LIFELINE | 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙮 𝙒𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙮

▪︎ 01.

》Year 5

Eliza was on the train. It had departed a few seconds ago, and so she went searching for her friends to tell about her summer and listen about their summer.

"Guess who got the badge?" A familiar voice rang out from one of the compartments. It was full of jealousy and dismay.

"I'm guessing it's not you," Eliza said cheekily, sliding the compartment door wide open.

Jameson looked at her, "Tell me why I'm still friends with her?" He asked Claire, who was sitting opposite of him and shrieked with delight as soon as she saw Eliza.

Claire, who jumped on her seat, got up and rushed at Eliza to give her a hug, making them take a few steps back to steady herself.

"Woah! I know you want to touch me at a given chance, Claire, but that's no reason to hug me directly!" Eliza said sarcastically but wrapped her arms around the girl and hugged her back, ignoring an eye roll from James.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're here! Or else James would've killed me with his 'Oh I didn't get the badge whyyyy' cry." Claire said, taking her seat back.

Eliza, who sat beside Claire after keeping her cat cage down, snickered as James opened his mouth indignantly.

"I was not going to cry about it, Claire!" James said with a haughty voice. "I was just telling that that absolute rule lover Weasley got the badge." He said, folding his arms grumpily.

"Well, if you tried this much to not get others in trouble, then you would've gotten the badge." Eliza said, almost connecting her thumb and forefinger.

James smirked, "It's not my fault that people trip and get tricked easily."

"You should join Percy's twin brothers. They'll absolutely take you in." Claire said.

"Oh yeah, look at Percy and look at them. If it wasn't for the red hair, I don't think anyone would ever say they're siblings." Eliza replied.

"I think their little brother is starting this year." James said thoughtfully.

"They have another brother!?" Claire asked incredulously. How many siblings did Weasley's have?

"Wait, that's like 6 already," Eliza said, counting her fingers. "One was Charlie, Percy—"

"Don't forget that Head Boy Bill!" James said, pointing a finger at Eliza.

"Yeah, yeah, that's five, including the twins and another brother now, that's six." Eliza said wide-eyed. "Don't tell me they have another sibling." She asked James.

He shrugged, "I have no idea, Percy barely talks with anyone unless it's someone stepping out of the line."

"Where's Rehan? He should be able to find us by now." Claire voiced out, the others wondering the same.

Just as Claire spoke, a loud muttering was audible, no doubt complaining and struggling to open the door. James half smiled and opened the door, revealing a boy of fifteen, looking extremely irritated.

"Oh finally Rehan!" James said, looking at him up and down, trying to make out why he had luggage on him, instead of throwing it with his trunk.

"Here," Rehan said, thrusting a small bag into James's arms, "That's for you." Sitting down and giving one to Eliza and one to Claire, he spoke again, "Those are for you two."

"What's this?" Claire asked, not opening the bag, unlike James, who had already opened it and was digging inside the contents.

"It's food. My mom made it. She insisted on making a bag for each of you." Rehan said with an eye roll.

"That's sweet of her." Claire said, finally opening her bag and checking the items, unlike James, who was already having a taste.

"Sweet of her? All summer she was like, 'Oh you must give something to your friends, there so nice being friends with you!'" Rehan complained, "Like what? Did my mother never expect that I would make friends?"

Everyone laughed. Rehan continued his summer tale with a sour expression, how his parents had to hide the fact that Rehan was a wizard by telling his relatives that he went to boarding school and their relatives replied with: he's such a nice boy, why would you send him to boarding school!

Soon after, everyone started recounting their summer vacation story. James and Eliza had a normal summer, unlike Rehan and Claire's, which was complete chaos.

Claire had told them almost every single story of her elder brother, who worked as a bartender and had countless narratives about drunk customers.

They all enjoyed their ride, eating Rehan's mum's sweets and sweets from the trolley. Discussing the old seniors who left and young juniors who arrived.

They had not noticed the sun fall and moon rise or the fact that they stopped, to which all of them dressed haphazardly, two at a time.

But they made it just in time for Hagrid, the game keeper to shout, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

It was the start of another magical year.