My Life As a Witch

The Masked on the Train

I woke up to a sudden feeling of wetness on my cheek.

"Five more minutes?" I groaned, spitting out a wad of red hair.

The wet thing kept slapping itself on my face. I opened my eyes a fraction and found the cat, it's beady eyes wide, trying to lick my face off.

"Stop it Merinda!" I laughed, pushing myself up with an arm. The cat fell onto the floor with a great yowl.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!"

I jumped off the bed, my feet touching the ground lightly, and gathered up the big furry ball. Hissing and spitting, Merinda jumped off the confines of my arms and slunk off down the stairs through the open door.

I rolled my eyes at the retreating figure and turned to face the tall mirror at the end of the bed, finding my usually tidy hair strewn all over the place, those lively green eyes framed with shadows. I grinned at myself and wiped the tiredness out of my eyes. Today was the start of the term. Today I was going back to Hogwarts for my seventh year.

I grabbed the last pair of jeans and shirt from the already emptied cupboard and ran to the washroom to freshen up, excitement welling up in my chest.

Moments later, I came out again, fully dressed, my hair back in place, and practically tumbled down the steps, checking my watch, my wand back in the back jeans pocket. The watch was given to me by my parents when I had turned seventeen. They picked up on the fact that witches and wizards received watches on their seventeenth birthday somehow and decided to get me one. I smiled at the memory, trying to relive every moment, and froze. Eight. It was eight o'clock. I was supposed to meet Severus down at the park.

"Mum! Dad!" I hollered as I picked myself up and ran down the steps, pulling on socks as I did.

"Yes?" my mother poked her head out of the kitchen.

"I'm late! Gotta meet up with Sev!" I yelled as I rushed past my sister, who had crossed her arms and legs, sulking to her deathbed.

"Be back by eight-thirty!" my mum said, pulling out plates of breakfast. "We still have to head to the station!"

Merinda hissed at me again, still angry, but I couldn't care less. I pulled on my sneakers one after the other and hopped down the slightly yellowed lawn, against the autumn tinged wind, towards the park. As I neared the small fence that ran around the place, I found him, my first wizard friend, Severus Snape, lounging against a tree.

"Hey! Sev!" I waved frantically.

"Lily!" his face brightened, but sank back into its sallow demeanour almost immediately.

"You're coming with us right? Like the usual?"

My family had drove me and Severus down to the station starting from our second year and his parents didn't seem to mind, so I naturally assumed that he would be coming with us this year.

"That's the thing..." he looked down at his feet. "I'm not coming with you guys."

"You mean you're not coming back to Hogwarts?" I asked, indredulous.

"No... not that," Severus kept his eyes on his feet. "I mean... I'm going to the station with Lucius and Mulciber... and... and the others. I'm sorry."

I gaped at him, disgust slowly swelling up the pit of my stomach.

"Oh," I said simply, suddenly remembering the hurt he had caused me after the 'mudblood' incident. I had forgiven him, seeing that he seemed regretful, but now, finding him still hanging out with his Death Eater friends...