Goodbye summer. (Open)

[Danny McKay G5]

“Finally!” Danny said as he passed through the border of the muggle and magical train stops. He stood there for a few seconds just looking at the train. It was beautiful sight after what seemed like such a long summer. It wasn’t so bad but he just missed Hogwarts so much probably more then he ever had in his life. He was soon pushed out of the way by his mom and step dad as they went through the wall. Danny looked around and didn’t see anyone he knew right away. What he did notice was all the first years, they were pretty easy to pick out of the crowd. They were normally the ones staying to there parents side as they looked around. Danny smiled remembering that he was like that when he was a first year.

Danny slowly walked over to the train pulling his trunk behind him. His mom and William were smiling as always when he turned around to say goodbye to them. Danny stood there as his mom told him all the normal things she did when he was about to leave. He didn’t really pay attention to what she was saying because he had heard it so many times. Danny was paying more attention to the people getting on the train. Danny looked over as she asked almost yelling are you paying attention to me. Danny started laughing a little as he couldn’t hold back his answer. “Nope.” Danny started laughing even more as William started to laugh as well. His mom just sighed and hugged him saying be safe as she pulled away then William hugged him and told him to try and getting better grades. Danny just smiled as he waved then got on the train.

“Finally I’m back.” he said she he looked around the inside of the middle of the train. It seemed to be filling up with people already. After going to almost every compartment door and finding someone in it Danny gave up and walking into the back of the train. It was somewhat empty a few people here and there but the back of the train is almost always the quietest but the most filled with Slytherins but it was worth the risk to find an empty compartment. After trying a few doors and a few rude answers Danny finally found an empty compartment and went in. Danny sighed as he sat down putting his trunk on the floor. “Another year…” He said smiling knowing that as soon as classes were going to start the joy of being back at Hogwarts would be gone.

[sethia]

It was another quiet sendoff for Sethia, aunt Hetty was on the farm and she’d left Payton’s days ago but she hadn’t gone home, instead she opted for staying the Leaky Cauldron for the rest of summer. Now it was time to get back home, and home was Hogwarts the only place she’d ever felt completely at ease. The farm was great, the farm was her get away and she loved it but it wasn’t like being at Hogwarts where she could practice her magic openly without fear of being discovered.

She stepped through the barrier onto platform 9 ¾ the usual sight greeting her, parents with their children, friends hugging each other in greeting after the long summer apart and of course the few siblings watching their loved ones get on the train they would one day board. It was all very nostalgic and yet very different, since this was going to be the last year she would be seeing this sight.

She was lugging her trunk behind her and a canvas bag on her back, her hair was still black from the spell and though it was a dramatic look she wasn’t sure it was exactly her. She stood behind a family saying goodbye, the mother asking her son if he was listening and getting an emphatic “Nope”. She couldn’t help but smile at that before stepping closer to the train, the most beautiful train in the world. The Hogwarts Express was a freedom ride for so many and it was the same for Sethia, it was the means of returning her to where she belonged. How she was going to cope with life without Hogwarts she still wasn’t sure, but she still had one year to figure that out.

She took the stairs into the middle of train; the boy she had been standing behind was still in front of her. as usual the train was filling up fast and space was becoming scarce if you wanted to sit with friends or in a particular compartment, luckily for Sethia she didn’t really have those options, she just had to find a seat for herself. Apparetnly the boy in front of her was finding it as hard to find a seat as it was for her, and soon they were both down at the end of the train amongst the Slytherins but a place you were sure to find a seat since most of the school would rather cram into the first two sections than deal with Slytherins. Sethia didn’t care; she wasn’t scared of them anymore. When the guy found a seat Sethia kept on down the corridor but there wasn’t really any place she wanted to sit after seeing the annoyed faces and rude remarks, so she headed back to where the boy had disappeared.

Sethia pulled the compartment door and stood there for a moment, “Mind if I join you?” she asked, “I don’t think they really want me around,” she said with a smile as she referred to the Slytherin contingent.

[Danny McKay G5]

Danny looked out the window still somewhat smiling as he thought about finally being back at Hogwarts. Just thinking about being able to see everyone again made him smile a bit more. He promised himself he was going to try his best this year at pretty much everything. But he didn’t tell his parents that because then they would know that he was going to actually try and that wasn’t like him at all. Danny laughed a little looking out the window as he saw a few more people running through the barrier. “They probably think they’re late.” He muttered talking to himself.

Danny knew the train had to be leaving soon because everyone out there was ether running or walking quickly. He could finally see his parents leaving the train station making Danny wonder why they had stayed around so long. He would have waved but they didn’t turn back to look at the train and then they were gone through the barrier. He kept smiling still knowing that one of the first things besides going to the great hall when he got to Hogwarts was get a letter from his mom telling him how she was going to miss him and all there others like be good and try hard all the usual things she send in her letters. Most of the time he didn’t even read her first letter because it’s almost as if she just copied the letter from the very first one she sent him in his first year.

He kept thinking and looking out the window out to the station till he heard the door open to the compartment. In the back of his head he hoped it wasn’t a Slytherin. Then Danny looked over finally to see a girl standing there smiling and asking if she could sit down. Then she made a comment about not being very welcome by the Slytherins and Danny smiled. “Very few people are.” He said still smiling referring to her not being welcome by the Slytherins. “I don’t mind at all sit anywhere you want.” Danny said smiling as he moved his trunk out from the middle and but it on the floor right next to him. “I’m Danny McKay by the way, nice to meet you.” Danny said still smiling.

[sethia]

Sethia stood waiting. Was he going to let her sit with him or was she going to be forced to trek back to the forward cars and attempted to find a place there? She adjusted her bag on her shoulder while she waited, her eye flickering from the boy to the open window and people hurried all over the place a definite sign that the train would be leaving soon. Sethia had never been one of those who had to run around like a headless chicken when it came to getting on the train, she was always on time, mostly because she was so eager to get back and today was no different.

She smiled as the boy said that very few people were welcomed by the Slytherins, which was a very true statement. “Yeah I guess, but they seem to particularly dislike us Hufflepuffs,” she said stepping into the compartment once he had told her it was all right to do so. “Thanks,” she added as she took a seat and placed her belongs at her feet and rested her bag in her lap. “I’m Sethia Wagner. Nice to meet you Danny, and thanks again for letting me sit with you.” She extended her hand to him in greeting, a smile on her face. This was good, she needed to meet new people and at least Danny would be some conversation on the ride back to Hogwarts.

Once they had shaken hands, Sethia, rested her head back against the seat and crossed her legs and looked out the window. She watched as a little girl with blonde hair, much like her own, stood with her parents saying goodbye. Sethia gave a small smile as she watched the girl’s mother kiss her cheek and stroke her hair. She wondered if her mother would have been that way with her, she thought so. Though her memories of her parents were only small shards and fragments she could still see them in her mind and hear their voices. Unlike the past, Sethia didn’t long for them or miss them as she did, though she still felt the pangs from time to time, instead she was content to think that wherever her parents were they were proud of her for trying to find her way without them.

She looked over at Danny, “I can’t believe summer’s over, it feels like it just began, strange things is, I’m kind of glad it is over.” This summer hadn’t been entirely the summer she’d hoped it would be, but she’d had worse.

[Danny McKay G5]

Danny watched her walk into the compartment and smiled. Danny thought about what she next said, he never noticed them acting differently to any of the other houses. They seemed pretty mean and rude to all of them equal but he guessed being in Hufflepuff herself she would have knew if they were ruder. Then as she sat down she introduced herself and thanked him for letting her sit down and Danny smiled then she extended her hand and Danny shook it. “No need to thank me it’s my pleasure. The train ride always goes a lot faster when you have someone to talk to.”

As she looked out the window Danny started to look out it too. Danny wasn’t really paying attention to anyone in particular he was just looking out there to see how many people were left. There was only a few so that meant the train was probably going to leave soon. Danny smiled thinking that in a short time from now he would be at Hogwarts. Even the thought of being back on this train made him happy just knowing it was part of Hogwarts. Danny was still smiling as he turned to Sethia as she started talking. He thought about it and his summer wasn’t the great either.

From meeting his real father which was just a nightmare that ended even worse. Then the rest of the summer was so boring he had been looking forward to Hogwarts the whole time. Danny did meet a lot of people over the summer and most of them became new friends but still he would have rather have been at Hogwarts for most of it. “Well I can’t believe it’s over either but my summer just seemed to go on forever.” Danny laughed a little as he said that. “It’s wasn’t my worst summer but I just missed Hogwarts so much and all the people I knew here. I barely saw anybody I knew this summer.” Danny finished talking and right when he did the train jerked forward and started moving and Danny looked out the window to see a few families waving there kids off from the station and Danny just smiled.

[sethia]

Sethia smiled, “That’s true,” she replied to Danny’s comment about the train ride going faster when there was someone to talk to. Most things seemed to go faster when there was someone else there with you, from train rides to homework, having company always seemed to make things easier. She doubted very much she would have survived her first few years at Hogwarts if she hadn’t had a little company, though it wasn’t easy to find that company. Sethia was a generally shy person when she first came to Hogwarts, she was solitary, preferring to have her nose in a book or spending time with the creatures from her Care of Magical Creatures class, it was because of her like of animals that she made friends with Hagrid and realized what she really wanted to do with her life.

How could she describe her summer? Was it the worst summer on record for her? The jury was out on that one still, but for sure it wasn’t the best one she’d ever had. She gave a small smile as Danny said that his summer hadn’t been the worst. “I saw one or two people I knew, but I really missed Hogwarts,” she admitted. “Summer seemed to crawl for me too, at least the beginning then it seemed to fly by.” The first part of her summer was spent on the farm and then she was in London on her own for a while getting her supplies for school before going to spend a little time at Payton’s. Payton, to even think of him sent a strange feeling through her.

Her fingers found the strands of black hair that were dangling over her shoulder when the train lurched into motion. They were on their way. Sethia looked out as the parents waved goodbye to their children as they began to chug their way along the train towards home…towards Hogwarts. Just as they started off, the spell that had been cast on her hair broke and the black melted away to reveal her natural golden strands. When she looked at the strand of hair that was wrapped around her finger she was surprised to see blonde and not black. It was only temporary after all, and it was rather nice to see her natural colour.

“So Danny, what year are you in?” she asked, trying to make conversation.

[Danny McKay G5]

Danny Kept looking out the window it was nice to see all the people waving there kids off and now he kind of wished that his parents had stayed around so he could try and find them in the crowd of people waving. He looked over as she agreed to his comment about having company made the train ride faster. Which He already knew was true. He had spent this ride once alone and it seemed to last forever probably because he was just waiting till he could see Hogwarts out of the train window.

Danny kept listening to her explain her summer and it sounded surprisingly like his in was way besides meeting friends. He had made a few new ones but he didn’t see anyone he knew this summer it was so boring and crawled just like her summer but it was the whole summer not just half of it. Danny watched her as she had her fingers on a black part of her hair and Danny was shocked to see that black melt away and to change into blonde. “Good thing that didn’t happen in front of any muggles.” He thought to himself as he listened to her ask him what year he was in.

“Sixth year, two more years till I have to figure out what to do with my life.” He said smiling somewhat copying what his mom kept saying to him. That was another thing that had been on his mind lately. What was he going to do when he got out of school? He had pushed off thinking about it for sometime but now is when he really had to figure it out. Danny snapped out of his thought finally and smiled. “So what year are you in?” He said the first thing that popped into his head to ask her.

(Sorry again that it's so late.)

[sethia]

Sethia brushed the blonde hair back over her shoulder as she waited for Danny’s response, the though of how it would have looked if the spell had melted in front of muggles, but she was sure there was some attached charm to ensure it wouldn’t. Though it would have been hilarious to try to explain it. What story would she have come up with? Would anyone have even cared or asked? She doubted. People saw strange things all the time, and though they might wonder about it they never asked.

Danny looked about her age, but sometimes looks were deceiving, he might actually be a lot younger than she presumed. When he answered he proved her right, though he wasn’t that much younger than her, only a year. “Lucky you, I don’t have as much time as I used to,” she said with a smile. Her entire life was waiting before her; university and becoming an adult, as daunting as that sounded. Becoming an adult often conjured images of being very stiff and proper to her mind for some reason, though her aunt was nothing or the sort and she doubted she could be either. She liked the way she was, it had taken her some time to admit that but now she wouldn’t change it.

“I’m in Seventh year. My last year at Hogwarts,” she said somewhat sadly. She was going to miss the castle, her friends and the life she had found there. Leaving Hogwarts meant finding and sorting out her life all over again, and she both looked forward to it and dreaded it all at the same time. She once heard that when you’re in school you always want to get out into the world but when you get there all you want to do is go back to school. She wondered if it would be the same for her, would she want to be back at Hogwarts again or would she find her way out there. There was only one way to find out, and that time was creeping up on her quickly.

“So was that your mum with you on the platform?” Sethia asked with a smile. “I didn’t mean to pry but I saw you out there,” she admitted.


((No problem really ))

[Danny McKay G5]

Danny laughed a little as he listened to her say that he was lucky and she didn’t have as much time as he did to think about what she was going to do with her life. “I guess I am lucky but I still don’t have the faintest idea of what to do.” He said laughing a little “and I’m pretty sure I won’t have any idea by my seventh year.” Danny added still laughing some what knowing that, that would probably happen to him and he wouldn’t even know what do by his last year. Danny felt a little jealous of the people who knew that they wanted in life. They had things planned out goals they wanted to achieve and Danny was just sitting back waiting. The only thing he knew for sure about what he wanted to do with his life was that he didn’t want to do something boring.

Danny listened as she said that she was a seventh year and this was going to be her last. Danny didn’t want to thing about having a last year a Hogwarts. He didn’t really want to leave Hogwarts ever most of the time. The only time he wished he wasn’t in Hogwarts was when he was in some class he didn’t like which was only a few of them. Danny smiled when she asked him if that was his mom that was on the platform with him and then said that she say them on the platform together. “Don’t worry about it, yea that was my mom and step dad.” He said smiling at her then looking out the window. “She’s always there and always the same every year. I’m sure even in my last year she’s going to treat me like it’s my first year going to Hogwarts.” He said laughing and looked out the window then back at her.

“I don’t think she’ll ever treat me different even when I’m out of school.” He said smiling back at her. “So did your family come and see you off?” He said smiling at her just trying to make conversation.