The Hope beneath the Dark - Sebastian Sallow

6. All aboard the Hogwarts Express

The noises that Nerida was making packing her stuff last minute woke me up. After putting on my turquoise duelling pants, my taupe beige boots and my white shirt with a light green plaid pattern, I attached my pin near to the pocket where I then slid in my wand. It might be an odd place to put the pin, but I liked placing it where people wouldn't notice. I liked to avoid having to tell people about the pin and being forced to explain again the circumstances of my mom's death, and I didn't like to lie, so it was easier just to hide it for only myself to know it was there.

After walking from the Dungeons to the Great Hall, I spotted Ominis sitting with Freddie and Imelda, so I went and took place next to her to have breakfast with my Slytherin friends.

"I swear, Professor Black better lets us play quidditch again next year or I will start a riot." Imelda shouted just before taking notice of my presence. "Oh Maude, Nerida hasn't come with you?"

"No, she's still packing." I grabbed a piece of toast as I informed her. "That is why I packed on Thursday, so I can enjoy my morning panic-free." I scoffed.

"Will Poppy sit with us on the train?" Ominis asked, referring to us as him, Freddie and I.

"Yes, she will meet us at the station. Natty and Samantha are supposed to accompany her to say goodbye before we leave, as they are not taking the train." I turned to Imelda, remembering that Sebastian mentioned they'll be seeing each other this summer, to practice for the next quidditch season. "Are you not taking the train back to your parents, Imelda?"

"No, I'm spending the summer with my aunt, on my mother's side. She lives in Marunweem, down south in the Highlands" She replied, sounding excited to the idea.

"Yes, I think came across it once or twice. What plans do you have for spending two months off?" I tried to get her to tell me if she'll be seeing Sebastian, but then I realised she may not mention it as Ominis was sitting with us and she knew he didn't like when we talked about him.

"My aunt have planned a few things for us, but I mostly hope to spend most of my time on my broom."

Freddie and Ominis have been having a conversation between the two of them while I was questioning Imelda, but soon enough Freddie stepped in to interact with me.

"Maude, you never really told us where you live... With your grandmother you said, right?" Freddie asked, attempting to make small talk despite the apparent uneasiness between us.

"We used to live in Aberdeen up until last summer, but then we moved to Edinburgh a few weeks prior to my arrival at Hogwarts. Then the following week, Professor Fig was sent to meet me and tell me about Hogwarts, and the rest is history." I explained.

"Why did you move?" Ominis asked, with an inquiring tone.

"It was just hard for me and my grandmother to be constantly reminded of the death of my mom, with everything around that reminded us of her. I guess we needed to start fresh."

"What are muggle schools like? Must be quite boring!" Imelda laughed as she asked, not sounding particularly interested in the answer.

Weirdly enough, I hadn't thought at all about my life before Hogwarts since I got here. In fact, I didn't have many memories of it. There was some kind of vast blur between the moment my mother passed away, up until last summer when Professor Fig came to meet me at our home in Edinburgh. I tried to remember, but nothing came to my mind.

"To be honest, I absolutely cannot remember anything about even just my latest school year just before I got here. It was in Aberdeen... St-Margaret's school for girls I think, but I have no memories in mind at this moment." I confessed with a hesitant tone.