𝔖𝔢𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔡 ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢 (18+ ℭ𝔬𝔪𝔭𝔩𝔢𝔱𝔢)

Harry's Return to Hogwarts

     "Look, there's Voldemort's killer!" A boy hollered as soon as I stepped foot on platform 9 ¾.

     Dozens of curious gazes turned in my direction.

     Ron straightened his jacket, looking pleased with the attention. "So much for a quiet year at Hogwarts, ay mate?"

     "It's not as if we didn't expect to attract attention," Hermione said while tucking several strands of hair behind her ear.

     "Is that really Harry Potter?" a female standing off to my right asked her friend.

     "Yeah." The cute blonde nodded.

     "He's shorter than I expected." The girls snickered and walked away.

     "Brilliant," I grumbled.

     Ginny's warm amber gaze met mine. She scrunched her face, looking regretful. "Sorry, Harry, but I'm going to go sit with my friends. I'll see you later." Without waiting for a reply, she drifted away and was soon lost in the crowd.

     Ron frowned. "That's loyalty for you."

     "I can't blame her, it's not like Harry's her boyfriend or anything." Hermione adjusted the bag on her shoulder.

     Hanging my head, black waves fell across my face. Driving my luggage cart towards the Hogwarts Express, I said, "I don't care about that, I just want to find an empty compartment for the ride.

     "Luna and Neville should be here." Hermione swiveled her head around like an owl.

     "Maybe they're already on the Express." I shrugged.

     Pressing onward, people moved out of our way while continuing with their gossip and judgmental stares.

     Eventually, we scrambled onto the train. And as luck would have it, Neville and Luna had a private booth waiting for us. The blinds were drawn, creating a safe haven.

     I plopped onto the long bench-seat while taking a deep breath. Leaning my head against the seat cushions, I relaxed. The train jerked forward and I ignored the idle chit chat for a while.

     "How did you two finally get together?" My eyes sprang open at Hermione's question.

     Luna and Neville snuggled on the large bench seat across from me. "Well, after all the fighting ended at Hogwarts, Neville came running up to me. He was out of breath and trying to say something, but only wheezing came out."

     "Hey," Neville smiled. "I said your name."

     "That's true. You said 'Luna- I- I-,' and then you kissed me."

     Hermione sucked in a shocked breath.

     "It was lovely." Luna's dreamy lilt brought a smile to my face.

     Ron chuckled. "Good on ya, mate."

     "Yeah, what he said," I chimed in.

     Neville smiled proudly. "We've been inseparable since."

     Luna nudged him playfully and he pulled her closer.

     I glanced at my best mates. While I was happy for them, sitting with two couples made me feel like the odd man out.

     "Any sweets from the trolley?" the old Witch called out.

     Ron bolted to the door and slid it open.

     Hermione rolled her eyes. "You don't need anything, Ronald. According to Ginny, you've put on too much weight to play quidditch."

     "I'm riding a broom, so my extra padding is fine. What does Ginny know, anyway?"