Starlight

The first thing that let Alessia know that this was going to be a good year was that it was warm. 

It was rarely ever warm on their first day back to school and yet, as Alessia gathers her large Maine Coon, Tom, into her arms to stop him from escaping off down the platform somewhere, she notes that it is, in fact, sunny. 

Technically, she's already been in the Wizarding world for hours. She'd travelled with her parents to her aunt's in London last night so that they could say goodbye to her without having to navigate King's Cross as despite being in her sixth year at Hogwarts, her parents were still unnecessarily wary around magic.

She manages to spot Lotte just as the she's making her way towards the train; the dark haired Ravenclaw shooting her a grin, and then pulling her into a hug once Alessia reaches her.

"How have you been, Less?! No-one's heard from you in ages!"

Alessia manages to look at least a little sheepish, following behind as Lotte weaves beyond Hogwarts students on the train so they could get a compartment to themselves. 

"I got onto the Harpies' quidditch course for young prospects, so I was in Wales for most of the summer," she says, casually, as they sit down in an empty compartment, Tom jumping out of her arms and curling up onto the seat beside them.

Lotte's eyes shone with pride as she leans forward to ruffle Alessia's hair, affectionately. "Less, that's incredible! Why didn't you write?"

Feeling her cheeks colour, Alessia bows her head. She hadn't told anyone when she'd got onto the course - her parents and brothers didn't understand quidditch at all, and she'd thought the news wasn't important enough, not really, to send an owl.

"I don't know. Didn't seem worth mentioning."

"Bullshit," Lotte says, but her eyes are kind. "Was Gwenog Jones there?"

Alessia gives a little knowing smile. "I don't think I'll mention that bit to Katie."

Lotte laughs softly. "Oh Merlin, please don't. She'd demand a hour-by-hour account."

In that moment, the compartment door crashes and, as if summoned by the mention of her name, Katie McCabe bursts in, her new Captain badge pinned prominently on the front of her robes.

"There you are!" She exclaims, dropping into the seat across from them. Her caramel brown hair is tied up into a high ponytail, with the little baby strands framing her face in a way that makes her look only slightly less chaotic than last year.

"Been looking all over. Have you heard about Williamson?"

Alessia, who had been scratching Tom behind the ears, suddenly looks up. "What about her?"

"She's quit the team," Katie says, voice thick with satisfaction. "Viv just told me – her dad let it slip over dinner last week."

Something uncomfortable settles in Alessia's stomach. Not that she particularly enjoyed playing against her - Williamson was ruthless, precise, and undeniably talented at Quidditch. Alessia had nearly been knocked off her broom twice last season alone by Leah's perfectly aimed shots. 

But she respected her, too. It was exciting playing against someone that good.

"That doesn't make sense," Alessia says slowly. "She was practically guaranteed the captaincy this year."

"Who cares?" Katie snorts. "Slytherin's defence is screwed without her."

The compartment door slides open again. Beth bounces in, her Hufflepuff tie askew and her round face flushed with excitement.

"There you all are!" Beth exclaims, throwing herself down next to Alessia and giving her a sideways hug. "Missed you lot! Summer was properly boring without you."

Viv slips in behind Beth, giving a small nod to everyone. But despite her best attempts to stay quiet, Katie's raised eyebrow is enough for her to sigh, deeply. 

"It wasn't gossip. Dad just mentioned that Bright is struggling to replace Williamson before the season starts."

"But why would she quit?" Alessia presses, unable to let it go. "She was good – really good."

"Family stuff, apparently," Viv says with a shrug that feels too casual.

Beth scoffs. "The Williamsons are practically wizarding royalty. Probably decided Quidditch was beneath her now."

Alessia frowns slightly. Leah Williamson played with an intensity that couldn't be faked – a cold precision that was almost beautiful to watch when it wasn't aimed at your head.

"Maybe she was injured?" Alessia suggests, absently stroking Tom's fur.

Katie brushes her off, easily. "She was fine at the end of last season. Anyway, less about Williamson, more about our strategy. I've been thinking about new formations that could really take advantage of your speed, Less."

As Katie casts the Muffliato charm, with a pointed look at Beth and Viv, both talented Quidditch players themselves, and launches into an enthusiastic explanation of new tactical ideas, Alessia finds her mind wandering. 

They'd barely exchanged ten words off the pitch in five years at Hogwarts - Leah moved in different circles. But on the pitch, there had been a kind of understanding between them. 

And so why quit now, just before their sixth year, when most serious players were positioning themselves for professional scouts?

"-don't you think, Less?"

Alessia snaps back to the present, finding all eyes on her. "Sorry, what?"

"For fuck's sake!" Katie groans, but there's no real anger in it. "Were you even listening? I swear, I might as well be talking to the Giant Squid!"

"I was listening!" Alessia protests, with a little teasing grin. "Something about diving?"

Katie rolls her eyes. "We need more practice. Early mornings before our match with Hufflepuff should do it."

"Early mornings?" Alessia repeats, wincing. "How early are we talking?"

"Nothing crazy," Katie says with a dismissive wave. "Just 5 AM. Three days a week."

Lotte snorts behind her book. "Nothing crazy, she says."

The countryside blurs past the window, Scotland gradually replacing England, and after a little while, the compartment door slides open again as Beth and Viv return with an armload of sweets from the trolley.

It's just as Alessia tears into her first chocolate frog that the conversation turns to one that she'd been tactically avoiding all summer.

"My brother nearly had a breakdown last year before his transfiguration OWL." Beth sighs, licking chocolate off her fingers.

"That's because your brother left all his studying to the last minute," Viv points out dryly. "Like someone else I know."

"I resent that implication," Beth says, chucking a Bertie Bott's bean at her. "I'll have you know I'm turning over a new leaf this year. Responsible Beth. Organised Beth. Beth-who-doesn't-wait-until-the-night-before-to-write-essays Beth."

Katie snorts loudly. "I'll believe that when I see it."

"Speaking of which," Lotte says, turning to Alessia, "how are you planning to balance Quidditch with studying this year? Especially with Katie's crack-of-dawn training sessions." She throws a reproachful glance at Katie.

Alessia, still absently stroking Tom, gives a small shrug. "I'll manage somehow."

"See?" Katie gestures triumphantly at Alessia. "Less gets it. Excellence requires sacrifice."

"Yes, but not sleep deprivation," Lotte argues. "Studies show that lack of sleep severely impacts cognitive function and memory retention."

"Studies also show that winning the Quidditch Cup makes everyone happier," Katie counters with a grin.

"I don't think that's a real study," Viv replies, dryly.

"It should be," Beth chimes in. "Imagine the research methodology. 'Group A wins Cup, reports feelings of extreme elation. Group B loses Cup, reports feelings of wanting to hex Group A.'"

..

As the sky outside begins to darken, Lotte glances at her watch. "Less, we should change into our robes soon. We'll be arriving in about forty minutes."

As they take turns changing into their school robes, Alessia finds herself growing quieter, her mind once again drifting. She's pulling on her Gryffindor tie when Katie notices her distraction.

"Knut for your thoughts?" Katie asks, adjusting her captain's badge for what must be the tenth time.

Alessia hesitates. "It's nothing, really. Just thinking about the year ahead."

Katie slings an arm around her shoulders. "It's going to be brilliant, Less. Best year yet. I can feel it."

"Yeah," Alessia smiles, but her eyes drift to the window, where the Scottish countryside is flying past in the gathering dusk. "I hope so."

The train begins to slow as it approaches Hogsmeade Station, and the energy in the compartment shifts to the excited anticipation that always accompanies arrival at Hogwarts. Beth bounces on her toes, peering out the window for the first glimpse of the castle lights in the distance.

Viv carefully packs away the books she'd been skimming. Lotte checks that everyone has all their belongings. And Katie, despite her earlier bravado, nervously adjusts her robes, the weight of her new captaincy visibly settling on her shoulders.

Alessia gathers Tom into his carrying basket, soothing him with gentle strokes as he protests the confinement. As the train pulls into the station with a screech of brakes, she feels the familiar mixture of excitement and comfort that coming to Hogwarts always brings.

They file out onto the platform, joining the stream of students making their way toward the carriages. The night air is cool but not cold - unseasonably pleasant, just as the day had been.

As they claim a carriage, Beth suddenly grabs Alessia's arm. "Look who it is," she whispers, nodding toward a group of Slytherins several carriages ahead.

The Slytherin stands perfectly straight, her white blonde hair swept back in a severe ponytail, school robes already immaculately in place. But, she's paler than usual. Favouring her left arm. And while Leah had always carried herself with a certain aloofness, there's something more pronounced about her isolation now.

"Well, she looks as cheerful as ever," Katie remarks sarcastically.

The train comes to a complete stop, and students begin pouring into the corridor. In the commotion, Alessia loses sight of Leah.

"Come on," Katie says, already halfway out the door. "I want to get a good seat for the Sorting. I've got a cousin coming in this year."

"Says the girl with about seventeen cousins," Lotte remarks, but they follow her anyway.

The Great Hall is as magnificent as ever, golden light from thousands of floating candles illuminating the enchanted ceiling, which tonight shows a clear, star-filled sky. Alessia settles at the Gryffindor table with Katie, while Beth heads to Hufflepuff, Lotte and Viv to Ravenclaw.

Throughout the Sorting Ceremony and Headmistress McGonagall's welcome speech, Alessia finds her gaze drawn repeatedly to the Slytherin table. Leah sits at the far end, slightly removed from her housemates. She doesn't engage in the whispered conversations or muted celebrations when new first-years join their house. Instead, she stares straight ahead, her expression unreadable.

"You're staring," Katie mutters, elbowing Alessia lightly. "What's so fascinating about Williamson all of a sudden?"

Alessia shrugs. "Just curious. Don't you think it's odd, her quitting?"

"Maybe she finally realised Slytherin's going to lose the cup again," Katie says with a smirk, but lowers her voice when Professor McGonagall gives their table a stern look.

The feast appears, and conversation turns to summer stories and class schedules. Steph's spent another holiday in Australia, which always brings back some sort of anecdote. 

As dessert appears, a commotion at the Slytherin table draws attention. Leah has stood abruptly, her face even paler than before. Ignoring the questioning looks from her housemates, she strides quickly out of the Great Hall, left hand pressed against her right forearm.

"Not even staying for pudding?" Beth calls from the Hufflepuff table. "Must be serious!"

A few students laugh, but Alessia notices Professor Bright watching Leah's exit with a troubled expression.

"What do you think that was about?" Alessia asks.

Katie shrugs, helping herself to treacle tart. "Who knows? Who cares? Slytherins are always dramatic."

She gives Alessia a sideways glance. "I know that look, Less. You don't want to be messing with Williamson."

Alessia sighs, softly. "I'm just curious."

"Yeah, well, curiosity killed the kneazle," Katie says, but her tone softens. "Look, Lotte is right, we've got a big year coming up. You don't want to overwhelm yourself in Slytherin drama when we've got O.W.L.s and the Quidditch cup."

Alessia sighs, picking at her treacle tart with the edge of her fork. "I know, I know."

Katie's expression softens as she watches her friend. For all her brash talk of early practices, there's a gentleness in the way she bumps her shoulder against Alessia's.

"Also," Katie says eventually, "I may have been a bit intense about the 5 AM practices."

"You think?" Alessia smiles.

"We can make it 6," Katie offers magnanimously.

Alessia laughs. "How generous."

Later, as they climb the stairs to Gryffindor Tower, following the stream of red-tied students through the portrait hole, Alessia decides that she'll find out what's going on with Leah Williamson. Not because she particularly cares about the Slytherin, but because mysteries have always driven her mad.

And she just can't shake the feeling that something is very wrong with Leah Williamson.