Moon and Stars

fourty

"This is ridiculous." She mumbled to herself before turning on the water, splashing cold water onto her face.

Deep inside, she knew it wasn't completely ridiculous. She was hurting bad, and even though it was her fault, she still hurt. She still missed Fred, even if she didn't love him. She still craved his hugs, his touch, his sweet words, all of it. She let her mind think of their happy memories as often as possible in attempts to block out the bad ones. Even though she didn't love him, she was crazy about him, and this hurt.

Drying her face with the stale bath towel she had been using, she walked back to her bed with a purpose. Grabbing her bag from the nightstand, she sifted through it for a different outfit, something other than the one she had been wearing for days now.

She needed to go to Hogwarts, and she needed to get her emotions off the floor, and they could possibly work hand in hand. Getting her mind focused on her future is something that could make her happy again, since she has always adored the great above.

Her only issue now was the way to get there.

The original plan was that Aurora would borrow the flying car to get there, since it just seemed easy and available, but that didn't seem too available at the moment. After the war, a travel block was placed over the castle, preventing any apparations or floo powder travel, so she couldn't do that, either.

Her only options were taking the Knight Bus, which seemed to be a last resort, given the quality, or transporting to Hogsmeade and taking the long route on foot. Neither of the two seemed very attractive, but it was all she had.

After freshening up, she looked far less grimy than before, and felt better already. Physically better, that was.

She had a gnawing feeling in her stomach from the heartbreak she felt over Fred, but she shoved it aside as she left her room, earning a strange look from the bartender on the way out. After all, they had only seen her as a drunken witch who smells of stinksap.

She sent them a curt nod before letting out a huff and stepping out into the streets. She looked both ways before squinting up at the sky, the overcast blinding her.

Before she even took another step, a blur came from down the street and stopped directly in front of her. Aurora took a step back at the sudden motion and realized the Knight Bus had heard her silent cry for help and showed up on it's own.

A man stepped out from the bus and cleared his throat, looking at Aurora and giving her a toothy smile, his brownish teeth staring at her. She gave him a small smile and stayed in her spot, waiting for him to go on his spiel like he does before any witch or wizard takes foot on the bus.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this evening." He says sharply, bowing before her.

"Great, thanks." She said, before taking a step forward to get on the bus, but he stuck his arm out to stop her.

"Whoa now, little lady, running from the air around us, are you? You need a ticket, of course." He says with furrowed brows, reaching behind his back and pulling out a bus ticket.

She rolled her eyes before gently taking the ticket with a forced smile, and he grinned at her before moving out of the way of the doors, allowing her to get on. A crystal chandelier was strung from the ceiling, and beds were located on all three levels, with a few drunken men sleeping in them.

She took a seat on the first empty bed, and Stan stood in front of her with his hands stuffed in his pockets, sucking his cheeks in. He looked over her from head to toe, furrowing his brows as if he was reading her like a book.