remus looked from his sister to their Charms teacher. "What's going on?"

"Professor Flitwick and I were speaking last year of our food cravings, and how they never serve spaghetti in the first month back." she began. "At the Leaving Feast he promised to speak with the school elves about arranging something. And he did."

Sirius dug into a particularly large portion of mash. "I still think it's a bit mad that you're friends with professors."

"Only two. And I don't see why it's so mad- they're just like us. Except older.. and wiser.. and sufficiently more skilled than us." Ophelia shrugged her shoulders. "But just as nice and clever."

"That must be the reason you get straight O's- you buddy up to the teachers."

"Or I get straight O's because I understand what they're trying to teach us." Ophelia stuck her tongue out at Sirius. "Ha, no comeback. I win, as usual."

About an hour later, armed with the new password (Kiwi Dreggers), they retired to their dormitories, where Talia was awaiting their arrival.

Ophelia sat down on her bed. "Why weren't you on the train?"

Talia faked a smile. "Because your little outburst caused me to go into Emotional Shock. I was in St Mungo's."

"Oh sorry, but it was going to come out eventually." said Ophelia distractedly.

"Right, well, I'm going to bed." she sighed, pulling the drawings around her.

Mai ran into the room, covered in a steaming red slime and slammed the door shut. She leaned against it, her breath coming in short, raspy bursts.

Mai looked wildly around the room, as if noticing them for the first time. "If anyone asks, I was with you guys all night." She pointed her wand at her robes. "Scourgify."

"How was your holiday, Mai?" Ophelia asked.

She collapsed onto her bed and began off her orange, dragon-skin boots. "Oh, you know, the usual screaming matches with my father. But other than that..."

"Sounds lovely." she joked.

"It really was."

Ophelia reached into her trunk and retrieved a pair of gloves that matched her boots. "I got them for you in Paris."

"Wicked. Thanks, Phe."

She suddenly became tired and changed into her pajamas. Before crawling into bed, she rummaged in the chest and found what she was looking for- her pink, crystal Mellezerant - and set it on her night stand, falling asleep.