The Train
Marlene McKinnon lives a relatively normal life, well at least normal to witches and wizards. She attends Hogwarts school of which craft and wizardry, where she’s a chaser on the quidditch team. Her two best friends Lily and Mary, are also her dormmates, they do almost everything together. They all met on the Hogwarts express and instantly clicked and have stuck together ever since.
*
Its the start of a new school year and im not going to let anyone stop me from becoming the best chaser in the world. After packing my bags for the new year, at exactly half past 10 I head downstairs with my trunk and my cat Athena meowing at me because I put her in a cage.
“All packed love?’’ Mum asked as she puts the milk in my cereal. “Yep! All packed, but have you seen my broom polish, I can’t find it?’’ I say slightly panicking, “oh yes I almost forgot, its on the mantle, Finnick used it the other day.”
I run over to the mantle, snatch the kit and stuff it in my trunk before making my way over the table where I stare absentmindedly at the bowl in front of me. I pick up my spoon hoping I can bring myself to eat it today.
That hope soon died when I started mixing it slowly. And I kept mixing until mum just takes the bowl and says, “not today then?”
I just look at her. Look down, “no, I guess not.”
She gives me a sweet knowing smile,”That’s ok, there’s always tomorrow.” She doesn’t push me like dad does. Its nice to know that at least one person understands.
I stay sitting at the table for a while getting lost in my thoughts until mum says, “Alright Leen, time to head off now.” Still smiling lightly.
I perk up when she says my name and head over to the fireplace where she stands, holing my trunk. “You first or me?” I ask, picking up Athenas cage.“How about you go first.” She suggests and I nod my head in agreement.
She hands me the pot of floo powder, “Kings Cross Station” I say loud and clear and step through the floo. Mum follows just behind and they meet on the other side.
We make it onto the platform 15 minutes before the train leaves, mum kisses me goodbye and I make my way onto the train. Trying to search for Mary or Lily, I stumble upon the lowest, most rude, and annoying girl you will have ever met. Dorcas Meadows.
Their rivalry started at eleven, when they met for the first time on the train to Hogwarts in first year. Meadows glared at her the entire time she had stood on the platform, after saying goodbye to her parents and headed onto the train, she had followed her! Still frowning, tailed me until I found a compartment, she followed me in and sat opposite me. “What’s your name?” She asked, sounding threatening. She looked and sounded mean and I decided right then and there that I hated her. Then she stood up and left without another word. It took me two weeks to find out her name. Dorcas fucking Meadows.
Still to this day I don’t quite know why she has a problem with me.
“Oh yay, your here,” Dorcas says with a disgusted look on her face “so utterly disappointing.”
“Oh yay, your still a bitch” I bite back. Which leads to my foot getting stomped on as Dorcas glares even more, which she hadn’t thought was possible, and walks off to the Slytherin side of the train.
“Well isn’t this a lovely morning” I mutter to myself sarcastically spotting Lily and Mary waiting for me in a compartment.
“What’s got your wand in a knot?” Mary greets. Which Lily kicks her for. “Ow! What was that for?” Mary counteracts kicking lily back. While I slump onto the bench and close my eyes.
“Dorky happened.” I say monotone. “Also a shit summer. What about you two?’’ I say opening my eyes, raising my eyebrows and smirking.
Lily has a crush on Mary and told Marlene a few months before summer. And while Mary and Sirius only broke up a few months ago she knows that Mary likes Lilly back but won’t admit it. I’ve seen the way Mary acts when she has a crush, I knows the look that she gets. Ive seen it before. Many, many times.
“Oh shut up Marls, noting happened” Lilly says clearly blushing but trying to hide it with the daily prophet.
I smirk even more when I look over at Mary who’s glaring at me.
Oh yep, i’m back. Back with the girls who make me laugh, and smile. My best friends. The best friends that are probably going to end up getting married one day.
“Do anything exciting over the summer?” Mary asks the two of us. But ignoring us entirely if we were going to say anything, because we both know that if Mary asks a question she’s most likely going to answer it herself, when she says, “Because we went to this really cool place in Greece where the sea was sooooo clear, and there were so many ancient buildings too.” And when me and lily just look at each other and then at Mary she says “you guys did get my letter right?” She confirms. “Yes Mary. We got all 57 of them.” I say, and lily just sighs and nods. Agreeing with me.
And then pulls out an entire box our of nowhere filled with heaps of Polaroid photos, stands up and sits back down in between me and lily, where they sit for the next 3 hours listening to Mary talk about Greece, and explaining all of her 346 photos that she had taken.
I think I have a migraine before has finished talking about Greece and how good it is. Oh ‘Greece this’ and ‘Greece that’.
After 9 long hours, the train finally pulls in at the Hogsmeade Station where we make our way to the carriages with the rest of the students, and hop in one with the legendary marauders, really they’re not legendary they just force us to say that, but anyways James asks lily out yet again, and she says no, which leads to them squabbling the whole way to the castle.
In the great hall, Dumbledore gives his start of year speech, followed by the sorting of the first years. And finally, the feast begins. There’s roast potatoes, veggies, chicken, gravy, pumpkin juice and more. Its all a little bit too overwhelming so I grab few potatoes and some broccoli, and pick at them, while watching everyone stuff their faces.
I eat most of the food I put on my plate, absentmindedly but struggle with each mouthful. No one knows I struggle to eat. Except mum, I want it to stay that way. So I eat enough for people to not notice anything and then sit for a bit, until my eyelids start to drop, and I can feel the effects of the day taking a toll on my body. Im exhausted. And ive practically been sitting down the whole day. Make it make sense.
With that I get up murmur a quiet “im gonna head back to the dorm now,” so only Mary can hear me. I stand up and make my way to one of the prefects and ask for the password, which they give to me without a second thought. “Flogspurt” Alice Longbottom says, before going back to her conversation. I walk out of the great hall and start on the many, many stairs I have to walk up to get to bed.
Thankfully none of the portraits tcalled me out as to why I had left the feast early, which makes me feel a bit better.
“Flogspurt,” I say to the fat lady and proceed to walk through the doorway. Not waiting for her to say anything in return. The common room is empty, as I had presumed. I stopped to look around, but nothing had changed since the last time I had been here. So I walk up the stairs that lead to the girls dormitories, and pushed through to my dorm where I find my bed lay down any pass out.
Not giving myself time to look around at the neatly made bed of Mary’s that would not stay that way for long. Im home.