I thought I knew my ending - Year 1 and 2

Chapter 6 - Summer holidays

6.1 Through the eyes of Petunia

My parents and I stood at the platform where her train was due to arrive at 6pm. The week before she returned involved a lot of stress and preparations as my parents wanted to organise something special for their daughter. I knew it was childish to be jealous of all the effort they put into my sister, as I received their support and love throughout the whole year. But still, I watched with a stab in my heart as they eagerly, almost jumping, waited for the train that would take my younger sister back home.

The conflict I felt every time I saw her again, after we got the news that Lily was a witch, was again stirring throughout my body. I looked forward to seeing her again, spending an entire summer with her, eating ourselves sick on cherries in the farmer's field behind our house, sneaking up on the roof to look at the stars, making up stories and... Lily no longer had to make up stories and look for magic in her life, because she had suddenly received it just like that. She, purely by luck, by fate, got everything and I got nothing. I bit my lip as I thought back to the moment when they came to tell her and I assumed I would be allowed to come with her to her school. If my sister was a witch, I had to be one too, right? Apparently, she had absorbed all the magical powers at birth and I had missed out.

The familiar squeak of the old steam train broke my thoughts. The train had not quite come to a halt yet when a host of students were already jumping off, some still in robes, others in normal jeans and jumpers. They were overjoyed to see their parents, brothers, sisters, grandmothers and grandfathers again. It seemed like the quiet platform had turned into a noisy festival in seconds. My mother put an arm around me and stood on her tiptoes. "There!" she pointed into the distance. I couldn't see anything through the sea of people, but then two arms and a bunch of red hair suddenly closed around me.

"Hey, Tuun." Lily looked at me with a huge smile. I didn't know what to say. She had turned towards my parents and was firmly hugged by them too. My father bent down and lifted her slightly off the ground.

"Jeez," he said, laughing, "just a little more and my back won't be able to handle that. Have you grown a foot since the last time we saw you?"

Lily laughed. A girl with blonde hair approached and whispered something in her ear. I watched with raised eyebrows.

"Um, mum, dad, Evelyne asked her parents if I could go and stay with them for a week this summer holiday and they agreed. Could I..." she didn't finish her sentence, but looked at them with big doe eyes. I rolled my eyes. That way she got just about everything done. With a hollow feeling in my stomach, I watched as the two friends stood side by side with big grins on their faces waiting for my parents' answer that they knew already. They had probably been planning this for a long time. Lily would be looking forward to it all summer. I clenched my fist.

My mother who looked at my father to make my sister feel that not everything could just happen and that they needed to consult together for a while, turned back to her daughter with a sigh.

"A week doesn't seem to hurt." And then she turned to the blonde girl: "Are you sure your parents are okay with it?" She nodded. "Where exactly does your family live?"

"I will send you the address via owl mail. It's a three-hour drive by your automobile." I giggled. What 12-year-old uses words like automobile? Evelyne looked at me in surprise, but didn't seem to realise why I was laughing with her and continued:

"My parents could also come and pick Lily up through the fireplace."

"That will be a problem," my father chuckled, "because ours has been boarded up for years."

"Ohh," she said, but Lily turned to her and took her hands. "We'll think of something. Will you send me lots letters over the holidays?"

"Of course!" They gave each other a hug and Evelyne walked to her parents and elder sister. I looked at her family. Her mother was an incredibly pretty blonde woman wearing an expensive suit and high heels. She bent down when she saw her second daughter arrive and gave her a firm hug. Her father remained standing stiffly beside her and gave her a small smile.