stardust ⋮ george weasley

two :

T W O

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Platform 9 and 3/4s was bustling with activity as parents rushed around, trying to get in final goodbyes with their children who were more focused on finding their friends they hadn't seen all summer. Adeline knew she wanted to see her friends immediately, as she knew she would be whisked away to the prefects meeting.

Estelle was the first one she spotted, eagerly hugging her parents alongside her older sister Madeleine, a seventh year Slytherin who Adeline was almost sure was the Head Girl this year.

Her parents waved when they spotted Adeline, and she found herself pushing her cart through the crowds of people. Adeline had spent the past two Christmas holidays at her house after her friends learned what her parents were like and, back in the summer before fourth year, Adeline had managed to convince her parents to let her stay at Estelle's for a week at her family home in Ireland and it had probably been one of the best weeks of her life.

"Sweetheart, congrats on making Prefect!" Estelle's mother said excitedly, pulling Adeline into a sudden hug and a kiss on her cheek. Despite the many encounters and years of friendship, Adeline had yet to find herself get used to Estelle and her family's affection towards her.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Badin," Adeline replied, eventually hugging her back as well.

"I told you, you need to start calling me Mary. You've spent so much time with us by this point that it's no issue."

Madeline had left the family earlier once she spotted her group of friends, and Melanie eventually joined the group with her dad.  The bell for the train rang once more, signifying that the students had a minute to say their final goodbyes and get onto the train. Adeline turned to Estelle and Melanie as she walked backwards towards the front of the train.

"Save me a seat–"

"In the cabin once you're done with prefect duties? Don't even need to ask."

The pair grinned at each other, and, after a final wave, Adeline set off to the prefect carriage. The carriage was roomier than Adeline expected with plushy chairs to sit on and a small table filled with snacks and drinks for the meeting. Adeline knew, however, to not except to be sitting for long as she remembered seeing prefects patrolling the Hogwarts train to check in with students, especially anxious first years, and make sure that nobody was misbehaving too badly.

Adeline groaned silently when she spotted Percy Weasley standing at the front at the front, his chest puffed out in an attempt to show off his Head Boy badge. She didn't exactly hate him. It was just that Percy was so self-righteous and pretentious at times that it made Adeline want to hex him and throw him in a locked dungeon.

Madeleine stood next to him, reading through a set of notes Adeline assumed would be for the meeting, and she felt herself breathe a quiet sigh of relief. While Madeleine was ambitious like Percy, she was fair and might be the only person who could ensure that Percy didn't get too power hungry in the top position.

She slid down in a seat next to Roger Davies, who she was a little disgruntled to be sharing the position with. His pompous attitude was one to rival Percy's, and while Adeline wasn't surprised in the slightest that he was chosen to be a Ravenclaw Prefect, it didn't mean she had to be happy about it. Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff though sat on her other side, which made the situation much more bearable. Adeline had always enjoyed talking with Cedric, so the two soon launched into a comfortable conversation about their summers.

Percy cleared his throat, bringing the entire cabin silent. He began going over the Prefect duties for the day and the rest of the year. Adeline tried to stay focused, but Percy's monotonous tone of voice seemed to be lulling her to sleep. Most of the information like the year-round duties and rules she knew from previous Prefects. The only relevant pieces of information was the password to the bathroom and that Adeline would be the one to lead the first year Ravenclaws up to the bathroom.