Chapter 15: Return to Hogwarts
On the morning of the first of September, Padma woke early. Across the room, by the door, Parvati was sound asleep, her red and pink quilt pulled up over her head. Padma carefully chose the books that she wanted to take back to Hogwarts with her, laying them carefully on top of her collected works of Lockhart in her trunk. She glanced around the room, looking for anything else she wanted to take with her. Her eyes settled on the picture of her and Terry from last year. She carefully wrapped it in her blue and bronze scarf and packed it in between Gadding with Ghouls and Break with a Banshee, closing her trunk with a loud snap.
That seemed to rouse Parvati from her slumber. She threw her quilt back off her head and sat bolt upright, her hair tousled. She yawned widely.
"Morning Padma," she said, stifling another yawn. "What's the time?"
"Nine," Padma said shortly. She bent down beside her bed, checking that she hadn't left anything underneath. "I knew I'd forgotten something…"
"Nine o' clock?" Parvati cried shrilly. "I've only got fifteen minutes to get ready!" She moaned and scrambled out of bed, dashing for the bedroom door. "Mum! Can you do my hair for me?"
Padma suppressed a smile and opened her trunk, putting the quill that she'd found underneath her bed inside. Then she set about finding her twin's belongings and packing her trunk for her. After she retrieved several books on Divination that were scattered about the bedroom, Padma closed Parvati's trunk and stood up.
"Come on, Rama."
She held out her arm and the eagle owl swooped down from his perch, landing gently on Padma's arm. After putting Rama into his cage, Padma took her trunk and her owl downstairs, leaving them both by the front door.
Downstairs, Padma's grandmother sat in her favourite chair by the window in the living room. She read a copy of Divination Monthly and her knitting was working in front of her, the needles flashing as they moved.
"Good morning, Padma." The old witch's voice was rather curt. She was still annoyed with how her granddaughter had spoken to her about a certain boy in Ravenclaw.
"Good morning, grandmother."
Padma sat down at the dining room table and grabbed a slice of toast. Her father had left earlier for work and the Daily Prophet was propped up between the toast rack and the teapot, next to a half empty cup of tea. Padma's mother sat at one end of the table sipping on a cup of tea. She was wearing Muggle clothes this morning but her hair was still up in its usual knot.
"Good morning, Padma."
"Morning, Mum," Padma said through a mouthful of toast. She swallowed before continuing. "Aren't you going to work today?"
"I'm going in after you've left for Hogwarts. Cassandra Turpin and I are going to Apparate in after you and Lisa have left." She paused to take another sip of tea. "Where's your sister?"
Parvati burst into the dining room, dragging her trunk and a hooting, caged Shiva behind her. She collapsed onto a chair and took a slice of toast. At the sound of a horn from outside she jumped slightly.
"That's the taxi," their mother said. "Come on and gather up your things. You know how bad the Muggle traffic is on a morning. Say goodbye to your grandmother."
Padma grabbed her jacket as Parvati hugged her grandmother, kissing her on the cheek. The old witch glanced over at Padma, smiling, although the smile didn't seem to reach her eyes.
"Goodbye, Padma."
"Goodbye, grandmother," Padma said quietly.
She picked up Rama in his cage and pulled her trunk behind her as they headed out of the house. The taxi driver put the trunks into the boot and, looking rather confused, placed the owls onto the back seat. Padma stood at the front gate for a moment as her mother and sister got into the taxi. She looked up to the living room window where her grandmother was sitting, staring resolutely out of the window, though her eyes were fixed on the opposite side of the road.
"Come on, Padma."
Padma glanced at her grandmother one last time and got into the taxi, slamming the door closed behind her.
o0o
After managing to work their way through the rush hour traffic, they finally reached King's Cross Station at quarter to eleven. As Surya paid the driver with Muggle money, Padma and Parvati piled their trunks and owls onto trolleys.
"Come on, girls," their mother said briskly. "The train leaves in fifteen minutes and you want to get good seats."
The three of them hurried through Kings Cross Station, moving through the crowds of Muggles and heading for the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Padma tightened her grip on the handles of her trolley.
"You first, Padma."
Padma walked forwards, quickening to a trot as she got closer to the blank wall. She wove her way through the crowds of Muggles and took a deep breath, slipping through the barrier and onto Platform 9¾. It was as crowded as last year, students talking loudly to one another and their parents, and the steam from the Hogwarts Express drifted over their heads in voluminous clouds. Soon enough her sister and mother emerged through the barrier.
"Be good, both of you," her mother said, hugging both of them tightly at the same time. "Don't forget to write home as often as possible. Make sure you tell me if you need anything, anything at all and…"
"We'll be fine, Mum," Parvati said. She kissed her on the cheek.
"You'd best get on board now," Surya said. She kissed them both again. "Don't forget to write to me."
"We won't!" the twins said simultaneously.
Padma was going to walk over to one of the carriages with Parvati, but her sister was suddenly knocked back by Lavender Brown who had, seemingly, appeared from nowhere. The brown haired Gryffindor grinned at her housemate.
"I've got so much to tell you!" she said, unable to stop herself from giggling.
"You only met up in Diagon Alley a week or so ago," Padma said.
"So what?" Parvati snapped. "A lot of things can happen in a week." She turned to Lavender. "Have you read this month's edition of Divination Monthly?"
"Is that the one with the article 'Theories on the Fog'?"
The two Gryffindors walked over to the Hogwarts Express, chatting animatedly about the practicalities of Divination through a crystal ball. Padma hurried behind them.
"Are we going to sit together on the train?" she asked suddenly.
Parvati stopped in her tracks and shrugged, adjusting her plait over her shoulder.
"I don't know."
"Come on, Parvati!" Lavender said, grabbing her by the arm. "We don't want to be stuck in a compartment with a load of first years, do we?"
"I'll see you later, Padma," Parvati said.
Padma found herself rooted to the spot as her twin gave her one last wave before being dragged onto the train by Lavender Brown. She came out of her daze as the whistle at the front of the Hogwarts Express blew shrilly, signalling for everyone to get on board. Padma hauled her trunk and Rama onto the train, walking down the carriages looking for an empty compartment.
"Hey, Padma!" a voice called from a compartment behind her. Padma found Lisa hanging around a door, smiling widely at her. "Come on and sit down. How was your summer in India?"
"Pretty good, really," Padma said truthfully. "Oh, I got you something as well."
She dug around in her trunk for a moment before pulling out a crumpled paper bag and handing it to Lisa. As Lisa eagerly opened the present, Padma dragged her trunk into the compartment. She found several second year Ravenclaws inside. Mandy and Anthony sat reading, while Terry was eating his way through a pile of Chocolate Frogs and sorting out the cards.
"Hey everyone," Padma smiled. With Terry's help, she managed to stow her trunk up on the rack.
"Hi, Padma," Mandy said, glancing up from her copy of Voyages with Vampires.
Padma glanced over to Anthony. He quickly disappeared behind an issue of Practical Potions. His face seemed to have turned the shade of maroon it had done in Flourish and Blots. Padma ignored this and sat down next to Terry, taking a Chocolate Frog from his pile as the train started to pull away, the pistons hissing.
"Hey!" he protested. "I didn't say that you could have one!"
"You didn't say that I couldn't," Padma replied logically. "Anyway, I'll give you the card, if that's why you're so annoyed."
Terry shrugged dismissively but he suddenly appeared much happier. Lisa came back into the compartment, holding the velvet lined box in her hands and beaming. She hugged Padma tightly.
"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, sitting down and examining the ivory phoenix closely. "Where on earth did you get it?"
"The Lakshmi Bazaar," Padma explained. "It's in Delhi and it's like Diagon Alley, only much bigger, brighter and noisier. And there are all of these shops selling the most fantastic things!"
"It sounds amazing," Lisa said breathlessly.
"It is," Padma agreed. "But how was your holiday in Cornwall with your grandmother?"
"It was really good, though nothing like India, I'm sure!"
Padma smiled.
"Have you got any photographs?"
Lisa nodded and took a thick, leather bound album from her trunk. She and Padma spent an hour or so flicking through the pictures, laughing in particular at a picture of Lisa burying her little brother in the sand at the beach. The journey to Hogwarts passed without incident until the door of the compartment snapped open.
"Thank goodness I've found you!"
Parvati stood in the doorway looking excited.
"What, have you and Lavender finally discovered the flaw in crystal-gazing?" Padma asked with a grin.
"No!" Parvati said sharply. "Hermione Granger has just informed me that Harry Potter and Ron Weasley aren't on the train. It seems that they never made it through onto the platform. She's really worried about them."
Padma stared at her twin.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure," Parvati said seriously. "After all, Hermione is best friends with them both, isn't she? Well, I'll see you later, Padma."
Parvati disappeared with a wave. By the window, Mandy had become very pale and had dropped Voyages with Vampires onto the floor.
"What do you think has happened to Harry?" she asked in a panicky voice.
"Do you think they'll get to Hogwarts?" Padma asked Lisa, ignoring Mandy.
"I don't know," Lisa replied truthfully. "I've never heard of anyone turning up late for school before."
"What do you think has happened to Harry?"
Terry looked up from his Chocolate Frog cards, glaring at Mandy.
"If you don't shut up about Harry Potter right now I swear I'll curse your tongue out of your mouth!"
Mandy looked scandalous.
"How dare you, Terry!" she screeched.
All of a sudden, and without any warning, Mandy reached into the pocket of her robes and withdrew her wand. She pointed it at Terry, her hand shaking uncontrollably.
"How dare you, Terry Boot," she said in a low voice. Terry was flattened up against the back of his seat, eyes wide with fear. "For a whole year I've put up with you making fun of me day in, day out! Just because I…" she paused. Padma could see tears in her eyes. "Just because I…"
All of a sudden, Mandy dropped her wand and hurried out of the compartment, sobbing. Padma looked at Terry who looked both scared and relieved at the same time, and he clutched tightly to the edge of his seat. Lisa glared at him.
"How many times did I tell you to stop being so horrible to her?" she hissed, getting up out of her seat and retrieving Mandy's wand. "It's just hero worship, Terry. Just because you're not the Boy Who Lived you don't have a right to be such a…such a…git."
With that, Lisa stormed out of the compartment and headed after Mandy. Terry looked pleadingly at Padma and Anthony.
"You have been a git to her," Anthony said truthfully, folding up his copy of Practical Potions.
Padma nodded in agreement.
"You've really hurt her feelings, you realise," she said. "The best thing that you can do is apologise to her, but don't expect her to forgive you right away."
"But, but…" Terry started.
"But nothing, Terry," Padma said sternly. "You've really hurt her. Terry, you're my best friend but I'm not going to lie to you. She's not going to forgive you for a while. She wouldn't draw her wand on you if she wasn't really upset."
Terry was silent and stared at the floor. For the rest of the journey, the compartment was silent; Terry seemed deep in thought and Anthony had immersed himself in Practical Potions once more. Padma watched the countryside flash by out of the window and as darkness started to fill the sky, Lisa and Mandy failed to return. When it was announced that they were approaching Hogsmedede Station, Padma pulled on her robes and headed out into the crowded corridor. As she stepped out onto the chilly platform, she still couldn't spot her two dorm mates.
"Come on, Terry," she said, and they and Anthony headed up towards gates where dozens of horseless carriages stood.
As they trundled up to the enormous castle, Padma gazed up, feeling as though she was seeing a friend for the first time in many months. Hogwarts loomed ahead, dark against the sky, its windows burning brightly with light. It felt as though she was home.
The three Ravenclaws headed inside the Great Hall, finding the enchanted ceiling to be a velvety black and studded with stars, and students chattered excitedly, waiting for the Sorting ceremony to begin. Padma spotted Parvati and Lavender over at the Gryffindor table. She tried to ignore the jealousy that reared inside her and sat down with her classmates.
Further along the table, Padma could see Lisa and Mandy sitting together. Mandy was red eyed and stared resolutely at the table, while Lisa had her arm about her shoulders and was talking to her. She spotted Padma and waved, but totally disregarded Terry. He seemed to want to say something, but didn't get the chance as Professor McGonagall entered with the new first years.
All conversation stopped and hundreds of eyes watched the first years expectantly, almost hungrily. The youngsters passed by, faces full of awe, fear and excitement, but they avoided eye contact with the older students. Padma watched as one girl walked by, smiling at her unusual appearance. She had long, straggly blonde hair and wore what seemed to be Butterbeer corks around her throat as a necklace, and she gazed around the room with a dreamy expression on her face.
As the Sorting Hat sang about the qualities of the four houses, Padma looked up to the teacher's table. Dumbledore sat in his best robes, nodding along to the song while Lockhart sat with a goblet in one hand, admiring his reflection in the golden surface.
"Where's Snape?" Padma whispered to Terry.
"I dunno," Terry replied. "Do you reckon she'll ever forgive me?"
"Eventually," Padma said distractedly, still wondering where Snape had disappeared to.
As the Sorting Hat finished its song, Padma clapped and cheered with the rest of the school. One by one the first years were called up by Professor McGonagall, sat down on the three-legged stool and were Sorted. With each new Ravenclaw, Padma clapped enthusiastically with the rest of her house. As "Lee, Benjamin" was Sorted into Hufflepuff, Professor McGonagall cried out,
"Lovegood, Luna."
The dreamy looking girl sat down on the stool and stared out at the students, that was until the Sorting Hat slipped down over her eyes. It was the longest Sorting that Padma had seen so far. Luna sat with the wizards' hat on her head for two and a half minutes until it shouted,
"Ravenclaw!"
Padma clapped enthusiastically. Luna drifted over to the Ravenclaw table and sat opposite Padma and next to Terry. Her appearance seemed to bring Terry out of his daze and he stared at her, watching as she gazed up at the ceiling with a slightly unfocussed expression. Terry shrugged and turned to watch the rest of the Sorting.
When "Weasley, Ginny" was Sorted into Gryffindor, several red-headed boys stood up to cheer loudly, causing the small girl to blush the same colour as her hair. Professor McGonagall removed the Sorting Hat from the front of the hall and Dumbledore stood up, smiling around at the students.
"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts!" he said, beaming at them all. "Before we tuck into our delectable feast, I would like to deliver a few notices. As usual, the Forbidden Forest is, as the name suggests, forbidden, while Mr Filch would like me to remind you all that there is a list of banned items on the door of his office. And, finally, I would like to introduce Gilderoy Lockhart, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor."
Professor Dumbledore paused for a moment, allowing Lockhart to rise from his seat and display the smile that had won him an award from Witch Weekly five times. He seemed to lap up the applause that came from many of the female students like a very smug, perfectly coiffed cat. It was at least a minute before Lockhart sat down and allowed Dumbledore to continue.
"All that is left to say is tuck in!"
As the food appeared on the golden plates, the students gave out a cheer. Padma helped herself to some pie and started to eat, pausing as she noticed Luna staring fixedly at the ceiling, totally oblivious that the feast had begun.
"Luna," Padma said softly.
The first year tore her eyes from the ceiling and, instead, fixed them upon Padma's face. She said nothing, just looked at Padma with her silvery-grey eyes.
"Luna," Padma said kindly, "the feast has started. You can have something to eat, you know."
"Oh," Luna said plainly, "I hadn't noticed." She took a mint humbug from a bowl and popped it into her mouth, sucking on it thoughtfully. "Who are you, by the way?"
"I'm Padma and I'm in second year."
"I'm Luna and I'm in first year."
"I think we knew that by the fact that you were just Sorted," Terry said with a smile.
"I was, wasn't I?"
Padma and Terry exchanged confused glances.
"Doesn't it get wet in here when it rains?" Luna asked suddenly.
"What do you mean?" Padma enquired.
"Well, seeing as the room just opens out onto the sky, the rain would surely get inside," Luna said, as if this was the most obvious explanation. "Do you all sit at breakfast with umbrellas when it rains?"
Terry snorted into his mashed potato. Luna glanced at him before turning to Padma for an answer.
"The ceiling is just enchanted to look like the sky outside," Padma explained, trying to keep a straight face. "So when it rains, we never get wet. And we don't need umbrellas inside either," she added as an afterthought.
"Oh."
Luna glanced one last time at the ceiling before pulling a copy of The Quibbler from her cloak and starting to read it sideways. Terry rolled his eyes and turned back to his food, briefly glancing along the table to Morag and Lisa. The latter glared at him before turning back to talk to a couple of third years.
As the feast ended and Professor Dumbledore sent them off to bed, the Great Hall was filled with the scraping of benches and loud, excited conversation. Padma, Terry and Anthony headed up towards the Common Room, passing Penelope Clearwater who was talking to the new Ravenclaws at the bottom of the marble staircase.
"What's the password?" Padma asked as they eventually reached the bronze eagle.
Terry and Anthony shrugged. They stood at the statue for a minute or so, waiting for someone who knew the password to appear. A couple of third year girls emerged from the stairs, talking animatedly.
"Excuse me," Padma said politely, "do you know the password?"
"Do you know it, Cho?" the girl with curly, reddish-brown hair asked her friend.
"Librus," Cho replied kindly, brushing her long black hair out of her eyes and watching as the bronze eagle swung backwards. "Come on, Marietta. One of the others has brought some Butterbeer in from home and I want to get at least one bottle to celebrate being back."
Padma stepped aside to let Cho and Marietta pass before entering the Ravenclaw Common Room and breathing in the rich, musty smell of books that made her feel like she was home. She sat down in her favourite seat by the fire and crossed her legs underneath her, gazing into the flames.
"Aren't you going to bed?" Terry asked as he sat on the sofa.
Padma shook her head.
"I thought I might read for a bit. How about you, Anthony?"
Anthony pushed his glasses back up his nose and smiled weakly.
"I think I'll go up to bed," he said quickly. "Goodnight."
With that, he disappeared up the stairs. Padma shrugged and picked up a book from the table next to her, a tome titled The Ancient History of Magic. As soon as she started to read, there was a burst of excited chatter as Penelope and another of the Prefects brought the first years into the Common Room for the first time.
"It doesn't feel like it's been a year, does it?"
Terry shook his head, watching as the first years gazed around the room in awe. Luna Lovegood trailed behind the rest of the group. She knelt on the floor and lifted a corner of one of the rugs, peering underneath it. This caused her classmates to giggle and point until Penelope hushed them. She seemed to be unaware of the stares and instead merely drifted up the girls' staircase behind them.
"She's a bit…strange," Terry commented.
"I'd say quirky," Padma said with a smile. "I think with her around, things will never be dull."
Terry looked as though he was about to say something but stopped when Mandy and Lisa entered the Common Room. Mandy looked at him, seeming both angry and upset and stepped forward.
"Mandy," Terry started. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to…"
"Of course you meant to!" Mandy said, her lower lip trembling. "Just…" she faltered again. "Just…just leave me alone, Terry."
With that she turned on her heel and stalked up to the dormitory, Lisa in tow. Lisa paused on the bottom step and glared at Terry for a moment. She obviously wanted to say something but was unable to. Instead she shook her head and disappeared after Mandy.
"I'm doomed," Terry said finally. "They both hate me."
"It seems that way," Padma said truthfully, carefully closing her book. "They'll be alright in the end, Terry. Just don't do anything else to upset them, okay?"
Terry nodded glumly. Padma smiled weakly and got up from her chair.
"It'll be alright, Terry."
"Goodnight."
Padma headed over to the girls' staircase and paused on the same step as Lisa had.
"Night, Terry."
Before she headed up to the dormitory that first night back, the last thing she saw was Terry sitting before the fireplace, staring into the flames. He looked utterly miserable.