2 - The Road Goes Ever On And On

One little memory couldn't hurt, right? Maybe it would help... if she thought about something harmless. Not too happy not too sad. An ordinary memory of a normal day. That wouldn't harm anyone, right? And after all... she didn't want to actually forget about her godfather. She would have to start thinking about him – about all of this – eventually. Why not start now? Something ordinary... something normal... something...

...

Haley didn't want to say good bye to her godfather. The thought of leaving him behind at the one place he loathed the most (well... aside from Azkaban) simply didn't seem right.
'He won't be alone, though,' Hermione had said, when Haley had told her about her worries. Which was true, of course. Still, Haley had a bad feeling about Sirius staying at Grimmauld Place and closing himself off from the world. Therefore she made sure to talk to him before they had to leave for school.

"You'll write, won't you?" She said, watching his eyes searchingly.

"Sure," he muttered, "if you want me to…" He wasn't meeting her eyes and the grin on his face was more than half-hearted. Haley felt a pang in her heart at the sight of it.

"Good. Because I do want you to."

Sirius nodded to the floor.

"At least once a week," Haley insisted. Sirius snorted at that. He still wasn't looking at her, but his grin looked a tiny bit more genuine.

"I'm serious," the girl threatened sternly.

"No, kid, that's me," Sirius said, with a laugh. He looked up at her finally.

"You can't be serious," Haley retorted, grinning madly.

"Oh, stop it with those lame jokes already," her godfather said, still laughing softly.

"Seriously?"

"Haley! I said stop!" He laughed and Haley decided, she'd mocked him enough. Too late, because now he was taking revenge on her by messing up her hair.

"Sirius!" She exclaimed, swatting his hands away.

"That's me," Sirius stated with one raised eyebrow.

"Haley, it's time!" Mrs Weasley called from the hall. That was enough to sober them up.

"Don't forget to write," Haley whispered, taking a step toward her godfather and hugging him around his middle.

"I won't," he whispered back and returned the embrace.

"Now!"

Reluctantly Haley pulled away.

"Well then..." She said, turning around and leaving quietly.

"Keep out of trouble!" Sirius called back. Haley turned just in time to see him raise his hand and giving a little wave.

"No promises," she replied with a grin. Then she waved at him one last time and walked out of the kitchen.

…

A few hours later Haley found herself sitting inside a compartment aboard the Hogwarts Express with Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom and a girl called Luna Lovegood. Or was it Loony? She wasn't completely sure. Ginny, who Haley normally got along with fine, was acting strangely. She acted overly cheerful and kept looking to the compartment door. Was she expecting someone? Haley, too, found her eyes straying toward said door unusually often. It made her nervous that she was riding the Hogwarts Express without either Ron or Hermione. That had never happened before! And that was the only reason of course.

"Who are the two of you waiting for?" A dreamy voice asked into the silence. Ginny and Haley both jumped at the same time.

"Ron and Hermione," Ginny stated without hesitating, at the same as Haley said,

"No one! I mean, of course Ron… Hermione." Haley laughed awkwardly, desperately hoping no one had noticed her near-slip-up. For a moment everyone eyed her suspiciously. Then they looked away from her again but Haley could swear she'd seen the Luna girl grin in a knowing way and raise one eyebrow behind the magazine she'd been reading the whole time. What had that been about? Well, anyway, Haley had to try and calm down, if she wanted to survive the ride. She had no reason to feel this anxious, she was after all waiting for Hermione and Ron. Who else? There was no one else for her to wait for. No one. Not even-

"Haley?"

She turned her head to Neville who was sitting on her left side. For a moment she saw concern in his eyes.

"Are you-?" He started to ask, but then his eyes fell onto her lap.

"Merlin, that's Morgana! That one is still missing in my collection. Would… would you trade it?"

Haley grinned. She knew for a fact, that Neville already had plenty of Morganas. But she appreciated the effort he made, instead of asking her whether she was all right. She must have heard that question at least a hundred times already!

"Sure. Why not? I'll trade her with… Agrippa."

"Cool," Neville exclaimed, grinning in return. Haley looked excitedly at her new chocolate frog card. What would Ron say to that? He'd been looking for this one since they'd been tiny little first years! Perhaps it was better to keep this to herself for now. Without wasting another moment she shoved the card into her jeans pocket.

That's when the door opened. Haley and Ginny simultaneously turned to the door in a way that almost seemed like it was choreographed.

"Hi, Haley! Neville!" Parvati Patil's head greeted. She waved cheerily and looked around the compartment curiously. Her head was followed by Lavender Brown's who was waving as well.

"Hey guys," Lavender said, "aren't Ron and Hermione with you?" She frowned.

"Oh, those two are sitting with the other new prefects," Luna informed her.

"Oh." Lavender eyed her confusedly for a second like she had only just noticed the Ravenclaw.

"Right. Well, we just wanted to say hi. See you later, everyone!" Parvati said, waving one more time, before she pulled her friend further along.

"That was Padma's sister." Luna informed them. Then she turned back to her magazine again.

Haley was very tempted to say "Duh!". But she overcame the urge. She was already starting to like Luna. The Ravenclaw was surprisingly… refreshing.

The four were only given a short moment to catch themselves because just a few minutes later the door opened again.

This time though, Haley made an effort not to turn her head in a crazy manner. Instead, she turned her head slowly and with more dignity. For a second her eyes stopped at Ginny's expression of surprise and – was she blushing?

Then finally her eyes landed on the door, where none other than Michael Corner was standing, looking as surprised as she felt. Haley was already prepared for her heart to either stop or start pounding madly. It did neither. All her heart did was stutter slightly, before marching on as if nothing extraordinary had happened. As if it suddenly was okay. And shockingly Haley found that it was.

"I didn't know – I thought – I shouldn't –" Michael started to say.

Haley chuckled. He was just a boy. After all she had gone through lately… She was certain she could deal with a boy.

"Hi Michael," she greeted, waving him over, "Why don't you come in for a moment?"

"Wh-what?" He looked like she had suggested, he jump out of the window or something.

"Come in for a moment." Haley didn't know why it was so important to her. Why she wouldn't just let this go. Maybe it was something she had to prove to herself. That she could hold a normal conversation with him. That this was no big deal. And maybe she was also mildly interested why Ginny was inspecting her fingernails so carefully.

When Haley raised one eyebrow at Michael in a challenging way, he seemed to awake from his stupor.

"S-sure," he said, taking a tentative step inside and then walking more confidently. After a little moment of looking around awkwardly, he sat down across from Haley and Neville, next to Luna.

"You know Luna, of course," Haley said cheerfully, gesturing toward her.

"Yeah, we're – we're in the same house," Michael said to the window. Luna eyed him curiously over her magazine. But she didn't say anything.

"So..." Haley started, clapping her hands together once and successfully turning the attention toward her.

"So..." Michael echoed. Haley bit her lips. This was surprisingly amusing.

"How was your summer, Michael?" The raven-haired girl asked, trying to make her voice sound earnest.

"Oh, well, the usual, I guess. Met up with Anthony and Terry. We're working on this really cool potion at the moment. I told you about that, remember," he grinned, glancing at Ginny for a second. She didn't meet his eyes or anyone else's for that matter.

"Anyway," Michael continued, "everything's kind of messed up, now right? After Cedric… and everything. Nothing will ever be the same..." There was silence for a moment.

"Yeah." Haley said finally. Michael looked up at her then. And what Haley saw there in his face made her realize a few things. He had known Cedric, too. Well, him and Cedric had been rivals but still... Haley imagined he felt even worse because of that. Overall he seemed somewhat lost. A little lost, a little sad.. and also... scared. They were all in the same boat now. Suddenly Haley felt bad for the way she had almost enjoyed his discomfort earlier.

"Look, Michael, I'm-"

For the third time the door was opened and finally, finally Ron and Hermione entered the compartment. It was incredible how enormously relieved Haley felt at the sight of them.

"Man, I'm hungry! I never thought this whole prefect thing would be this – Hermione, why'd you stop walking?"

Hermione had walked halfway into the compartment, effectively blocking Ron's vision.

"Hermione. Hermi-" Ron stopped himself, as he finally caught a glimpse of the person that had made Hermione halt in her steps. It was silent for a few seconds. Then Ron started to shout.

"What the hell is that bloody Raven-"

"Ron!" Ginny, who hadn't said a word since Michael's arrival, was speaking up now.

"Ginny?"

Ron only stared at his sister in wonder, that's how surprised he was at hearing her raised voice.

Ginny glared back defiantly. Nobody dared get between the two siblings.

Finally someone quietly cleared their throat. Everyone looked around, trying to make out the source of the noise.

"I should get back to my compartment now," Michael said, smiling softly at the floor.

For a second Ginny looked, like she wanted to say something, but Michael had already got up from his seat.

"It was… good to see you," he said, meeting Haley's eyes for a second. Then he waved at everyone one last time and hurried out of the door past Ron and Hermione.

"What was he doing here?" Ron wanted to know, as soon as he'd sat down next to Neville.

"I think he wanted to talk to her," Luna mused, putting her magazine down, "But he wasn't comfortable doing that with everyone around."

"What? Who are you?" Ron asked, noticing the Ravenclaw only now.

"Luna," the girl simply stated, pulling up her magazine again.

"W-wait, shouldn't you return the question? That's not polite..."

Hermione snorted. Haley couldn't suppress a snigger herself. Ron? Calling someone out on their lack of politeness? That was... kind of hypocritical. If nothing else.

"I know who you are," Luna said without looking up from her magazine, "You're Ginny's brother."

When Ron looked to his sister for help, she simply shrugged, before chuckling in amusement as well.

With a sour expression on his face Ron looked around the compartment. Nobody would meet his eyes. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. Haley bit her lips, trying to keep from giggling. Her friend was simply too funny when he was annoyed.

Then his eyes fell onto Neville's lap.

"Morgana again?" He asked, "How many does that make now?"

"I – what? What are you-" Neville looked to Haley sheepishly. She shook her head, chuckling,

"It's fine, Neville, I knew you already had that card."

"You did?"

Haley nodded.

"Oh." Neville looked at his fingers, "I guess you caught me," he chuckled.

"Caught him? What does he mean you caught him?" Ron asked.

"It was nothing really, I -"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the golden girl and her Gryffindumb friends."

Haley froze. She hadn't even heard the door opening. Without wanting to, she turned her head, taking as much time as she could before she would have to face him.

Polished leather boots. Shiny, black robes. Hands hidden – probably folded – behind the back. Regal posture. Puffed out chest. Two badges gleaming there on the left side. One green, with a snake, that curled around a sharp S. The other more simple – a proud P right in the middle.

The chin was as pointy as ever. Smirk in place. Nose up in the air. Blond – almost white – gelled-back hair. And then the eyes. Glimmering with something – but no. She shivered at the coldness they emanated.

"How does it feel… not being the chosen one for once, Potter?" Draco Malfoy asked cruelly, looking straight into Haley's eyes. It was clear he was talking about the fact that she hadn't been chosen as a prefect.

"Well… I guess that way, I'll have more time for quidditch practice. I'll make sure to kick you off your broomstick like always. Don't worry." Haley met his hard gaze head on.

Malfoy scoffed. "Is that all you got, Potter? Pathetic." He said that with such depreciation, that Haley almost looked away. But she knew this game. Had played it countless times before. And more importantly, she knew that it wasn't real. That it was just a mask, that he wore in front of everyone else. She wouldn't let herself back down because of a few cruel words.

She smiled. "Ah, but that's just the thing, Malfoy. I've come to think, that… childish games and petty fighting… that's so lame. I'm ready to leave pathetic things like these in the past now."

Malfoy laughed on a contrived way. "Wait, you're not seriously trying to tell me, you're too old now to have a little friendly fun with an old...acquaintance?"

"I think you must have misunderstood, Malfoy. There's absolutely nothing wrong with friendly fun. But I'm afraid, nothing that involves you could ever deserve to be called either friendly or fun and you see, there are only few instances in which I would mistake a ferret for an acquaintance."

The ferret thing got him every single time. Haley could see it in the way his jaw hardened or the way his gaze seemed to turn several degrees colder.

"Ha ha. You think you're so funny, Potter. You think the whole bloody world kneels at your feet just because you have that atrocious scar on your face. Well, wake up, Potter," he raised an eyebrow scornfully, "You're just an average, little girl with no parents and lots of imagination that people used to feel pity for. And now… now that's over, too."

Haley balled her hands to fists. No matter how much safer he felt behind that mask, there was no need for him to be this relentlessly cruel. She jumped to her feet. There was no way she was going to sit there and let herself be insulted in such a way. Painfully slowly she walked up to him until the distance between their faces was no bigger than the length of her wand. Haley knew what she'd say next would be just as cruel as Malfoy's words had been.

"That's not really what a girl likes to hear."

W-wait. She hadn't meant to say that. But that made sense, since she hadn't actually said it. Luna had.

Everyone turned to the girl. And that's when Haley noticed four things. One, Ron and Ginny respectively had drawn their wands and were threateningly pointing them at Malfoy. Two, Hermione had stood from her seat as well, her mouth was hanging open, as if she had been about to say something nasty. Three, Neville was gripping a plant that kind of looked like a cactus and was pointing something thin and sharp at it. And four, maybe the most curious of them all, Malfoy had staggered back in surprise after hearing Luna speak and was silently forming the word you with only his lips.

What the actual hell was going on?

"I – I didn't mean to –" Malfoy stuttered. The Ravenclaw wasn't even looking up from her magazine.

"My mother always said," she continued, "that people who say mean things to others often have a problem with themselves." She looked up at him finally, raising one eyebrow.

"I could be wrong, but… I think that you're one of those people who –"

"I don't have the time to concern myself with such childish theories. I'll see you lot, soon enough," he sneered, "We're leaving."

It was only then that Haley spotted the two bulky figures, without whom Malfoy never went anywhere, waiting outside the compartment.

The Slytherin left their compartment and marched away without a glance back.

It was like waking up from a trance. Haley turned back to the others but remained standing there for a moment, blinking at the window absently. She had the uncomfortable feeling that everyone's eyes were on her.

An unnaturally loud smack made her and everyone else jump out of their daze.

Luna had closed her magazine with more force than was necessary.

"I'm done with this," she muttered putting the magazine away and proceeding to look out of the window. Haley wasn't sure what exactly she meant that she was done with but she didn't bother pondering about it further. She noticed that most of the attention was diverted from her now. Slowly almost cautiously, Haley squeezed herself in next to Hermione, although there was barely any space left. She needed her friend near now. Needed a little comfort. Malfoy's eyes and everything he'd said, had felt too real to her. Had it been real? No, she couldn't let herself even think that.

She needed to believe it had been just the mask. She needed to. Although she wasn't quite sure exactly why it was that important to her. Like she had done so many times before, she found the small paper note inside the pocket of her sweat shirt, that she began to fold to a tight ball. There was a warm hand on top of hers, squeezing gently in quiet support. Haley looked up to see Hermione smiling at her gently.

"Don't let his petty words bother you," she whispered, "He's just… a spoiled, little boy."

And Hermione was right. He was just a boy. Haley had dealt with far worse than that.

She could handle a boy.

Inside her pocket, she stopped crumpling the note angrily. Instead, she let it rest softly in her palm.

…

A/N: Hello! My dear readers. It's been a while, right? Well, I'll have you know that I'm doing an internship at the moment and it's super time consuming! Some advice: Never do an internship at a theatre if you're not passionate about theatre. And don't do it just before a premiere!
And yay ! I finished my term paper, so... more time for me :)

What did you think of the chapter? I know, I'm evil because I'm keeping our two main characters apart for so long... But it'll be all the better once they actually get their acts together!
What do you think Haley will use the chocolate frog card for?

Aaand before I forget, I have to tell you how much it means to read your reviews and to know that you're reading and favouriting this ! Thank you so much! You're truly awesome :)

Title is from the poem "The road goes ever on and on" by Tolkien.
I recently finished "Trials of Apollo" by Rick Riordan. And it was awesome! Any PJO fans here?

Anyway, I'll see you soon, everyone! Have fun as always
Feather :)

edit (May,1st,2017): Cedric and Michael are not in the same house! I fixed that.