Ecdysis

PART VIII - Reacquaint

Vast green fields dotted with fluffy white lambs and earth-toned cows with shaggy coats flew past my window. The scent of pungent fertiliser seeped through the crack of the glass, mingled with thick pollen and beastly farm life. The sky was clear blue without a single cloud in sight, and despite it all, my heart felt heavy.

I didn't want to go home. Once, perhaps, I'd have enjoyed a break from my housemates, but now, home signified a break from magic, and the thought of slipping my wand in a drawer for two months made me glum.

Rascal slept in his cage on the bench opposite me, his head tucked under his wing to block the sunlight. I'd snatched a train cabin for myself and locked the door so nobody else could enter, then laid back on the seat with my cloak bunched beneath my head and stared up at the ceiling. I could see my trunk through the metal bars of the overhead rack, a stack of books leaning precariously against its hard leather side. I couldn't fit everything in one piece of luggage, not even this obnoxiously large one, and shrinking them wasn't an option without the ability to use magic at home.

The bright blue cover of Magical Minds: A Study On Brain Enchantments and Mind Reading stared back at me, its gold stencilled letters shimmering in the natural light. I'd purchased it at Tomes and Scrolls before I left, along with half a dozen other textbooks about Legilimency, Occlumency, and most intriguingly, Obliviation.

A couple of weeks ago, Dumbledore expelled Millicent and Tracey after Snape caught them assaulting me. Since Pansy had escaped by the time Snape arrived, she wasn't caught, and it was her word against mine. It didn't help that I returned to the dorm to find my wand on my bed, unharmed. Still, their absence from school was a major victory, and Pansy didn't scare me, especially now that she didn't have her Stiletto Snakes to back her up.

This summer, I was determined to learn all the offensive and defensive spells that I'd brushed aside for homework during the semester, and return to school prepared to practice them in my spare time. In all the ways third year had gone wrong, I wouldn't let myself make the same mistakes twice. It was time to take power back into my own hands. And that included learning Obliviation.

Once Snape confiscated my Time-Turner, I realised I had to find a way to cover my tracks if ever I was caught in a nefarious position again. Not that I went looking for trouble, but somehow trouble always found me, and I wasn't daft like Millicent or Tracey. If I was going to be mischievous, I would not let myself get caught. I recalled the moment Draco glimpsed the Time-Turner around my neck. If I hadn't travelled back in time, he'd have used it against me, probably gotten his dad involved, who'd complain to the board of governors, claiming Muggle-born students received special treatment or something as outrageously hypocritical. They'd renounce my good grades or make me retake exams, which I was confident I'd pass with flying colours, anyway. But it was all a hassle I didn't want to deal with and could easily be avoided if I knew how to erase memories.

The train was already rumbling with movement when it screeched to a stop in London's muggy King's Cross station. Trunks hit the ground. Cabin doors flew open. Teary goodbyes rang down the aisle, hasty promises to write over the summer. Through the door window, I saw the aisle packed with fidgety students anxious to disembark. I took my time gathering my belongings, using magic one last time to levitate my trunk and books to the ground before we left school property. "Come, Rascal," I said, lifting his cage. "It's time to go home."

Rascal didn't even open his eyes.

I thought of Flo's bright, intelligent eyes, and my throat grew tight. I'd embarked on the Hogwarts Express with her as my familiar and came home with another owl. An owl that I didn't quite consider my own. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm. I shouldn't start the summer angry with my parents.