Invisible String

Chapter 05

LAWRENCE
"Come on, you'll survive this," my sister urged, gripping my wrist tightly and pulling me forward. Her hold was as unyielding as iron, and after a few seconds, it began to ache painfully. "Fine. But can you at least let go of me?" I sighed, and suddenly my wrist was released, but it burned red from the pressure. "Sorry," she mumbled under her breath as she opened the compartment door, which gave a loud creak due to Ara's tense movements. Since the incident with Dumbledore and my lost note, she had become more thoughtful and, in some ways, volatile. "Sorry, we couldn't find the compartment," Ara's voice was dry, but she managed a smile. She took a seat next to Hermione, and I followed suit, sitting next to my sister. "What do you want here?" asked the Weasley with a rather unpleasant undertone. Not very welcoming. "Ron, he's Amy's brother! You can stay, of course." I'm glad that Hermione defended me; she was really kind even though I'm a Slytherin. She never harbored such prejudices towards me. We both exchanged smiles. "So how are your grades this year? I heard that you're the best in our year, Hermione?" I started another topic while still feeling small under Weasley's gaze. "Oh, yes! In Transfiguration, I wasn't sure about my answer, but in the end, it turned out to be right. Though I heard that I share this position with someone, I haven't figured out who it is!" She exclaimed frustratedly. Suddenly, I felt Ara's elbow jabbing me, so I let out a quiet "ouch." "I know who it is," Ara playfully grinned at Hermione with a knowing expression on her face. No, she wouldn't dare. "Really? Who?" The girl with the curls looked so excited by Ara's words. "Oh, the person doesn't really think they deserve it, you know. It's my wonderful brother," she whispered mysteriously. This time, I punched her back. It's not a big deal, though. "Really? Oh, that's wonderful, Lawrence! Well, I hope our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher will be better." And this is what I wanted to prevent. Hermione seems like a likable person, so it's fine, I guess. "Quirrell was a good teacher though, except for the fact that Voldemort stuck out of the back of his head," Harry mumbled. He's got a point. I chuckled dryly, but tried to cover it up with a cough. I took out my book, which I borrowed from the library—well, maybe stole it, but no one would miss it over the summer. "What's this book, never seen it before?" Ara asked, leaning sideways to look into it. I just shrugged. "Some light reading over the summer." Ara also took out a book, of course, her favorite one. I don't know how many times she's read it now, but when we were little, she gave me my nickname from this book. Laurie. I smiled; this muggle book meant the world to her, even though it's an old copy, because Mrs. Brown isn't allowed to give us anything expensive. She's the sweetest person on this planet. I really missed her during the school year, and I'm sure Ara did too. Mrs. Brown never judged us for using accidental magic we didn't even know we did. All the other kids, the teachers, the other workers in the orphanage—they all thought we were weird or mental. But Mrs. Brown never did. And that's why I'll always defend her.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

"Ready?" I slowly exhaled. Not really, but I just nodded. "Yeah. Let's go," I said with a shaky voice. My sister grabbed my hand, and together we walked through the wall that separates our two worlds. One we grew up in, filled with loneliness and just Ara and me. The other, Hogwarts, where we're in different—feuding—houses, with magical parents who are probably dead. I never want to go to a muggle school again; all the teachers never liked us there, so Hogwarts is way better. I opened my eyes, not realizing that I had closed them. The train station was busy, so many people rushing to catch their train. "Come. There's Mrs. Brown," Ara pointed to her with her hand while the other was still around my wrist; this time with a more delicate grip. We ran to the brunette woman we've missed so much. As she caught sight of us, she smiled and opened her arms, and we fell into them. I'm not a hugging person, hating generally physical touch, but Mrs. Brown is the best hugger. I breathed in her perfume that reminds me of love. Slowly, she let go and inspected us from head to foot. "You're looking good, really. I missed you so much," again, she hugged us tightly. Maybe, in another universe, she would be our mother; I always dreamed about that. She let go for a second time and looked down at us. "Alright, we don't want to camp here, do we?" She started walking, and we trotted behind her. Today, she had her hair opened, quite unusual; she only wears it opened on special days. I smiled with a warm feeling; she's an Angel in person. Silently, we made it outside to the car. "Wait, wait, wait. You're driving? You finally passed your driver's license?" Ara asked with a surprised expression. Mrs. Brown nodded proudly. If there's one thing she's bad at, then it would be driving. She failed around 5 times now, but surprisingly she passed this time. "Congratulations," I said and really meant it. "Now, get in the car. Don't forget your seatbelts; I don't want to drive you to the hospital." We got into the backseats and buckled up, as well as Mrs. Brown. "So, now go on. How was your first year at Hogwarts? What houses are you in? You could've sent me an owl!" She blurted out while driving out of the parking lot—without hitting other cars, just to remark. "What?" Ara and I asked in unison. We both glanced at each other. Mrs. Brown sighed while smiling sadly. "Right, you don't know, I forgot. I'm a squib." Her shoulders raised a little bit, then sank. "A what?" Ara asked with an expression full of question marks. "A non-magical person born into a wizarding family," I declared to her. I found a book in the library that explains all that, while I tried to find some information about the Black family. Well, at least I learned something useful from reading nearly the whole library. "Yeah. I knew you two weren't normal since you were 4. This was the first time you showed any signs of magic; you were earlier than Amantha, Lawrence," she made a turn which pushed us into our seats; she nearly drove into a house. I thought about what she'd said. So she knew the entire time. "Why didn't you tell us?" Ara spoke out the same thought I had. Mrs. Brown sighed again. "It's complicated, you know? Anyway, tell me about your year now," she told us while she ran her fingers through her hair. Surprisingly, we didn't have a car accident right now. "It was great. I'm in Gryffindor, and my friends Harry, Ron, and Hermione are so nice to me. Harry is also an orphan but lives with his aunt and uncle. Not really friendly people they are. Well, of course, you heard of Harry." Ara slammed her hand against her forehead, forgetting that Mrs. Brown surely knows about the wizarding war. "Well, who doesn't, hm? And you, Lawrence?" Promptly feeling nervous. "I'm in Slytherin." It was a wonder that she heard it since I talked quite quietly. But Mrs. Brown just smiled. "I knew that you two will be in different houses. My sister was in Hufflepuff. And have you made any friends as well?" It feels good to have someone caring about you. "Well, Draco is quite okay, but talks a lot," I shrugged while Ara mumbled, "And makes horrible deals," under her breath. I must admit, it was a smart move from Draco. "His friends, Crabbe and Goyle, are stupid. Really, I don't know how they still passed." Ara chuckled at my words; everyone at Hogwarts knows their stupidity. "Do they even have first names?" asked my sister with a ruffled forehead. If they do, I don't know them then. "Hopefully next year will be less eventful," Ara sighed while leaning back. Again, Mrs. Brown made a life-risking turn. "What happened?" laughed Mrs. Brown at Ara's exhausted expression. "Oh just a Troll attacking students. Oh and a teacher had Voldemort sticking out of his head," I grumbled sarcastically. Mrs. Brown's grip on the steering wheel hardened, and she looked straight at the road. "Don't say his name!" She seems so stressed out; I mean, it's just a name, isn't it? She breathed in hardly; I guess she's trying to calm herself down. "I'm sorry. It's just, he isn't dead, is he?" I swallowed while looking down. "No. He isn't. He was weakened, though," whispered Ara a little frightened. I took her hand and gave her an encouraging smile to show her that it'll be alright. We both bounced forwards as Mrs. Brown made a sudden halt. The facade of the orphanage we've lived in for 11 years grinned at us. "Welcome back."