40

                                    

                                          
I jumped on the train quickly, my robes in my hand. I had said goodbye to my parents at the manor this morning, just as I had last year. 
I hadn't been keeping up with my friends nearly as much as I should have, so I was excited to see them today. Normally, Aria and I do our yearly visit to diagon alley for our school needs, but she went with Blaise this year. I didn't want to third wheel, so my father went and got all of my stuff for me this year. 
I hadn't seen any of them since I had received my letter from Narcissa and abruptly left the train back in June. I was nervous to see them again, to say the least. I had butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. 
I found our usual compartment and recognized all of them in the window immediately. Blaise being the only unusual face that never really sits in here. I quickly slid the door open, and jumped inside, sliding it shut behind me. 
"HELLO EVERYONE!" I shouted, throwing my hands in the air, a giant smile spreading across my face. 
"Jules!" The three girls yelled in unison, standing up and embracing me in a tight group hug. 
"I've missed you all so much, you can't even begin to imagine!" I sighed, squeezing all of them back. 
"Blaise, I even missed you! Can you believe it?" I laughed, quickly moving over from my friends and hugging him as well. 
"Hardly." He chuckled, hugging me back. 
I sat down to the left of Ari, Blaise at her right. Maggie and Dani sat across from us, giant grins on their faces now that we were all reunited. 
"You guys hear about Potter?" Dani giggled. Her father worked at the Minstry so she was always full of gossip she shouldn't have known. She also loved to spill it. 
"No.." Maggie trailed off. The rest of us shook our heads indicating that we hadn't either. 
"Well, not only is he known as one of the biggest liars the wizarding world had probably ever seen. BUT, he was caught using magic in the muggle world a few days ago. Had to go to a trial and everything. Apparently, Dumbledore had to swoop in and save his ass. Now, he's just free to go. Walks around with no charges like nothing even happened." She spilled all at once. Maggie's eyes about popped out of her head. 
Blaise was the first to speak up, "He is such a fucking moron." He laughed. "If I had to pick anybody that would be stupid enough to expose us all, he would be my first option without a doubt."
The rest of us laughed along with him. 
"So, what was everyone up to this summer?" I chirped, excited to hear all the things I have missed from them. 
Maggie went first, "Nothing much. My mother and I started a garden. I thought it was the most boring thing, but she seems to enjoy it. That's seriously all I can think of." She giggled. We all looked at her with weird faces. That's it?
"My family and I took a vacation to the muggle world. It was... interesting." Dani said, narrowing her eyes at the end of her sentence. "Don't feel like going back anytime soon. 2 out of 5 stars. Mm.. maybe 1.5." 
"I hung out with Blaise." Ari shrugged her shoulders, her gaze turning over to look at him. A smile showed up on his face as she gave him all of her attention.  
"I actually... can't tell you guys what I did yet. I went to the muggle world, as well. However, I had a... different experience." Blaise chuckled. "It's a secret. I plan on showing you all this Friday. Prepare yourselves." He wiggled his fingers at us like it was something scary. I rolled my eyes at him. Bit of an oddball, that one.