The Girl Who Saw Tomorrow II » Harry Potter

2.21 | A Sluggish Journey

By the time Margaret reached the compartment that had been empty earlier, a group of second-year girls were already sitting inside. The carriage seemed entirely occupied so she trudged on, keeping a lookout for one of her friends.

As the train rattled away from London, a sense of guilt for what she had left behind with a certain someone seemed to overcome her.

She had broken up with people before, some of them had been nasty too, but this was different. This time, her boyfriend's – or rather ex-boyfriend's family meant just as much to her. She had no idea what Fred would tell them, if it would become awkward to stay in the same house as them once they knew what she had done.

Beginning to feel slightly groggy, Margaret made it down the train without being stopped by anyone.

At last, she finally found an empty compartment near the end of the train and slipped inside, throwing her bag on the luggage rack. Taking a deep breath, she rested her head back against the seat and closed her eyes, picturing the Isle of Avalon and the peace it had brought her.

It seemed to be a little while later when a series of knocks came from the compartment door.

Margaret must have dozed off at some point because she awoke with a start, glancing around as the knocks sounded again. Yawning, she got to her feet and peeked through the glass.

To her surprise, Daphne Greengrass waved enthusiastically from the other side. Accompanying her was a slightly shorter dark-haired girl with a porcelain complexion.

Margaret pulled the door open.

"Hello, you," she greets, a bit confused. "This is a pleasant surprise."

"We've been looking everywhere for you!" says Daphne. "Oh, this is my sister, Astoria. Tori, this is Margaret Xenakis."

"Hi," greets Astoria. If Daphne was soft-spoken then Astoria might as well be whispering.

"Hey, Tori. I'm-" Margaret pauses. In the spur of the moment, she says, "You can call me Maggie."

"Nice," says Daphne before huffing. "You don't mind inviting us in, do you? Or are you saving seats for anyone?"

"Oh, no, not at all. C'mon in."

Daphne walked inside and slumped on a seat gratefully. Astoria sat down in front of her, peeking out of the window. Margaret regained her seat, now next to Daphne, and turned to her unlikely company questioningly.

"So any particular reason why you were looking for me?" she asks.

"Just to say hi," Daphne replies. "I got your postcard. How was Romania?"

"Brilliant, actually," Margaret says, smiling at the thought of the Sanctuary.

One of the days she was there, she had browsed through the gift shop of the museum and sent some postcards back to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna and Neville, with the addition of Daphne Greengrass whom Margaret had promised she would write to this summer. She had asked them not to reply because by the time it would've arrived, she might've already left.

"I can't believe you saw actual dragons," mutters Daphne, sounding slightly awed. "How's it like when they breathe fire?"

"Like you're being cooked in an oven," jokes Margaret. "Best viewed from afar! I've got photos in my trunk. I'll show them to you later."

"Ooh can I see them too?" Astoria asks.

"Of course!"

It wasn't exactly clear what sort of friendship Margaret and Daphne had.