You Must Be a Prewett

Chapter 3

I'm sitting there. At the Potters kitchen table, paralyzed with fear.

"I'm going to Hogwarts!" I hear James shriek, in a voice that, if the situation was different, I would tease him about. But we aren't in that situation.

"Aria! We're going to Hogwarts! We're gonna go down in history as the schools biggest pranksters!"

"James!" Mrs. Potter scolded.

She turns to me, shaking her head at her son.

"Aria, are you alright? You look pale."

I want to tell them how I feel. How terrified I am about this whole idea. But all I can muster is a simple, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Mrs. Potter does not look convinced but stops pestering me about it and moves on.

"Well we will have to travel to Diagon Ally soon, to buy your school supplies. Aria, I'll speak with your mother to see if we can compromise a date. And James?"

Mrs. Potter turns around face her son who, by the way, is grinning ear to ear.

"If I hear one word of you misbehaving at that school, your father and I will be sure to bring you right home, understand?"

"I understand I'll have to make sure you don't hear about it." James replies, grinning, if possible, wider.

Mrs. Potter attempts to send him a warning look, but you can see her choking down a laugh.

That's the thing about Mrs. Potter, despite the incredible amount of pranks and tricks James has plotted and pulled out over the years, she doesn't get too mad.

Sure, she scolds him for it, but you can tell that deep down, she enjoys his pranking pastime.

Mr. Potter however, doesn't enjoy them as much. Mrs. Potter claims he was just like James when he was a kid but I don't believe it. He's always dressed up, always serious, and never in the mood for his sons pranks.

As Mrs. Potter leaves the kitchen, most likely to be sure we don't see her laugh, James turns to me.

"Hogwarts. Pranking heaven. We need to plan." He says in a hushed tone before grabbing my hand and leading me up to his room, where we plot all our good pranks.

I flop down on his bed as he opens his closet wide to show the back of the door, where a cork board hangs.

After grabbing a box of thump tacks and some small squares of parchment and a quill, he sits down next to me.

"We need a list of goals, so when we get to Hogwarts we now how to leave a lasting impression on everyone." He says, matter-a-factly.

When he's not being a complete idiot, he's actually quite smart and thorough. Although, he's hardly ever not an idiot.

"Well, we'll need a map to start." I say sitting up.

"Maybe," He says, "but I don't think that should be a priority."

I roll my eyes and continue listening, begging my mind to leave the horrible black hole of a thought it was stuck in.