"Sweetheart…" Eliza, Grace's personal house elf, broke Bella's thoughts and brought her back to the reality that they were going to be leaving shortly and she had to get all of her stuff together.
"Yea Liza?" Grace asked not even looking up from her cauldron which she was checking to make sure all of her potions supplies were all inside.
"Edgar wanted to know which car you wanted for the ride there so that he can polish it up" Edgar was Grace's driver and was very protective of his employer so he rarely ever let her drive anywhere. Grace rolled her eyes and told Eliza that which ever Edgar chose would be fine. Eliza thanked her and told the girls to be ready to leave in about half an hour. Bella felt the hangover being lifted from her body and turned to see Grace with wand raised.
"I felt bad, couldn't let you suffer anymore." Grace laughed as Bella threw her pillow at Grace and then returned to packing. Grace was always coming up with useful spells to cure the average teenage maladies and the hangover remover was one that was used on her friend quite often. The girls finished packing and three of the house elves carried down their belongings. Just as they were entering the car Bella noticed a small tear roll down Grace's cheek. She knew better than to ask what was wrong, she had been thinking it too. She didn't know why it hurt them so much that their parents weren't there to say goodbye, but it did. She wrapped her arm around her friend and whispered "Let's go home"
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Grace and Bella said goodbye to Edgar as they pulled into the parking lot at King's Cross. Eliza would be accompanying Grace to Hogwarts and would stay on as a member of the house elf staff. No one knew how Grace had managed to get Dumbledore to allow Eliza to stay with them, but her friends were sure it was just another secret that she had boarded up inside of her. They crossed through the barrier at platform nine and three quarters with their trunks on a trolley which Eliza insisted on pushing. As soon as they passed through the same warm feeling was beginning to stir in Grace's stomach that had aroused earlier. The Hogwarts Express stood before her, in all of its glory ready to take them back. She stole a look around and saw all the Hogwarts students looking bored and embarrassed as their moms gave them a kiss or their dads gave them a handshake while pulling them into a hug.
"I would kill for that". Grace whispered to herself as she snuck out a tiny silver flask from the pocket of her coat and took a long sip, after a quick toast to the school year that was about to start.
"Wow mate couldn't even wait until we made it onto the train?" Grace was startled at the voice that was coming from behind her, but recognized it instantly. She turned and their was another member of the Fab 5, the horrible nickname Grace and her friends had been given during their third year. Charolette Emma Hanover, better known as Emma, stood there with a sly smile on her face arms stretched wide waiting for her friend to enter them. They had seen each other the night before, but the five of them apart for more than six hours was something that none of them liked to do. Emma had recovered nicely from the night before, but Grace vaguely remembered her being to busy with her boyfriend last night to do much drinking. Grace stepped back and looked at her friend. Her hair, beautiful and her deep brown hair was thrown up in a pony tail and her 5'2 fame was covered in tight ripped jeans and a lace tank top that showed off her curves. Emma was the socialite of the group. She was a relative of the Queen (not many knew that half of the Queen's family was magical but the lineage could be placed to the beginning of the Windsor rule) She enjoyed going to the parties thrown by her parents and their friends and could not wait to marry her rich boyfriend Thomas and start a family. She fit the cliché of dumb-blonde perfectly, all she needed was the hair to match her personality, and she didn't care. She had been betrothed to her boyfriend since she was five and never had to work at anything. To her life was easy, and anything or anyone that got in the way of that easiness was just not important to her.
"I decided to get a head start on the Marauders party, a really good head start. Don't look at me like that, you know you want some." Grace, Bella, and Emma started to laugh, and continued to laugh as girls do as the last two members of their group walked up to them.
"Want to share with the rest of us?" Riley ó Briain (O'Brien) questioned as her and Lily approached the group.
"Bella is probably making fun of that poor first years outfit Riles." Lily Evans laughed as she pointed to a first year dressed in striped suspenders. "Poor kid, he better get on the train before the boys see him" The group laughed as the five pulled one another into a hug and squeezed tight, like they hadn't seen each other in weeks. Lily pulled back first and fixed her jean mini skirt, and ran a hand through her red hair. She then proceeded to fix a fly away strand atop of Riley's dirty blonde head. Lily had on a respectable green sweater on that had just a bit two low-cut in the front. 99 of her clothing had a little bit of green in it seeing as how the color brought out her pale skin and deep emerald eyes. Lily had a temper and wasn't afraid to show it, even if it meant on the other girls. Lily hated having money. She, like their friend Sirius believed that inherited money was a joke. They hadn't done anything to earn it so why should they reap the benefits of it. Lily had accepted it was her way of life and just went with it for now, but as soon as she graduated and got herself a job she vowed to never use her family's money…except for emergencies.
"Sweetheart you couldn't have changed?" Emma laughed as she took in Riley's appearance. The 5'1 wild child was still in her clothes from the night before; a tight, hot pink, custom made Chanel dress with tall black Jimmy Choo stilettos. The outfit paired with her tanned skin and a pair of Prada sunglasses made her look like a Barbie, and she knew it. Riley was the girl who didn't give a damn. Her family came from a long line of Irish nobles and she could care less about living up to her family's high standards. They didn't care about coming home to see her at their summer house in England, why should she care about pleasing them. All she cared about was having a good time. Although she was fifth in the class, behind only Lily, Grace, Sirius, and James, she hated school. She had no idea what she wanted to do at the end of next year and frankly didn't care. To her life was too short to think about any day but the present.
"You're lucky I even made it here to the train. I passed out in James' pool house last night, and Lily here was the only one concerned enough about me to look for me." Riley put on her pout that could make anyone agree with her or do what she wanted, except for her friends.
"Shut up and let's get on the train, and get you changed you look like a wreck." Bella pushed her friend towards the train and the rest followed. They were a beautiful group of girls who truly did care for one another. They all had twisted and fucked up lives but that was fine, that had each other. But each one kept their secrets. There were secrets about family, crushes, insecurities, and so much more. They each had their own web of lives that was perfectly constructed; one false move ad their whole lives could unravel.