"Wake up! Now! You're going to be late!"
Maggie turned over in her bed. Her left cheek was wet with slobber from keeping her mouth open while she slept. "What is it?"
Her mother was standing over her, hands on hips. She was wearing a dirty white apron and a red dress with little white flowers all over it. She was holding her wand, with which she swished in the air and the sheets beneath Maggie lifted up, and she went crashing to the floor.
"Ouch! Jeez!"
"You have one hour before the train leaves. Your brother and sister are already ready! I tried to wake you up two hours ago, but you wouldn't budge!" She looked down at Maggie with a disgusted look on her face. "And did you sleep in your day clothes again?"
"Mother, it doesn't matter." Maggie said, standing up and looking about the room for her trunk. She saw it in the corner, open with clothes hanging out. She rushed over and stuffed the clothes in. "I'm ready to go."
"Aren't you going to change out of the clothes you wore yesterday?"
"Ugh," Maggie sighed. "All right. At least leave the room. I'll be down in a second."
When Maggie arrived downstairs she saw her mother dressed and ready in her traveling plaid shawl and her older brother Travis and younger sister Emily ready and waiting in their Muggle attire so as to not attract attention at the station. Travis was a tall boy, skinny, gangly, and somewhat awkward looking. He had slick blond hair, which resembled his mother's in color and texture. His hair contrasted noticeably with the black pants and black sweater he was wearing. He stood slouched and staring at the ground, looking bored and apathetic. He rarely ever said anything and no one expected him to. He seemed to appreciate that. Maggie hardly ever saw him because he was shut up in his room most of the time and when they were at school he was in a different house with a whole different common room, and he was in his seventh and last year.
Emily was short, cutesy, and very bouncy, the exact opposite of her older brother. She was in her third year, and seemed to think she knew Hogwarts better than anyone else. Really though she was trapped in her own little bubble of gossip and crushes. Academics were not important to her. She barely slid by in her first and second year, but somehow managed to make it to third. She was the most popular girl in the third year, though, despite her lack of brain cells and Maggie resented her for that. She had to spend every waking minute watching her little sister blabber away to a bunch of her girly friends. Emily was in the Gryffindor house as well, with Maggie who wished more than anything she could have been put in Hufflepuff. Hufflepuffs lack any talent what so ever. Maggie didn't understand how Emily could be considered brave, which was the main quality for a Gryffindor. At least, Maggie thought, she could have been put in Slytherin because she was so mean and snobbish all the time. Sometimes Maggie thought the sorting hat put her in Gryffindor just to torture her.
"Is that what you're wearing to the station?" Emily asked snottily after scanning Maggie's attire with her scrutinizing gaze.
Maggie flashed a vicious glare then glanced at her torn jeans and raggedy tank top. "Yes," she said icily.
"The Muggles are going to stare."
"And do I care?"
"You should. You're going to attract unnecessary attention to our family."
"You're going to attract unnecessary attention with that horrendous pink skirt," she shot back.
Emily scowled and felt the skirt in her fingers. "It's only the best of Muggle fashion. I've been researching it all summer."
Maggie looked at it disgustedly, and then turned away to heave up her trunk. "You know what, Emily? You need to get a life."
"What? You're the one who needs to get a life! You're stuck in your stupid Quidditch dreamland all the time. And what do you have, like one friend?"
"That's all I need," she said, finishing off the argument and starting to head toward the door, hauling her trunk.
But Emily didn't see an end. "You're an outcast, Maggie. Nobody wants to be your friend at school."
"I'm not listening," Maggie chimed. She was used to blocking out her sister's insistent taunting of her social situation.
Once she stepped outside, an impenetrable gloom seemed to fall on her shoulders. That would be the last time she would go through that door for months. She was going to back to school. The reality of it all suddenly hit her with full-blown force and she halted, trunk and all. Summer was over, and there was nothing she could do about it.
She felt cold fingers touch her shoulder, made bare by her sleeveless shirt. "Maggie, don't delay. Get in the car," her mother said authoritatively, walking past her.
"Yeah, Maggie, get in the car," said Emily in a sing-songy voice, skipping past to leap in the front seat.
Maggie rolled her eyes. At least the end of summer meant the end of her mother too, but she still had to deal with her sister. Maggie heaved the trunk forward along the stone pathway to the driveway toward the car.
"I thought we weren't taking a Muggle vehicle," Maggie said, looking at the gleaming car that reflected the August sun in its spotless windows.
"We're late. I had your father send over a new flying Ministry vehicle from his work so we could get to the station quicker. It's much easier than Floo Powder or a port key, as much as I hate it. Apparation is way too difficult with all this luggage."
Maggie suddenly remembered how she was supposed to send Chester a message to Ebony on whether she could go with her or not. And in remembering that, she remembered she forgot Chester in her room. "I'll be right back!" she shrieked, dropping the trunk on the walkway with a smack. "I forgot Chester!"
She dashed past Travis, who was starting to close the door, and up the stairs and down the hall to her room. There she found her little owl Chester hooting sadly in his cage that sat on her messy desk. Chester was a little, tawny owl with a cute yellow beak. He always wanted to do his job and he loved Maggie immensely. Maggie couldn't imagine having forgotten him. Chester would hate her forever.
"Here we go, little guy. Don't worry. I would never forget you." Just after she had snatched the cage up, her eye caught a movement on the desk just inches from where the cage had been. She glanced down. She saw herself in a picture, as a young girl with a cute brown ponytail. She was waving and laughing. Her father sat beside her, his arm around her shoulders. His face looked happy and full of energy, exactly the opposite of the way it had been last night. Attached to the picture was a note:
Maggie,
Please forgive me for anything I said. I know you are prone to outbursts, just as I am, and I'm sure you didn't mean anything by that. I know you'll make it onto the Quidditch team. I wish you good luck in your new term at Hogwarts and I apologize for not being there to hug you goodbye. Please at least try a little bit in your studies. I'll see you at Christmas break. Send Chester if you want to talk.
Dad
Maggie smiled and clutched the note in her fingers lovingly. Her father loved her. He was the only one.
"Maggie, get down here now!" she heard Emily shriek in her annoying voice.
"I'm coming!" She heard a honk from the car outside, her mother impatiently waiting in the driver's seat. Carefully, she folded up the note and the picture, slipped them into her pocket, picked up Chester, gave one last longing look at her room, and dashed away downstairs. She pushed past her little sister to get outside and heaved the trunk up again. She dragged it to the car and threw it into the trunk. Then she jumped in the car and they zoomed away down lonely Pomfrey Lane.
Once they reached a long stretch of street, her mother turned on invisible mode and they shot up into the air. Her mother was a rather reckless driver, so Maggie was relieved to be in the air where the likelihood of running into something or someone was slimmer.
"We have very little time to get to the station. And I have to park. Those damn Muggle parking lots. I don't understand their stupid organizational systems. And then you have to walk so far. We are never going to make it on time." She was basically blabbering to herself. "Maggie!" This sort of ranting always turned to the topic of her. "If you hadn't woken up so late we could have been there with much less hassle. We wouldn't have to take this stupid car, and I wouldn't have to park it!"
Maggie ignored her and looked out the window and down to where the city of London was bustling and moving. Out of all the people down below, at least one of them must be happy. There was no way everyone could be feeling sad. Although, there must be a lot of people down below going back to school, whether they be Muggles or magic folk. Maggie told herself she shouldn't be feeling too bad. She had lots of things to look forward to, like the start of a new Quidditch season with new opportunities and new chances. And also the start of delicious food, as her mother's cooking was horrendous. But the number one thing would be she wouldn't see her mother until Christmas. That would be great.
But with that came other things to dread, such as Professor Snape. He would really get on her nerves. He wasn't quite as bad as her mother, but that was only because all she had was Potions class with him and the occasional encounter in the corridor. Professor Snape was a slimy grease ball of black hair and a face so pale and straight it would scare even the bravest of people.
And then there was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. They seemed to get a new one every year. She had heard nothing about this new one yet. Her father didn't help at all to satisfy her curiosity. He said it would be better for her if she waited to find out when all the other students did. Maggie sort of hoped he would be young, and perhaps attractive.
"I'm going to miss you, Mumsy, while I'm at school," Emily said sweetly from the front seat.
Maggie snorted. Emily loved leaving home. She especially loved being away from her mother's annoyingly watchful eye.
"I'll miss you too, sweetie," replied her mother, evidentially not hearing Maggie's snort. "And Travis, I want you to finish off your Hogwarts career with a bang, all right? Make Professor Snape proud like you have been doing the past six years."
Snape was Head of Slytherin. Travis had been top in his class all through his six years so far, something their mother was tremendously proud of. Travis just mumbled incomprehensively at the praise he received.
"And Margaret," Maggie winced at the use of her full name. "I don't want another letter from your Head of House…what's her name again?"
"Professor McGonagall." Her mother refused to remember her name.
"Right, from McGonagall, about your academic performance or I'll just have to make sure you don't get on the Quidditch team."
"Mother, Emily's worse off than me."
"No I'm not!" Emily chimed.
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not!"
"Yes you—"
"Margaret! Quit pestering your sister!" her mother butt in. "And besides, she's not attempting to get the Quidditch team."
"Oh no, but she's off doing something much worse," Maggie said slyly.
"Shut up or I'll rip your head off!" Emily screamed.
"I highly doubt you know the spell to do it!"
"All right! Quiet you two!" hollered their mother. The car suddenly plunged downward and Maggie's stomach jumped up to her throat.
She was used to it from Quidditch, but Emily cried out, "Don't do that Mummy!"
"I have to if we want to get down the station! I almost missed it with your bickering!"
Quickly, the car made a rough landing onto the street below and the invisible shield was turned off once out of sight of any Muggles. The car pulled down the street slowly and squeezed into a parking lot near the station that was crammed with little cars. Her mother took her foot off the brake pedal before shifting gears and the car rolled forward slightly, crashing into the car positioned opposite in the lot.
"Damn Muggle contraptions," she said, slamming on the brakes, shifting gears, and then leaping out of the car.
"Reparo!" she said and the dent in the car inflated to the way it was before, shiny and neat.
Maggie jumped out of the car and grabbed Chester, who was sitting beside her in his cage, chirping wildly with excitement. Then she went to the back and heaved her trunk out.
"Mummy, could you carry one of my trunks?" Emily said, attempting to lift her trunk out with her skinny arms.
"You brought two trunks?" Maggie said disgustedly.
"There's going to be dances, don't you know?"
"Margaret, carry one of Emily's trunks. Emily, carry her owl," their mother said, rushing over and lifting the smaller of Emily's trunks.
"It's not 'my owl', it's Chester," Maggie corrected.
"Hurry up." Her mother nudged her toward the trunk. "The train leaves in five minutes and we still have to work our way through all these Muggles."
"Why doesn't Travis carry it? He's a boy." Maggie looked up the lot to where Travis had already left, walking rather slowly, head to the ground rolling his trunk behind him.
"Travis is a Prefect and has his duties."
Maggie moaned and hauled up the second trunk with her free hand. Luckily this one had wheels on it and soon the three of them were headed off and into the station, Maggie in the most discomfort with two trunks. Emily was playing with Chester by sticking her finger in the cage and cooing loudly. Muggles rushing by stared at Emily as if it were weird that a person would keep an owl in a cage as a pet. "Quit it Emily. Chester doesn't like people sticking their fingers in his cage." Chester was biting her fingers with his tiny beak and she was thinking it was kisses.
"All right, let's wait back here while those people go through the wall," their mother said glancing at her watch apprehensively. They paused a little ways back from the wall that led to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. A large group of people was headed through the wall. About half of them were red heads and they had a large black dog with them. They looked like a rather odd group. In the middle of the group, standing closest to the black dog was a tall boy with ruffled black hair. Maggie's eyes watched him until he disappeared through the wall. The rest of the group quickly followed until they were gone.
"Come on!" called her mother, rushing forward. Maggie blinked and heaved the trunks onward.
When they appeared on the other side of the wall they were in chaos. White smoke was billowing through the air and students were pulling away from their families, eager to get into the train. Some were waving goodbye through the windows. Parents were lecturing, babies were crying, and the whistle was blowing. Someone rushed by and bumped Maggie on the arm making her lose her group on her trunk so that it went crashing to the floor. Luckily, the clasp stayed firm and the contents did not go everywhere.
Students now were rushing onto the train. Quickly, Maggie threw Emily's trunk down and yanked Chester out of her hands. "So long Mother, see you at Christmas," she said without even looking at her. She didn't hear her mother reply, but perhaps it was just too noisy there.
Then she lifted her trunk with her spare arm and dashed away the quickest she could to get on the train. Once in she looked out the open window to where Emily was receiving kisses from her mother. She was trying to pull away, but she would hardly let go. Maggie scowled.
Suddenly, the train jumped forward and started to chug away. Emily screamed and yanked up her trunk and dashed toward the train, her mother following with the other one. The two of them managed to get them in and Emily jumped in after. "Bye, bye Mummy! I love you!" Their mother waved and waved as the train picked up speed. Finally, they pulled around a corner and Maggie saw the last of her mother she would see in four months.