Chapter 5 – Crash

September 1st 2019: Molly

As soon as Seb left the carriage, Max moved away from where he'd had me trapped between the window and his left leg. I scowled at him, rubbing my left thigh which had gone numb from the pressure of my skin against the wall. He smiled at me, trying to look apologetic, but failed miserably, his gloating grin glowing under his crooked smile.

"What are you smirking at?"

It came out a little harsher than I'd hoped and my best friend seemed a little shocked at the tone of my voice. He opened his mouth like a fish before deciding that shutting it would probably be the best option.

"I told you he was nice, didn't I? I said that Slytherins aren't all evil but did you listen? Of course you didn't."

I felt a bit like a mother, scolding her children for jumping on the beds and hurting themselves. All three of them looked to the floor, the same spot where Seb's shoes had left a small imprint of mud as he left. I sighed and pulled my feet up to tuck them underneath my body, creating a small barrier between me and Max.

"So, come on then. What was the smirk for?" I stared at him as harshly as I could, trying to imitate Aunt Ginny's 'death glare', as Al and Lily called it. He held my gaze for a few seconds before looking down to the fabric of the seat. He turned so he was facing me, and wrapped his arms around his knees which he had pulled up to his chest before resting his chin on his arm.

"You're reading too much into it. He doesn't like you, Mol," he began, his voice softer than usual, the comments only for my ears. He sounded so condescending that I'm fairly sure that the death glare stayed glued to my face. I knew he didn't mean to sound so rude, he was too wholly nice to ever be like that, but it still hurt. "He looked like we were something from under his shoe. He just wants to get you into bed, Molly."

The mere suggestion made me feel ill and I let a disbelieving gasp escape me. I was speechless at this stupid attack on a guy they'd known for barely an hour. I struggled with words for a moment before untucking my feet and crossing my legs instead, my arms imitating the action.

"You are being ridiculous, Max," I snapped. He looked at me totally unapologetically and shared a look with Anna, who shrugged. "You can pack it in as well," I told her with a glare.

Both of these supposed best friends had no idea what they were talking about. It was like they thought I was suddenly going to drop them and turn into a Slytherin, or dump Harrison for this stranger. Chances were that I was never going to see him again after today, so why were they making such a big fuss? I told them that and they all looked a little ashamed of themselves. Satisfied, I pulled out my mother's copy of 'A Picture of Dorian Gray' and began to read in silence, ignoring any looks my friends cast at each other or me.

The train journey seemed to last forever, each hour passing more painstakingly slowly than the previous. I finished my book with around an hour and a half to go of the journey. Anna had fallen asleep against Nina's shoulder; the latter was looking decidedly uncomfortable with the position. Max was staring menacingly at a tear in his jeans as though doing so would patch it up. I slipped my book into my bag.

"How was Mia?" Nina whispered across the compartment, worried that she'd wake Anna up if she spoke any louder. I frowned at her. How would I know how Mia was? I'd not seen her since the middle of August. She looked to Max with a pointed look that matched my own confusion.

"You left to see Mia just before the Slytherin sex god turned up," he continued for her at the same time that I remembered why I'd left.

I stammered for a second and then said nothing. Tactfully, for once, the others didn't let anything escape their mouths either, and nor did they exchange disapproving glances.

"Harrison's fine, Mol," Max said after a few minutes' pause. I looked to him gratefully. "He'll be back before you know it. He'll understand."

I knew what he was getting at, but I still felt insanely guilty that my preoccupation with myself had meant that my boyfriend was alone at a time like this, not even a letter of comfort from his girlfriend. His grandmother was a lovely woman, eighty-three and losing it a little but she liked me and the feeling was mutual. I was curious to know the details that I knew my letter would have held. A few days and he'd be back, and I could apologise in person and find out everything as I let him cry on my shoulder.

"We should get changed." Anna's voice shocked all of us, as she eased her head from Nina's shoulder and rubbed her neck with a groan of fatigue. We all nodded and pulled our robes over our heads. My mind flitted back to Seb Becker, the way he'd scanned my clothes approvingly. It should have made me feel self-conscious and exposed, but instead I felt nervous and a little pleased that I'd gained that attention from someone as attractive as him. My daydream must have been obvious because as I snapped out of it, the others were all staring at me, their faces a mixture of concern and distaste.

"Sorry," I said, meaning it for everything. They knew that and all murmured 'It's okay' or, 'No problem.' I felt better, knowing that they were there, and when Max's arm snaked around my shoulders again, and I leant into the embrace, I felt at home once more.

--

The train pulled to a halt with the four of us back to normal. I saw the flash of red that belonged to Mia gathering the younger students to send them on to the boats with Hagrid, who was also bellowing, as usual, from the other end of the platform. We weaved in and out of the smaller pupils, and I spotted my two cousins talking animatedly to the half-giant. We grabbed a carriage and piled in.

The ride was bumpy and my stomach growled angrily. I clutched it tightly, trying to shut it up, sure that it was louder than the wheels of the compartment hitting the potholes in the track up to the front of the school. We clambered out and into the warmth of the castle. I couldn't help but smile as the elegance of the building once again took my breath away.

I knew that when my parents made the journey to the school for the anniversary of the battle, they said it wasn't the same, that it had lost a little of its magic but, to me, the place was perfect. We said goodbye to Nina, who headed over to the Ravenclaw table, and Max escorted me and Anna down the aisle between the two benches. I couldn't help but note that he'd chosen to seat us with our backs to the Slytherin table and I scowled a little at his immaturity.

We chatted for a while to those classmates we hadn't seen, smiling and laughing. The remaining teachers came in, Hagrid included with a big smile on his face. The Headmaster called for silence as the doors to the Great Hall swung open. Professor Elkins, the Charms teacher, walked in, the forty or so eleven-year-olds following him with frightened and awe filled expressions on their faces. I saw my cousins, less impressed than some other students but nonetheless extremely happy, at the front of the line. They all lined up neatly at the front.

I cast a glance to the Gryffindor table where James and Al were sat, eagerly awaiting their sister's sorting. I turned around a little to see Rose, who was sat at the end of the Ravenclaw table, just as full of anticipation as her closest cousins. She caught my eye and smiled broadly as the deputy head teacher emerged with the famous three-legged school and the ragged old hat. I grinned back and my eyes, totally coincidentally, fell on someone sat just behind her. He too was facing me, looking straight at me, his eyes burning into my gaze. I shuddered and turned back around before he could enchant me again with the smirk that pulled at his lips and his eyelashes that he looked up under with round eyes. My heart was beating twice as fast as normal and I became more conscious about whether or not people would notice. My reverie was broken by a loud applause that signalled the end of the Hat's song, then, "Arkwright, Jessica," was called up to the stool and my heart settled back down to its normal pace.

Well, it did for a whole eighty-eight seconds, because after the Arkwright girl and a boy called Banbury were both sorted into Gryffindor, Elkins announced that, "Becker, Stephen," should take his place under the Sorting Hat. My head swivelled to cast a look to Seb once again. He wasn't looking at me anymore but was instead focused solely on the tall blond boy who was sitting upon the stool. The Hat took thirty-four seconds exactly to decide and yelled, "HUFFLEPUFF!" at the top of its lungs. The applause burst from around me, an explosive noise as the child smiled the same smile as his brother and ran down to sit along the opposite bench to me. He cast a happy look up the table, trying to drink in everyone's faces, the whole atmosphere, just as I remember doing on my first day. I tried to catch his eye, but he'd refocused his attention on the front of the Hall and, admitting defeat, I imitated him.

I cursed how slowly the Sorting was moving. There seemed to be a good dozen more children than in my year, and it felt like it too. I sat up straight when they eventually reached, "Potter, Lily," who, without the hat even touching her red hair, was put straight into Gryffindor with her brothers. I watched Hugo look dejected at the front, the fear of being separated from his best friend hurting him like crazy. I saw Seb's brother clapping wildly for Lily's Sorting and began to wonder: surely my cousins couldn't have shared their train journey with him? They couldn't have befriended him, the coincidence was too much.

"Weasley, Hugo."

My head snapped up again, and watched Hugo shakily walk to the stool and sit down. It took decidedly longer than it had for Lily, and I watched my cousin's eyes flicker from the Ravenclaw table, where Rose was sat anxiously, to the Gryffindor table, where Lily was almost out of her seat with excitement. His eyes fell on me for a second and I smiled comfortingly, before he sent a panicked look to the opposite end of the Hall – Slytherin, a fate he feared more than Al had when he came to be Sorted. He looked back to his sister as the hat yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!"

I breathed a sigh of relief and clapped as loudly as my cousins and friends as I watched little Hugo dismount the chair and run to sit beside Lily. I watched James give him a thumbs up from the middle of the table, and Al grin ecstatically. My eyes fell back on the Becker boy, who was clapping enthusiastically once more. I had the urge to turn around, one last look at his brother, but resisted. I waited for, "Wimple, Gretl," to be Sorted, and when she was sent to our table, I noted that Stephen's applause was much less pronounced. I couldn't resist a smile. It couldn't have been more perfect if I'd tried.

The feast was enormous, as usual. I ate until I felt like I'd be sick by just standing up. I scraped the bottom of the bowl for any remains of the apple crumble I'd just demolished and pushed my bowl away in defeat. I watched Max shovel another helping of chocolate fudge cake onto his plate and I had to look away for fear of vomiting over him. Anna was trying to eat profiteroles carefully and failing miserably. I giggled and she cast me an annoyed but nonetheless amused look at me. I looked up to the staff table. The headmistress was talking merrily to the deputy head, Professor Sinistra, who had been teaching when my parents were at school. Sinistra cast a look at her watch and pointed to the podium. The headmistress nodded and rose. She glided like a swan to the podium where she looked down at us and quiet fell over the room like a cloak.

"Welcome, one and all, or welcome back, as the case may be." Professor Graves beamed down at us, her red hair curling down her back. She looked up and down each table and seemed to drink in every person, her calm smile making me seem at ease. "First things first, some staffing changes. We welcome Madam Liliana Dubreuil as matron, as Madam Crook has left us to rejoin Saint Mungos in a higher capacity."

There was a loud round of applause as a young, blonde woman with a sharp nose and arched eyebrows rose and smiled widely at us. I was rather pleased by this news. I'd taken several students up to see Madam Crook when they'd been ill and she had been most irritated to have to treat every single one of them.

"We also welcome Professor Anila Dhaliwal back to us as Transfiguration professor." The headmistress turned to signal for Professor Dhaliwal to stand. A young Indian woman with black hair tied up in a bun rose and smiled. "For those of you who remember, Professor Dhaliwal taught temporarily a number of years ago after the departure of Professor McGonagall, and we welcome her back after her break for research to teach Transfiguration once again."

The steady round of applause went around again and the new teacher blushed and sat back down. Professor Graves listed the rules of the school once again, informing us of how Mr Furmage had been most upset at the mess left by the Weasley Wizard Wheezes fireworks set off at the end of last term and reminded us that the use of the products was banned inside the school. I saw James give Dominique, who was sat with her back to me, a gleeful look before swiftly turning his head back to the front, as if nothing had happened.

"Our Head Boy and Girl this year are Flora Hodges of Hufflepuff and Edward Dillonsby of Ravenclaw," she added, making the two nominees stand up. They blushed and sat back down the instant the raucous applause stopped. "Now, if the Prefects and Head Students could please guide the first-years to their common room, you are free to leave."

There was an almighty bang as the benches were pushed backwards and people scrambled to get out before the onslaught of first-years drowned them. I hung back a little, as usual, to find any waifs and strays that would be left behind. I prayed that the little Becker boy would be lost, but with a quick glance, I saw him right behind our Prefect, Eric, and sighed. I grabbed Anna's hand and we made our way out into the mass of bodies in the Entrance Hall. The Ravenclaws and Gryffindors fought their way up the marble staircase and we ducked and dived through the mass of Slytherins and Hufflepuffs that had opted to congregate out there, partly due to an unwillingness to go to bed, but also to irritate the other houses. I heard a shout of –

"Come on guys! Move along please!" from one of the teachers inside, and there was a surge of people as they fought their way across the hall. Eventually, we saw the staircase down to our common room and we made a dive for it. The stream of people wasn't too heavy as we descended to the lower floor. I heard the exclamations of surprise and amazement as we passed talking paintings or statues that weren't there last year. The flow into the common room was steady, not allowing the portrait to close even for a second.

Most students had headed up to their dorms: a chance to collapse onto their beds and gossip about everything that had happened over summer. We were no exception. It was Anna's turn to be in control now, and she dragged me over to the door leading round to the girls' dormitories. We scrambled through the barrel top door and down the corridor lit by candle brackets in the shape of badger heads. We took the fourth tunnel on the left, and followed it round as it ran parallel to the corridor we'd just come from.

Anna pushed open this door and it gave a horrible groan as it always had. Despite the lack of natural light, the yellow hangings and bright candles were enough to make it seem like we were outside in the height of July, basking in sunlight. Anna let go of my hand and threw herself on her bed, spread-eagled on the quilt. I grinned and made my way to my bed, opposite hers. I opened my trunk and took out my stuffed rabbit, Fluffsy, before sitting down on the edge, so I could talk to Anna who was groaning at how full she was.

"I'm not going to eat for days," she said, rubbing her flat stomach smoothly. I looked down at mine, a slight paunch, and knew that first thing in the morning I was going to be starving. I sighed and flopped backwards onto the bed. "Mol, what's that on your pillow?"

Anna had sat up so she could see me. I tipped my head backwards to try and catch a glimpse but failed. I hauled myself up too quickly and clutched my head. I steadied myself on a bed-post and shuffled round to pick it up. My name was neatly written on in blue ink, a neat italic script that belonged to my boyfriend.

"It's a letter from Harrison," I murmured, lightly tracing the outline of the envelope. Anna smiled at me softly. "I'll open it later," I vowed, placing it on the bedside table as the door creaked open again and our two room-mates, Alexa Black and Hayley Bulstrode, wandered in, also looking a little green and clutching their stomachs. I sat back down on my bed, one leg tucked underneath me.

"Good summer?" Alexa asked as she collapsed onto her bed, beside Anna's. We both murmured, 'yeah', and it was such an effort to do it.

"I think I'll die if I even see another treacle tart," Hayley exclaimed. She was twice the size of me, a freckled blonde with even thicker glasses than mine and a snout for a nose. As brutish as she looked, she was absolutely lovely: honest, punctual and didn't have a cruel bone in her body. She rolled over to face me. "How's the boyfriend?" she said with a wink. I smiled.

"I've got a letter from him here. He's had family trouble so he's not here for a few more days yet," I said as honestly as I could, trying to convince her that I actually knew something about what was going on. She accepted it, of course, and rolled over.

"I might get some shut eye, actually," Alexa stated, looking at her watch. Her jet black hair cascaded over her shoulders and I was rather jealous of her beautiful and slightly haunting good looks. "See you in the morning."

She pulled off her robes to reveal her day clothes and pulled the hangings round without even taking her shoes off. In seconds, Anna and Hayley admitted that they, too, wanted to get some sleep, and then it was just me. I turned the lights off, got washed, undressed and brushed my teeth and clambered into bed again. I picked up the letter and opened the envelope as quietly as I could, casting a weak Lumos charm to enable me to read it.

My Molly,

I grinned at the address. He'd always called me that. It made me feel like I was melting to merely read it. I could hear his voice in my head, a weak Geordie accent echoing through my mind. My heart ached for him a little bit.

I'm a little worried about you. I sent you a letter a few days ago and I have not received a reply. I wonder whether you got the letter, or if your reply got lost in the post.

I'm sure that if you did not receive my note, that you have noticed my absence today. I am also certain that someone else will have let you know why I am absent, but I shall tell you just in case. I do not want you to worry about me. My grandmother passed away a few days ago. The funeral is this afternoon (September 1st). Both Jessica and I will return to school within the next week – the date is still unconfirmed.

I hope you are well, and that I have not upset you in any way. I cannot wait to be back.

All my love

Harrison

I felt so guilty as I read his words over and over again in my head. I whispered them out loud, trying to believe his unstoppable kindness. His grandmother had passed away, and he was worrying about me. I lay the letter back on the table and tiptoed around to my trunk, which I had left open. I took a piece of parchment and a quill from the top of the pile of junk I'd brought with me and began to write.

Harrison,
I did receive your letter but I threw it away accidentally.

Dearest Harrison,
I received the letter but mispla

Harrison,
I burnt the letter by accident

Darling Harrison,
I did not receive your

None of them sounded right. I'd even resorted to lying. I sighed and ran a hand back through my hair. I'd just avert the question. I would tell him when I had him here.

Dear Harrison,

I'm so sorry to hear about your grandmother. I know how much she meant to you. I wish I could be with you so that this would be easier.
There's no need to worry about me. I'm fine. Don't rush back – come back when you're ready.
You have not, and could not, upset me in anyway. Don't worry about me.
I miss you,
Love Your Molly.

I smiled down at the letter and vowed to send it first thing in the morning. It would reach him by mid-afternoon and it would put my mind at ease. I took the charm off my wand and placed it back on my bedside table. Drawing the hangings back around myself, I fell back against my pillow and before I knew it, morning had come.

A/N: How do you feel about Molly's friends? A lot of people can't work out if they like them or not. I, personally, do but then again, I wrote them :P