1.1
Reuniting-
The sky Above the car is surprisingly clear as we go through London. The car ride has been silent since the beginning. William and I have a silent agreement for him to leave me be on our way to and from the King's Cross Station. I can openly be on my phone in front of the butler, so I am doomscrolling on Instagram to see my friend's posts about packing for the school year. I smile when I see my favorite blonde posing with her family cat in her school uniform. I scroll through my apps to see what I should delete, as I already know I will need all the memory I can get for the school year, knowing how my friends are. They love to take photos of me whenever they can grab my phone, as they have known my new password each year.
"We have arrived," William parallel parks. I look up to see King's Cross Station further down the street. This has to be the closest we have ever gotten on September 1st. I turn off my phone and slide it into the front pocket of my messenger bag. I step out as William does as well. I waited for him to take my luggage from the trunk. The moment he is at my side, I start walking to the station. I lost him in the crowd, but I trust he will get my trunk where it needs to be. I don't stop for any reason, whether to wait for someone to get out of the way or help any Muggle-borns with what they should be doing to enter the 9 ¾ station. The platform isn't quite empty, but not quite full, either.
I board the Hogwarts Express and go to the same compartment my girls and I use yearly. The claimed compartment is empty, while the two on each side are occupied. I close the door and sit on the right beside the window. I place my messenger bag beside me and grab the copy of Song of Achilles I started the day before. I sit mostly silent for a moment before the door slides open again. I don't look up until the book is snatched out of my hands. I look up to see a smiling blonde. My eyes crease as I smile back at the now sat girl. Her hair is longer than it was the last time I saw her. Her standard makeup comprises a dark, smokey eye, pale foundation, and only clear lipgloss. She seems taller than she was when we left, with the same body shape she has since the beginning of last year. She looks down at the leather book in her hands and back up to me with narrow eyes.
"I know you've read this like three times already," I shrug. You need to get new books to read."I summon the book back into my hands before replying.
"I'll stick to the ones I like, Elle." She rolls her eyes as she takes a blink. I smile wider. Her eyes widen momentarily before she starts to go through her black shoulder bag. I watch her with no idea about what she is doing. She makes a little excited noise before showing me a pair of sunglasses that belong on Lolita's cover. She gestures for me to grab them with a smile. I place them in my nose and start to model them, getting a laugh from the girl before the door slides open again. We both swerve our heads to look at the intruder, only to see the final part of our group. A short, curvy, dark-skinned girl who has her hands on her hips staring straight at me. "You look stupid, Eon." Her tone is frank, as if what she said is fact. I do look stupid. She moves in and sits beside Elle before placing her laptop bag on her lap.
"Well, hello to you too, Jo." Elle jumps to hug the other girl, who simply sits still. Elle starts to talk a mile a minute to Jo as I go back to reading. I hear the girl talk about how her family cat gave birth over the summer and how she got to keep her favorite kitten out of the litter. I gently place the book on my lap and pay attention to their conversation as I feel the train begin to move. We fall into conversation easily as the countryside passes us.
It feels like no time has passed since we sat down til it's time to change. I leave the girls in the compartment and change in one designated changing area. On my way, I pass a loud compartment with its door open. I walk by just as I see James Potter enter the doorframe. We make eye contact as I pass, giving him a slight nod, which he repeats after he visibly realizes who I am. It's a much better treatment than how he treats the rest of my house.
I come back in my uniform to an open door to the compartment. I slide into my spot once more to see two neatly dressed girls. I see that both girls are barefaced as the day they were born, as you are technically never allowed to wear heavy makeup, but the teachers never seem to really care unless it is a special event, such as the opening feast. We spent the rest of the trip discussing what we expected from the new DADA teacher. There's a new one every year. Jo and I have low expectations, while Elle is as optimistic as ever.
We silently exit the train with a wave of people. We get into our own carriage after I stop to pet the thestral. I am gliding Elle's hand alongside mine since she has no idea what we are petting. She smiles wide as she feels the breathing being under her palm. I guide her into the carriage to sit next to Jo. Elle speaks the entire time, me and Jo adding in our own comments occasionally. The ride is short, and we have to separate. Elle to the Hufflepuff table on the far right, Jo to the Ravenclaw table to the middle left, and me to the Slytherin table all the way to the left. I move with the crowd and sit at the end of the Slytherin table where no one will talk to each other. Either because they have friends with people outside of the house or because they are one of the shunned Muggle-borns of the house.
I silently watch McGonagall start the sorting ceremony as the first years whisper amongst themselves. Putting my elbow on the table, I place my chin on my palm as I tune out the sorting. I sweep my eyes over the room, catching on to Jo's bored expression at her table. She rolls her eyes at me before tilting her head to the right. Raising my eyebrows, I tilt my head to the left. Before my line of sight is blocked.
A clearly eleven-year-old boy with brown hair peeking out from under his cap, brown eyes, and a childish grin is seated in front of me. I blink at the boy, who is just staring at me. He then leans on the table to get closer to me before whispering to me.
"You're Leon Ansley, right?" His voice is high-pitched and innocent. I blink again and nod. He leans back with an even bigger smile. "My father told me to find you once I got sorted into Slytherin." Okay? When I don't respond, he leans forward again. "I'm Eldon Burke. Our fathers are friends." I still have no clue, but I doubt I will get this boy to leave me alone with how he's looking at me. He goes to speak again.
"Save the conversation for after the sorting. Talking isn't allowed during the ceremony." Lifting my head off my palm, I clasp my hands on my lap as I watch his spark dim. He leans back onto his side of the table with slouched shoulders and downturned eyes. I feel a little remorse, but not enough to apologize now. Burke turns his head to watch the ceremony, which I mirror.The sorting takes another fifteen minutes to conclude. Making sure my hands are off the table, I wait for the feast to appear. I watch Burke's face light up at the sight of the magically summoned food. The Great Hall erupts into noise as all the students start conversing with the people around them. I find a cup of iced-coffee before me, making me smile. Those house elves remember everything you ask them for, no matter how long ago it was or if it was a one time thing. It takes a moment, but after he is done piling food onto his plate, the boy in front of me looks back up to me.
"What do you want, kid?" I ask with an even tone.
"Do you have any advice for a first year?" Taking a deep breath, I looked at him straight on."Make friends. No matter their house. Friends are important to have here." He furrows his brow at this. I probably said the exact opposite of what he expected. I sip my coffee, staring at the now-confused boy. He seems to be at a loss of words for a moment.
"No matter their house?" I nod. "I thought that only Slytherins were worth my time." It's more of a questions than a statement.
"Don't believe anyone that says that. Houses don't define a person." My voice is low so as not to be overheard by any of the members of my house who believe the opposite of what I am telling this moldable boy. I start to fill my plate with fruit as Burke sits in silence. I slowly eat what's on my plate as the time passes. The end of the Slytherin table is now quiet as it should be.
"Will you show me around?" His voice is quiet and timid. I finish chewing the bite of sugared strawberries I just took to reply.
"Around the school?" He nods. "Meet me in the common room at seven before breakfast." I lean onto the table a little. "Bring paper and quill as you will need directions throughout the year, and I won't be there to help you."
I rise from my seat the moment we are dismissed. I don't wait for Burke or anyone before going through the enormous doors of the Great Hall. I break away from the crowd and walk down empty hallways. I walk for a few minutes until I am right where I want to be in front of a suit of armor in a cobweb-filled corner. Stepping up to the steel armor, I reach out my hand and shake its outstretched hand. A switch is flipped, and the armor steps back and to the side as the stone behind it slides to reveal the dark corridor it is covering. I enter, and the stone wall slides back into place behind me. The sparingly placed candles on the walls dimly lit my way. I go down two flights of stairs and feel the temperature shift, signaling that I am underground. Coming to the end of the corridor, I see a sudden dead end with a raised stone right before it on the right wall. I immediately ignore the stone and go straight to the dead end. I place my ear to the stone and listen for silence. Once I am sure there is no one around, I go back and press the stone button hard. The wall in front of me then opens inwardly.
The Slytherin common room is empty, guaranteeing no one will find the passageway I just used as a quiet shortcut. I continue to the boy's dorms to see my newly assigned home for the year. As a sixth year, I am further up the staircase and near the surface of the Black Lake. I read each name sign once I passed the fifth-year section. Only after I pass a few dorm rooms do I see my name next to the same boy I have lived with for the last five years, Arthur Adair. A half-blood who understands that for us to get along, we must not get into each other's business.
The room is candlelit. The main colors are green, silver, and black across the room and bathroom. The beds are on the back wall, around two meters from each other. There are trunks at the foot of the beds, desks between the two beds, Dressers on the other side of the beds, and the bathroom entrance on the right wall.
After unpacking my trunk and organizing everything exactly how I have for my entire school life, I fall back onto my bed. I hear the door open but don't turn my head. The footsteps are heavy, and they head to the other bed in the room. I hear a grunt from the boy to my left and a bed squeaking under the weight of what I presume is Adair. I sit up and listen to him set something on the floor beside his bed. I see the now much taller, broader, and more blond boy I have come to know. We make eye contact as he squats down to look into his trunk.
I openly get onto my phone in front of the half-blood to see texts from the girls. We text for a good while before I get up and head to the bathroom. All of my skincare and personal hygiene are already in the cupboards. I am in bed reading for a few hours before I finally join Arthur in sleep. I organize what I will need tomorrow on top of my desk before lying down. The last thing on my mind that night was what class schedule I would get the following day.
-2332 Words-