2.

                                    

                                          
         It was difficult to breathe at the moment. A large portion of my words were spoken in between heavy breaths. The sound of the large waterfall caused me to raise my voice in order to be heard. "Don't you understand?" I called out in frustration. The being who stood before me had a look of confusion on their face.  I know the solution, and I'm ready to pay the price." A flash of green light flooded my vision before I could utter another word.
     My body jolted awake. The sound of running water and echoing had been replaced with trains coming and going from King's Cross Station. A couple of pieces of spare gold were used to rent a room in the Leaky Cauldron to save time before the train departed at 11am this morning. The watch on my wrist read 9:30 a.m. Feeling slightly more relieved, I slowly gather my trunk and other personal belongings. I was currently wearing a pair of grey textured dress pants that were tucked inside black knee-high boots. My top was a gold corset with a white undershirt. Normally, there is a small bag strapped to my leg through thigh straps, but that was currently tucked into my trunk since it was designed for traveling through the forbidden forest. 
     Once I had all my belongings, and double checked for my train ticket, I made my way downstairs to grab a butterbeer before meeting up with Ominis and Sebastian. The nice warm butterbeer was just what I needed to wake up that morning. It was mainly a distraction to pull my thoughts away from the nightmare I had last night. 
     Ever since the end of last year, I kept having the same nightmare over and over again. Most nights during my summer were spent hoping that I would not fall asleep, which resulted in my family expressing their concerns far more often than I was comfortable with. 
     Ominis, Sebastian and Anne all wrote this summer. However, there were times when their owls went days without being answered. This was due to my fear of thinking any one of them were in a tougher situation than I was in, and information like that would only drag me down a deeper hole of isolation. 
     I was currently sitting on a bench in the portion of King's Cross that was visible to muggles while waiting for Ominis and Sebastian. Our current Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook was sitting in my lap as I was reading a bit of the information Professor Hecat was going to teach us this year. After seeing the results of my O.W.L.'s, I accepted that no other career pathway suited me more than being an Auror. Out of the 7 test categories of the O.W.L. exam, 5 of those resulted in Outstanding, with History of Magic and Herbology being my lowest categories of Exceeds Expectations. I was well aware being a Healer was never in the cards for me, but the O.W.L. 's seemed to give me a gentle reminder.
     "Liliana". Hearing my name pulled my attention away from the textbook. Expecting to see my two Slytherin friends, Ominis and Sebastian, I'm surprised to see my parents and older brother standing before me. "One would think you're trying to make your way back to school without giving a proper goodbye", my father's orotund voice made me slightly uncomfortable. 
     Standing up from my spot on the bench, I tuck the textbook into my school bag before facing my family again. "Of course not. Seeing how the previous year's travel experience was rather traumatizing, you can understand my eagerness to ride the Hogwarts Express this time. The room at the Leaky Cauldron was very minimal, and it guaranteed a good seat once we're allowed to board." 
     I had no intention of being cold toward my family. My brother's irritated look directed toward me made my stomach churn. Dropping my defensive stance, I raised my arms to invite them into a hug. It was something that was needed, for my family, for my brother, and for me. Opening my eyes, the sight of one haired male standing next to a slightly taller male with brunette hair brought a big smile to my face. "We will be boarding shortly", I uttered to my family. Breaking away from the hug, I grab my trunk and school bag before heading over to my friends.