We were back where we were two months ago: Platform nine and three quarters. Even though the twins weren't really looking forward to the beginning of the school year, I was. The summer holidays had been absolutely great, don't get me wrong, but I longed for the smell of the Gryffindor common room, the constant hustle and my friends who I hadn't seen at all in those two months.
"There's Lee!" George said and pulled his brother with him. They both disappeared in the crowd. I scanned the platform for Angelina, Katie or Alicia, but I couldn't spot them. I did spot Cho, so I excused myself and looked for her. We had already said our goodbyes to Molly and Arthur and honestly, I already missed them. I had never experienced the feeling of homesickness, so I never understood what all the drama was about. I had never been away from home without my mum until she passed away. After that, there was not much of a home left to miss.
"Cho!" I called out and she looked my way. She smiled and came up to me as well. She was followed by a handsome young man who I had seen around Hogwarts a couple times before. I believe I saw him dancing with Fleur Delacour at the Yule Ball, although I could be wrong. That night had been pretty chaotic.
"Hi Y/N, it's nice to see you again", she said and pulled me into a hug. She seemed to be doing better than the last time I saw her, but I could never really tell. She was nice, but sometimes hard to figure out.
"How was your holiday?" I asked.
"It was okay. A bit hard at first, but it was good to be back home again. How was yours?"
"Really good. I stayed at the Weasleys, so never a dull moment", I said and she chuckled. I quickly looked at the boy who was still standing with Cho, awkwardly looking around, probably to find other friends. I couldn't blame him, we had ignored him the entire time.
"Who's this?" I asked, mainly to figure out what the link with Cho was. I knew he was a Ravenclaw, but what was he to Cho?
"Oh, Y/N, this is Roger. He's the captain of our Quidditch team. We were just discussing the try-outs", she said.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Y/N Y/L/N", I said and shook his hand.
"You're friends with the lot from the Gryffindor team, aren't you?" he asked and I nodded.
"Guilty. Are you two in the same year?" I asked, still subtly fishing for answers.
"No, I'm in your year", he said. "I guess I haven't left much of an impression", he said awkwardly and went with his hand through his hair. I was not good at making smalltalk.
"Oh, no, that's not it. I just know very little of Quidditch. I've been homeschooled until last year", I said apologetic.
"Can you play?" he asked.
"Oh no, I wish. We lived in the city, so I was never taught how to play", I said.
"We could teach you if you want", Cho said. "We play for fun often, you should come sometime", she said. That actually sounded nice. I had no friends outside of the Gryffindor house, so it was good to venture out a bit. I barely knew anything about Roger, but he seemed nice, so he might become a new friend as well. It was my last year in school, so the more social contacts I had, the better.
The train doors slid open and the students started pouring in.
"You should come sit with us", Cho said. "Marietta should be here soon. She's nice, you'll like her", Cho said. I still hadn't seen any of my friends, so I shrugged and followed them into the train.
We chose an empty compartment and made ourselves comfortable.
"You know the Quidditch rules, don't you?" Roger asked and I chuckled.
"I know you have to catch the Golden Snitch and that you have to throw the ball through the hoops", I said, knowing how embarrassing my answer was. Roger blinked a couple of times, figuring out whether I was joking or not. I honestly wasn't. My friends never really explained Quidditch to me and since we only had one game last year, where I passed out after ten minutes, I never got the chance to learn.
A girl with blonde-reddish hair joined our compartiment. She looked at me suspiciously for a second, but then smiled.
"Y/N, this is Marietta, my best friend", Cho said.
"Hello, I'm Y/N Y/L/N", I said and she extended a hand, which I shook.
"Cho told me about you. You were close with Cedric, weren't you?" I nodded, trying to stay cheerful.
"My condolences", she said and started catching up with Cho. I had honestly never seen her before, but she seemed nice as well. I liked the Ravenclaw house, or at least what I knew of them.
"So, there's a Golden Snitch, a Bludger and a Quaffle. Weren't you hit by a Bludger last year?" Roger continued.
"I was. Bloody Fred Weasel", I chuckled, thinking back to that day. That Bludger was meant for Cedric.
"Well, Fred and George are the Beaters of the Gryffindor team. They have a bat and they have to make sure that the Bludgers, who are enchanted to fly around, don't hit the players from their own team, but do hit the players from the other. They're quite good, I have to admit. George once broke my arm when he sent a Bludger my way." I listened attentively. I had always found Quidditch to be an interesting sport. I would definitely take them up on that offer.
Roger kept on explaining the game to me, which wasn't that hard actually. The Chaser spot seemed the most fun to me. Being a Seeker would be too much pressure and I was way too small to be a Keeper. I was more of a quick and sneaky kind of person. I believed that Angelina, Katie and Alicia were all chasers, so that would be kind of fun. Maybe they could teach me too.
"You don't have your own broom, do you?" Roger asked and I shook no.
"But I'd love to get one." I always wanted my own broom, but I didn't fly much outside of school. Not at all actually. Fred did tell me all about Quidditch tournaments at the Burrow, so maybe I should get one.
"Which one do you recommend?" I asked.
"The Cleansweep 11 just came out and is pretty good. The Nimbus 2001 is terrific, but expensive. I'd recommend an average broom, like a Cleansweep or a Thunderbolt two."
I nodded, seriously considering buying one. The only broom shop nearby was in Diagon Alley, though, where I had been a week ago. Maybe I could send Molly some money and ask her to send me one. I didn't really have anyone else to ask. I did feel uneasy about that. I knew she had a difficult time providing brooms for all her children, who all loved Quidditch. Just sending her money to buy me one seemed disrespectful.
The sweets trolley came by, but I wasn't very hungry. Molly had stuffed us all before we left. I knew that she felt sad with everyone leaving, so I promised to write her often. I knew that the twins barely ever did that, so she must feel a bit lonely.
Someone knocked on the door and I looked up. Fred waved and opened the door.
"Here you are, I couldn't find you", he said and quickly looked at the others. His eyes rested a bit longer on Roger, who sat beside me. Fred was jealous quickly, as I experienced last year with Cedric, Michael and even George, but he had no reason to be. Roger genuinely seemed like a nice guy and I'd love to become friends with him, but that was it.
"Yeah, I couldn't find you either, so I made new friends", I said. I could go with Fred now, but that would make it seem as if I was only using these Ravenclaws because I couldn't find my other friends and that was not the case.
"I'll see you when we get there", he said after a while and left again.
"Everything okay between you and Fred?" Cho asked and the atmosphere was tense.
"Yeah, totally, he just tends to act weird when I hang out with people besides him", I say. He wasn't possessive, he was just a little insecure sometimes. "But it's fine."
"You two are dating?" Roger asked and I nodded.
"Almost half a year." Time flew by so fast. It felt as if it was yesterday that he had sedated me in front of the entire school.
The rest of the ride consisted of mainly smalltalk and the discussion of who our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher would be. As it turned out, Professor Moody from last year wasn't Professor Moody at all, but Bartemius Crouch Jr, who was now spending his days in Azkaban. I had always found him a bit weird and cruel, but I would have never imagined that. I tried not to think about it too much, because it creeped me out.
The actual Professor Moody didn't want to and wasn't allowed to take the position. The Ministry was still keeping up the act that Voldemort wasn't back. They had made Harry and Dumbledore look like liars to the whole wizarding world, which would surely result into trouble later on. I brought it up quickly, but Cho shot me a look that said not to. She looked at Marietta quickly, suggesting that she was one of the many people who believed the cover-up.
I slept for some part of the ride and then changed into my Gryffindor robes. The train came to a halt and we got out. It was already dark out and even though I had slept during the ride, I still felt tired. I saw my friends step on a carriage in the back and waved at them. Angelina waved back enthusiastically and wanted to get off the carriage, but she wasn't allowed to.
"I'll see you inside!" She screamed for at least half the student body to hear. I chuckled.
"Mad you Gryffindors are", Roger joked as we waited for our own carriage. Even though I had gotten used to most magic, Thestrals were still so fascinating to me, even though I couldn't see them. I had dealt with loss, but I hadn't actually ever seen someone die, which was required to see these magical creatures.
It was finally our turn, so we stepped on a carriage, which immediately started its way to the castle. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed behind us and when Cho noticed Harry, she smiled and waved. He waved back with the same smile and it wasn't just a friendly one. I knew Harry had asked Cho to the Yule Ball last year, but I had never thought that Cho might be interested in him as well. She was always with Cedric ...
I guess I had to keep an eye on that.