Overgrown (y/n edition)

Chapter One

September 1, 1993

Through the thin cloud of smoke that filled the morning air, y/n stood beside her mothers, guarding her eyes from the persistent drizzle of rain. Platform 9¾ was bustling with the bodies of hundreds of students of all ages; many were boarding the Hogwarts Express, while the rest were hurriedly saying their goodbyes to their families, in a rush to get out of the rain.

"You should go and find Angelina- get on the train before this weather gets any worse."

The voice of one of y/n's mothers startled the 5th year student out of her thoughts, drawing her attention back to her family.

"Right," she murmured, turning back to her parents with a nervous smile, "You'll send letters, then?"

"Of course, y/n," her other mother couldn't contain herself anymore- her gentle brown eyes overflowed with tears while she pulled y/n into a tight hug, whispering her concerns in her adopted daughters ear: "You'll stay in the castle, won't you? With Sirius Black on the loose, maybe you shouldn't risk going to Hogsmeade this year- oh, but I already signed the permission form-"

"-oh, Mabel, she'll be fine- let the poor girl go."

Y/n shook herself off as her mother let her go. She offered a more genuine smile this time, surveying the two witches as they argued with each other quietly. Mabel stood with her hands on her hips, a vision of beauty despite her tired appearance: brown skin, warm eyes, and her curly hair tied into a bun, she was the definition of sunshine. Her wife, Poppy, however, was a total contrast, with blue, drooping eyes, a bald head, and a cool demeanour. The two had adopted y/n when she was 10, and had proved to have a powerful
love despite their differences.

"Fine," Mabel finally let out a sigh, turning back to y/n, "you're still not on the train?" she realized, eyes wide as if she had expected y/n to be gone by now,  "It's going to leave without you if you don't hurry!"

"Alright, alright, I love you guys- see you next summer!"

Finally breaking away from the two, y/n turned on her heel and ran to the closest entrance to the train. She waited impatiently for the line in front of her to slowly trickle in, until she herself stood in the dimly lit hall of the Hogwarts Express.

Angelina must've already gotten on by now- she said she'd be waiting in compartment 118 with the twins, I think... y/n tried to recall the exact compartment, peeking through the curtains of each window she passed until she caught a flash of ginger hair that could only belong to a Weasley... hopefully.

With her fingers crossed, she pulled open the door of compartment 119 -so she had remembered it wrong- and, to her relief, was met by the grin of her best friend, as well as three other familiar faces.

Wait- three? Not two? There was George, Fred, and... oh God, I wasn't expecting...

Cedric Diggory.

Her heart fluttered in her chest as she shot a look to Angelina that said, what, you couldn't think to warn me? and quickly entered the compartment, turning to take as much time as possible to shut the sliding door behind her. She and Cedric had only gotten familiar last year, but hadn't spoken all summer break. Their friendship hadn't progressed very far since they were never really caught alone, as he was a friend of Angelina's, and no one else's. Y/n hadn't expected that he'd be sitting with them today, on the journey to Hogwarts that took hours. To make matters worse, Fred, George and Angelina took up the entire seat on the right side of the compartment, while Cedric sat alone on the left- she had no choice but to sit next to him.

"Hell, y/n, it doesn't take that long to shut a door," George joked, while someone crinkled a wrapper. Y/n turned and forced a smile, trying to push away her nerves while she, as casually as possible, sat beside Cedric, who had just popped some kind of candy into his mouth. The sweet scent of caramel filled the air.