Sparks Fly || A George Weasley Story

Year 4: Breaking and Exiting

Tonight was the night.

Well, it was technically morning, but the sun wouldn't rise for another hour or so, so it could still be considered nighttime.

Anyway, I'd written Cedric a week ago about my plan to get me back to Hogwarts, and we'd worked out several kinks over the following days. The first draft included me using the floo to get to his house, but we decided that would draw too much attention with all the bright green fire and stuff.

Somehow, we came to the idea of him riding his broom to my house and helping me get all of my stuff back to his house that way. I could sneak out the window, and no one would be none the wiser until I was already on the train and Amaryllis returned from dropping Oleander and Leilani off. That's when we'd run into the most trouble, trying to avoid my siblings until we got to school.

I knew that if she wanted, Amaryllis would show up on the front steps of Hogwarts and try to drag me back home. Something else I knew, was that since I'd gone to such extremes to sneak out and go anyway, that she'd let me stay, but I'd be getting a very angry howler from her the next day at breakfast, or sooner if she could get it there that quick. I was just hoping that she wouldn't catch me while I was sneaking out tonight.

I'd written a note, since she'd freaked out so bad the last time I left without one:

Mum,

We don't agree on what needs to be done, and that's okay. However, by the time you read this, I'll probably be on my way to Hogwarts, where I intend to stay for the next few months. If you find this before I get on the train, then, oh well. It's not like you'd be able to find me and do anything to stop me from going anyway. We've been through that already, so don't panic if my bed is empty. I'm okay, and I just need to make sure my friends are too. You say that you always think about what you could have done differently for my parents, but I don't want to think back on the what ifs after the fact.

Juniper

I was hoping that this would keep her from calling the ministry and getting me expelled or banned from school grounds until next year. Maybe since I put in the bit about how she felt about my parents, she'd cut me some slack, but my chances with that were slim.

But none of that mattered now. My only objective right now, was to get my trunk and my owl out the window and attempt to balance them on mine and Cedric's brooms. It wasn't going to be easy, but I'd never thought it was going to be.

I was already dressed, knowing that Cedric had asked his parents to get to the platform as early as they could. There were never as many people coming and going for the holidays as there were at the beginning and end of the year, so we'd stand out way too much if we arrived at the same time as my family. It wasn't as though I had features that just blend into the crowd. With my hair and my height, my family could point me out from a mile away.

I was tucking away the dress that Mrs. Diggory had gotten me when I heard the tapping on my window that signaled that Cedric had finally arrived. We'd agreed that he would show up half an hour ago, but I understand that he had to get up and get ready before he was safe to fly. Dozing off on a broom is not exactly the safest travel tactic.

I locked my trunk and hurried over to the window, gently pushing it open, unsure on just how close to it Cedric was.

"Are you ready to go?" He whispered, looking around to see if any other lights were on besides mine.

I was and I wasn't. I knew that going back to Hogwarts was a big risk on my own life, but when I really thought about it, staying home wasn't an option. I had O.W.L.s next year, and I couldn't miss out on months of class with something that serious coming up.