Forever and a Day ~ James Potter

Going Back To School

Chapter One

Monday 1st September 1975 ~10:32 ~ waning crescent moon

"Roisín, your 'air is a mess at ze back. 'ave you brushed it today?" Amélie's tone became completely disgusted as she plucked at the back of her daughter's head, causing her to wrench the entire top half of her body forwards.

"Yes, mother, I did. But maybe it was Charles grabbing me by the head and pushing me out of the carriage that did it," Rosie responded sarcastically without looking back at the woman, reaching a hand back casually to brush her messed-up hair down as she picked up her speed through the station, more than eager to see her best friends after almost a whole two months of being stuck at home with her suffocating family.

Her hair was much longer now than it had been on her first trip to the station, falling just past her shoulders, and was a dark chocolate brown colour, just like her brother and father. She had grown into her features a lot more too and for one was far more assertive against her family than she had been when she was younger. Her cheeks were rounded and her eyes were big and bright... but, as always, when put next to her brother, nobody ever seemed to notice anything about her.

Charles had managed to grow into his looks too, and she had spent the past four years being asked consistently by nervous girls if she could introduce them to him, even if they rarely ever spoke to her throughout the school year and slept on opposite sides of the castle. Charles had straight, brown hair that he swept across his head with Sleakeazy's hair potion to keep it from sticking up at the back or embodying its natural wild mess, slightly covering his light brown eyes and freckled face.

Alex was in his third year at school now and was already proudly sporting his blue and silver tie over a shirt and grey trousers – which had only added to Rosie's humiliation while walking past curious looking Muggles. He looked almost identical to his mother too, except from his dark eyes; he even piled his thick, curly hair into a bun on top of his head. This always made Rosie feel bad as she saw how hard he tried to please his mother, even though she only had eyes for her eldest boy and his many, many achievements.

"Mother, Regulus said that we should meet him and his mother on the far end of the platform today," Alex spoke up very matter-of-factly, getting Amélie's attention back to him at the mention of the Black family.

"Yes, yes, zat's right. Valburga wrote to me a couple of days ago to say ve needed to catch up," Amélie nodded. "Vill ze Crouch boy and 'is family be zere also?"

"I'm not sure," Alex replied, clearly thinking hard about how to answer her query correctly. "I think Bartemius told Regulus that his father was working today, so he was to be dropped off very early and his mother is sick again so she cannot be there."

"Zat's a shame," Amélie tutted, shaking her head slightly in disappointment. "Vell, you and Regulus can go and find 'im once me and Valburga 'ave found each other... I'm sure you vill find Sirius and make yourself look presentable," she raised her voice and glanced sideways at Rosie, who didn't care to answer her.

As they arrived at the red brick barrier of the train station once again, Mrs Artois pulled in Charles for a loving hug, "I am so proud of you, my special little Prefect! Don't forget to show off zat badge to all your friends!" she smiled a sickly-sweet smile that did not suit her cold, hard features at all and in all honesty made her look rather menacing.

At this, Rosie decided that she'd finally reached the end of her tether so rolled her eyes widely enough that made certain everyone else could see and strolled right past her mother, who was now two inches smaller than her, and travelled straight through the barrier without having to face an awkwardly forced goodbye from any of her family.