After what seemed like the longest summer in history, it was finally September 1st. Clara's trunk was packed and they were on their way to King's Cross Station.
"You're sure you didn't forget anything?" Lewis asked her.
"Yes. Not that we'd have time to go back and get it now."
"You have a point."
Clara laughed. She sang along with the songs playing on the radio while they drove. While she missed her dad while she was at school, she had to admit that it was nice to have her own time around people her own age. In the Muggle world, she didn't really have any friends. She was the weird girl who went to some unknown boarding school. Most of the local teenagers didn't have time to deal with her.
Lewis parked their car in one of the only free spots and helped Clara carry her trunk inside. People crowded them on every side. Neither one of the Rowleys were particularly fond of people, especially crowds, so they made their way to Platforms 9 and 10 as quickly as possible. A few other families were waiting around the area, most acting far too nonchalant. One taller man was remarking to his daughter about how lovely the grey floor was.
"Well, here we are," Lewis choked out.
"God, dad, we've been through this!" Clara smiled, her own eyes getting watery.
"Shush. Just hug your father."
They hugged for a moment, then Clara took her trunk by the handle from her dad.
"I love you," he patted her shoulder.
"I love you, too, dad."
Clara grinned at her teary father and turned, facing down the brick partition. This part always made her nervous. She looked around to make sure no Muggles were paying attention before breaking into a run straight towards the wall. The relief on her face once she had successfully passed through was always noticed by her fellow students. A small girl, who could have passed for a First Year but who Clara knew was actually a Third Year, happened to be standing nearby, watching the incoming students.
"Still scary, isn't it?" she giggled.
"One more year to go after this, we'll see if I finally catch on," Clara smiled at the girl.
"Clara!" she looked up to see the pale, dark haired girl waving at her from a nearby compartment, "It's about time!"
Clara rushed over to the door, trying to beat the herd of students behind her.
"Sorry, my dad, you know how he is," she shook her head, smiling.
"I missed you!" Pansy wrapped her arms around her best friend. Clara hugged her back. It was always a little uncomfortable, hugging Pansy - she was naturally very thin, and Clara always felt as though she might break her friend.
"You're the one who didn't send me any letters, what was that about?" Clara asked in mock anger.
"Sorry, we were on vacation in Italy! It was beautiful, but the owls had a hard time finding us."
It took a moment for Clara to register that sitting next to Pansy was Draco Malfoy. He was a fellow Slytherin, but he was definitely one of the more hated students at Hogwarts.
"Oh, um… hello, Draco," Clara greeted the boy politely.
Pansy gave her a look that told her the tone of her greeting was a little less than friendly.
"So… what… what's going on here?"
"Draco and his family were vacationing at the same Villa. It was such a coincidence! We never talked a lot at school, but we spent quite a bit of time together," Pansy raised an eyebrow suggestively, "and I don't know… we just clicked."
"Ah. That's…" creepy, she wanted to say, "wonderful!"
The Malfoys were an interesting bunch. She knew that Draco's father, Lucius, had been a Death Eater during Voldemort's reign. While they claimed to be reformed now, Clara was always a little skeptical of the family. It seemed to her that once you're one of the most evil wizard of all time's groupies, you never can fully redeem yourself. She saw the blond boy move his hand to Pansy's bare knee and resisted the urge to swat it away. Once they were alone, she was definitely going to talk to the girl about choices.
"My father said that, as well," Draco Malfoy was saying, "the Muggles are absolutely ridiculous. It's about time we got our own train station. Just last week, I went there with my father…"
Clara was trying desperately to drown the boy's whiny voice out. He talked about his father far too much for a 16 year old boy. Was he completely devoid of any independent thinking? It wouldn't surprise her. She sighed, probably a bit too loud. Pansy was easily one of the most beautiful girls in school. At 5'7, with ridiculously long legs that she loved to flaunt and an already well-developed figure, most of the boys (and quite a few of the girls) were infatuated with her. And then she goes and picks out this obnoxious ferret boy? It was insane, and she was going to give Pansy a piece of her mind in just a couple of hours.
"Clara, are you there?" Pansy was snapping her fingers next to her friend's ear.
"What? Sorry," Clara cleared her throat and sat up straighter.
"We were just saying, Draco has a lot of single friends. We should double date! It'll be so much fun. Next Hogsmeade trip, yes?"
Clara opened her mouth to say, No, thanks, The-Boy-With-Infinite-Daddy-Issues, but instead just smiled and said, "Yes, that'd be lovely." Damn it, Clara.
For the rest of the train ride, Clara had stayed mostly silent. She had learned her lesson. Pansy and her little Draco had been fairly light on the affection, which Clara was thankful for. She didn't know if she could stomach the sight of them kissing. It was bad enough remembering how Pansy had raised her eyebrow at the fact that they had spent a lot of time together. The girl had always been a bit more… adventurous, but Clara had hoped she'd had enough sense to avoid trash. Unfortunately, she knew how Pureblood families worked, and both the Parkinsons and the Malfoys were filthy rich. This did not bode well for Clara's best friend.
They had changed into their house robes and gathered their things, and were ready to go as soon as the train doors opened. The stampede of eager students was almost deadly, so they had learned to beat most of the crowd. The gamekeeper, Hagrid, was waiting at the platform, showing the younger kids where to go and helping to get them situated. Clara, Pansy, Draco, and Draco's large, seemingly silent friend Goyle all climbed into one of the horseless carriages that would take them up to the castle.
"It feels so good to be back," Clara grinned at Pansy, ignoring their company. The familiar castle stood on the top of a hill, surrounded by the Black Lake. Light shone from every window, casting a warm, yellow glow on every nearby surface. As much as she missed her father, Hogwarts was her home. She belonged in the Wizarding world. While they rode up the path to the school, she could see the First Years riding to the castle in their boats. The carriages were fine, but Clara wished that they could all sail to school.
The carriages pulled up in front of the front doors in a single file line. Clara hopped out first, followed by Pansy and Draco, who refused to stop holding hands for anything, and Goyle, watching the blond boy's back. She had determined that the poor boy was in love with Draco, and had accepted a life of serving his master in order to be close to his love. Why else would he be okay with following the wanker around everywhere he went? Clara immediately forgot about her problems with Draco as they walked through the front doors and into the castle. She was home.
After everyone had been accounted for, the Second Years and up had been allowed into the Great Hall to seat themselves for the Welcoming Feast. Clara had been walking towards their usual spot near the front of the table, but Pansy grabbed her hand and pulled her to the back, towards Draco's place. She followed quietly, not wanting to ruin Pansy's night and drag her away from her precious. They sat for a few minutes, making small talk with the students nearby, before they were stopped by the sound of the giant doors opening again. In walked dozens of First Years, looking around the massive hall in awe. Clara smiled; she remembered the feeling, especially after her Muggle childhood, but not even the Pureblood children were immune to the breathtaking sight of the ceiling, which mimicked the outdoor sky. Candles floated over the tables, providing lots of warm lighting for the students to see by. The First Years seemed to get smaller every year.
Once the Sorting Hat had sung his song and the First Years had been sorted and seated with their new houses, it was time for Headmaster Dumbledore's annual speech and the introduction of the Professors.
"We welcome all of our students, both new and returning! How wonderful it is to see such promising young witches and wizards filling our school."
"Ah, new victims!" Draco laughed with his groupies. Clara shot Pansy a look, and the girl actually looked sorry.
"He's a bit rough, but trust me, you'll warm up to him," Pansy whispered.
Clara nodded. She had her doubts. Draco continued to discuss various methods of torture and bullying while the Headmaster went through the list of rules and restrictions. Clara continued to be shocked that Pansy could ever be attracted to someone as awful as Draco, and wondered if an intervention would be out of the question.
"And now that you are all aware of how to earn and keep your house points, let me introduce your Professors for this year," the Headmaster began at the left end of the staff table, "Professor Snape will be your Potions master. Our Slytherin students will also want to remember that he is your Head of House, so any concerns or issues concerning your house or housemates can be brought to him."
The dark Professor looked bored with the entire process.
"Professor McGonagall will be teaching Transfiguration," Dumbledore continued.
"When will the old bag retire? She's looking very worn," Draco noted snidely. Clara glared at him, but he either ignored her or just didn't notice.
"Our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor seems to have gotten held up -" the Headmaster was cut off by the sound of the back door opening. A tall, slender, vaguely familiar woman walked in and began apologizing to Dumbledore immediately.
"And here she is! Teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year is Professor Eliza Lisney."
The wizard gestured the new Professor. Clara was suddenly dizzy.
"Clara, what's the matter, are you alright?" Pansy was alarmed at her best friend's face, which had lost all color, "Clara… CLARA."
The girl turned and looked towards her friend, her eyes darting to various faces in the room. Everyone was applauding the new Professor.
"That's… t-t-the woman…" Clara stuttered. Pansy grabbed her friend's hand, worried for her.
"Yes?"
"It's… she's my…"
"Thank you, Headmaster! I have missed the school."
"That's my mother."