An American At Hogwarts: Book Three

Chapter Forty-Four

I slept in until 1pm on January 1st. We'd all stayed up until almost four in the morning, celebrating and talking and laughing even as the guests we weren't as close to (and even some we were) decided to call it a night and head home. Cedric had stayed the night in one of our best guest rooms, and I met him downstairs for "breakfast" with Peter, Harley, Shuri (who'd also stayed), Pietro, and Wanda when we were finally all conscious, around one in the afternoon.

Cedric stayed until the evening, when I conjured another sling portal to get him back home. Getting to start the New Year with him felt right, and it was nice for us to be able to spend some time together away from all the crazy of Hogwarts.

I wasn't due back at Hogwarts until January 12th, so I spent most of the next two weeks hanging out in the city with my friends and family and doing whatever the hell I wanted. I picked my training regime back up on the second day of the new year, but otherwise, I fully and aggressively defended my break as an actual break from everything stressful that had been haunting me since September.

I checked in a few times with the twins, Harry, Sirius, and the rest of the Grimmauld crew. Mr. Weasley had been released from the hospital, thankfully, and was well on his way to making a full recovery. Sirius seemed a little upset that everyone would be going back to Hogwarts so soon, so I made a mental note to try and visit him more often once term started. Even with his disguise and the renovations we'd done, a big, spooky house full of horrible memories could get lonely and depressing fast.

Apparently, he'd even gotten into a fight with Snape recently. The details were a little murky, since the twins had gotten the information from Ron, who'd gotten it from Harry, but it was clear (at least to me) that he was going stir crazy. Even the little help from his disguise wasn't enough to ward off the cabin fever.

Otherwise, other than a few, more minor things, I'd done a fantastic job enjoying my break to the fullest and completely blocking out stressors. Unfortunately, that also meant that everything came crashing back over me in a tidal wave as soon as it came time for me to sling portal back to Hogwarts.

"Alexa? Are you feeling okay, sweetheart?" asked my dad. We stood in the kitchen together as Pepper looked over my bags to make sure I had everything I needed to bring back. It was afternoon in New York on Saturday, January 11th, but it would be just about dinner time when I arrived at Hogwarts.

"Yeah," I sighed, rolling my shoulders a few times to loosen them up. "Just... a lot I need to do, I guess, when I get back."

"Just remember not to run yourself into the ground, alright?"

I gave my dad a skeptical look and a lopsided smile.

"Are you really someone who can be telling me that with a straight face?"

My dad rolled his eyes, but I could see the small smile he was working to hide.

"I'm the most qualified person to give that advice because I'm also one of the top people who needs to take it. I was hoping you wouldn't pick up my unhealthy workaholic trait, but I guess that was in vain."

I just shrugged. "I mean, at least we get shit done."

"True enough."

We shared a smile, and I held out my hand for our secret handshake. As jealous as my dad was of the handshake I'd made with Strange when I was twelve, nothing could compare to ours. We'd been working on it and adding parts since I was in diapers, and now it was truly a thing of beauty.

"Be safe, and have fun," said my dad, pulling me into a hug after our handshake. When he finally let me go, it was Pepper's turn to squeeze the life out of me.