Hello lovely! Thank you for reading my story.

CP Coulter and JK Rowling own everything.

I own my tumblr, which is flightofdeathfrench.

This will begin at the end of the summer right before Second Year. :)

Chapter 6

"Come on." Logan's fingertips brushed against Cal's as he stepped out of the car, and he glanced at the boy, and Logan flashed him a smile that went unreturned. "Julian said he might meet us somewhere here." Us. He said 'us' just because he didn't want to be rude, didn't want to be the reason Cal left, though Logan knew very well that Cal would leave, would run off the minute they got to Diagon Alley, because that was what he'd said he'd do.

He looked up at the Leaky Cauldron and sighed. So finally he was going back to the magical world, back to Julian, and Derek, and his friends…

Cal was nice, but Cal was confusing and he didn't like Logan anymore.

Logan I want to be your good friend.

Logan do you want to be my good friend?

Logan it's okay to do this.

Logan don't be scared.

Logan we're fine, we're just experimenting.

Logan get away from me.

Logan we should just be friends.

Logan I don't like this.

Logan I decided I don't want to do that anymore.

Logan when we get to Hogwarts don't talk to me please.

Here they were at Diagon Alley and Cal was about to ditch Logan like he'd promised.

Logan had mixed feelings about this (sad because he liked Cal and happy because Cal was being so cold to him), but he was about to see Julian and so it was maybe alright.

.

"Logan!" Julian called, waving and smiling. Logan saw him and rushed over to where Julian was standing with his mum. Mr. Wright trailed Logan, looking around for anyone interesting to talk to, an excuse to ditch Logan just like Cal had.

"Hey, Jules!" Logan exclaimed, forgetting for a moment that this was Julian and throwing his arms around the brunet for a big hug.

Julian took a moment to hug back, he was shocked and surprised, not unpleasantly, but then he hugged back and just figured maybe Logan was one of those touchy-feely kinds of people.

Mr. Wright cleared his throat way louder than was necessary and Julian's mum kind of shuffled. "We'd better get going, Logan," Mr. Wright said loudly, grabbing Logan's shirt and pulling Logan away from Julian.

Logan was blushing, having realized exactly what he was doing. "Can I go shopping with Julian?" he asked, a little worried now, what if Julian didn't want to walk around with him anymore, after the hug…?

That had made Cal mad.

"Can he please?" Julian begged, and Logan let out a long breath. Relief flooded through his body; so Julian wasn't angry at him. He wasn't mad that Logan had hugged him.

Mr. Wright sighed, and looked to Ms. Larson. "Is that alright with you?"

"Of course." Dolce smiled brightly and said, "We'll meet you in the Leaky Cauldron around 2."

Logan beamed at Julian, who beamed back.

"Happy late birthday!" Julian exclaimed suddenly, as Mr. Wright walked away. "You're finally twelve like me!" He grinned lopsidedly at Logan and Logan grinned back.

"Thanks. And thanks for the present."

"You're welcome. It wasn't as good as yours but I thought you could use it…" Julian dug his toe into the crack between two light gray cobblestones. It had actually been more of a joke than anything real, because Julian couldn't think of what Logan might want. He'd gotten him Wizard's Chess: Strategies and Tips On Improving Your Game.

"Well!" Ms. Larson clapped her hands brightly. "Do you have your money, Logan?"

"Yeah." Logan held up a little string bag that jingled with coins.

"Perfect. I have the second year list here…" She handed it to Julian, who moved so he and Logan could both see it.

"I have a few errands to run," Ms. Larson said, glancing around, as if distracted. "So would you two be alright alone? Just stick together, I'm sure you won't get lost, and remember to be at the Leaky Cauldron at 2."

Without even waiting for a response, she was gone, whisked away by the bustling crowd of witches and wizards and Julian and Logan's schoolmates.

The blond and brunet looked at each other, a little unsure of what to do. They'd spent nine months at Hogwarts without their parents, yes, but now…they were in the busy world and their parents were nowhere in sight. This was at once frightening and exciting.

Logan was the first to get over the fright and he squealed. "Let's go buy everything and then we can get food!"

Julian smiled. "Okay. We have to get all these books…how are we going to carry them?"

"We can do it! We're strong! We're guys! We're manly!" (He was desperate.) Logan made a muscle and Julian laughed.

"Okay first we have to get our books…" Julian sighed and looked down at the list. "Let's go."

.

"I won't see you for awhile, not until next summer…" Derek stared into Hilary's eyes and raised his eyebrows, daring her to ask him where he was going.

"What are you going?" she asked.

"Far away," Derek said, wishing he could tell her where and why and what and how. "I'll be back next summer, though, I promise."

"You aren't going to school?" she asked, eyes wide and hurt.

Derek shook his head. "I am going to school…" He propped himself up on his elbow in the soft grass in her backyard. "I'm going away to boarding school. Like last year."

She bit her lip. "Then I won't have any friends at my school," she said sadly, chin quivering. "I thought you would be my friend."

"We are friends!" Derek insisted.

"But Derek…I don't have any friends there. At school. I just moved here in June, I never even went to that school, and I don't know anyone but you, and I thought you and I could go to school together and you could help me make friends because I don't know anyone…" She sniffed, tears welling in her eyes.

"Hey…" Derek put an arm on her shoulder, face apologetic and sad. "I wish I could come to your school but my parents send me away."

"Will you call me? Write to me?" Her eyes filled with hope now, at this thought that maybe they could still talk, but Derek knew that neither calling nor writing letters was an option. Hogwarts didn't have phones and the postal service didn't visit the castle.

"I can't," he said, worried that she might see the tears that were threatening to come to his own eyes.

"You…can't?" she looked confused.

"No, I'm sorry, phones aren't allowed at the school I go to and it's so in the middle of nowhere that we can't write letters." He hoped she'd believe this.

She did.

"I'll miss you," she said sadly.

He looked at her – at Hilary, at his first love, and for the first time in his life he wished he could be a muggle.

.

"Do you see Derek?" Logan asked apprehensively, eyes scanning the crowd.

"Nah." Julian was looking too, but Derek was nowhere to be found. The train whistle blew, and Julian and Logan were forced to say goodbye to their mother and father and then get on the Hogwarts Express. Just as the platform was clearing out because all the students were getting onto the train, and they were beginning to really worry, Derek showed up, bursting through the barrier and running pell-mell toward the train. He climbed on, disappearing from view, and a second later showed up at the compartment where Julian and Logan were sitting waiting for him.

"Where were you?" Logan demanded, eyebrows meeting over his nose, glaring with bright green eyes.

"Hilary wanted to come with me to King's Cross and I-" he was panting "-couldn't say no to her, to her, so I had to…" He looked out at the platform as it slid from view. "I had to sneak away from her in the station, say I was going to the toilet… My parents are probably telling her right now that my train must have come and I had to leave without saying good-bye…" He sniffed and didn't say anything more.

Julian and Logan glanced at each other, concerned, but they let it drop for the time being, and engaged Derek in conversation about what their plans for the year were and how Derek would of course still be great at Quidditch.