PRINCESS ➳ harry potter, draco malfoy (NEW VERSION)

03 || The Hogwarts Express

"Mum, c'mon! Let me go," Katie complained, though she couldn't seem to bite back the little giggle that escaped her. Her mother was hugging her tightly for what must have been the twentieth time in the last five minutes.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm just really going to miss you," Maria said, cupping her daughter's cheek in her hand. Subconsciously, Katie leaned into the touch, all the while allowing for a small smile to paint her lips.

"I know," she said. "I'll miss you too."

She hugged her mother a final time, wrapping her arms firmly but lovingly around her. Then she turned to her father, noticed that his eyes were glazed over with welling tears.

"Dad, are you crying?" Katie teased, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"W-What? No!" Anthony stammered out, adjusting the collar of his shirt. "No, of course not. It's just a little breezy, that's all."

Perhaps he thought he was being discreet, but Katie saw him tilt his head back ever-so-slightly as he attempted to blink away the tears that were brimming his eyelids. Shaking her head amusedly, Katie stepped forward to hug him.

"Promise you'll write every week?" she asked. When she and her father parted, she noticed that she too had tears in her eyes. Parting with her family at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was indeed upsetting, but it was hard to be downcast with her destination in mind. Finally, after a long eleven years of hearing stories from her family about Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Katie was finally on her way there. She would fabricate her own stories to share with Leo, her own fantastical memories to relive and cherish.

"Of course, honey," Maria said warmly. Katie's father draped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close to his side.

Katie felt a tug at her skirt. Looking down, she found Leo staring up at her with wide and teary eyes.

"Awh, come here you," she said, swooping Leo up and spinning him around. Katie was grateful that Leo, like herself, was short like their father, otherwise she would definitely have struggled to pick him up in her arms. Leo yelled out in glee as Maria and Anthony watched, smiling fondly. Maria reached into her handbag and took out a handkerchief, which she used to dab away the tears from under her eyes.

Arms beginning to ache, Katie placed Leo back on his feet where he swayed, slightly disorientated after being spun around. Although he still had tears in his eyes, his newfound grin was unwavering, and Katie crouched down so that she was at his eye level.

"I'm gonna miss you," Leo mumbled, but Katie reached out and ruffled his hair, which made his face scrunch up and his falling smile returned as he vaulted out of the way.

"I'll be back for Christmas. That's not even four months away," Katie told him. "Besides, Mum and Dad will be at home to keep you company, yeah? Now, stop crying. You're a big boy now."

She hugged Leo close, but he seemed to have gotten over his despair regarding parting from his brother and sister. He wriggled out of her grasp, suddenly conscious of any on-lookers. He was now far too old to be seen hugging his sister in public. How embarrassing that would be.

Chris, who had been standing a little further up the platform, conversing and laughing with a pair of red-headed twins, came bouncing back to his family. With a face twisted in embarrassment, he accepted hugs from his parents and, like Katie had done only moments before, he ruffled Leo's messy head of blond hair.

"I'll see you soon, buddy," he said, grinning brightly. "You're in charge of giving Mum a hard time while I'm away."

"Christian!" Maria warned.