the second last ending

two - i love james but that's not the current case

Then, I rub my eyes open to see a groaning Sirius underneath me. I roll off him almost immediately and stand up, brushing off the dirty floor that's been smudged onto me.

"Who put us in Diagon Alley? We're supposed to be back at Maia's house," demands Marlene, glaring at James and Sirius suspiciously.

They exchange glances, put their heads together, talk under their breaths for a few moments, then beam up at us.

"You two can go get ice cream or something."

"But we're drinking butterb-"

"Here, ice cream on me!"

"But butterbeer was on y-"

"Bye! Meet you there in ten!"

"Fuck you!" Marlene calls, earning protective glowers from nearby parents. I guide Marlene away quickly, evading the lasers coming out of some eyes, whispering, "Maybe you should be a little less explicit around parents and first-years."

===

Lily, Marlene, Dorcas, Emmeline, and I huddle around the corridors on the Hogwarts Express.

"Bye Maia!" calls my mum, waving from where she stands alone, unlike other mothers. I wave back at her half-heartedly. I always feel lonely when I leave for Hogwarts because it always strikes me how everybody has a full family waving them off while I only have my mum. When I tell people I have three people in my family, they assume that I'm an only child, not a fatherless family with one brother and mother.

"Lighten up. You can buy Pumpkin Pastries soon!" grins Marlene, punching my shoulder lightly. I do love Pumpkin Pastries.

"Come on, split up time!" announces Lily, already walking away.

My dorm has agreed to not sit with each other during the Hogwarts Express because we'll be seeing each other every day anyway. I think Lily started it to sit with Snape, but we've all decided that it was a good idea anyway.

I automatically search for the compartment with James and his dorm, but Marlene gets to them first. Of course, she's wedged right between Sirius and Remus. Dammit.

I walk down more aisles and find a group of Marlene's other friend group. "Mind if I sit here?" I ask, indicating two empty seats.

"Sorry, that's for my boyfriend," one says apologetically. Millie, I think. I haven't talked to her ever, but I know who she is.

"And this one's for mine," another adds. "No problem," I shrug. I continue down the aisle until I finally reach an empty one. That's better than nothing. Even though it technically is nothing.

After a few minutes in silence, a boy barges in, breathless and sweating. He glances up and smiles at me, and I realize that it's Mitch Powell, the most good-looking boy in my year. He's quite popular as well, but his group is second, and it has a bigger group of girls and boys, Marlene included. The first is obviously James and his friends.

"Hey, it's Maia... Rose, right? I'm Mitchell Powell, but everybody just calls me Mitch."

We shake hands, but I think that he and I already know that I know who he is. "Yeah, uh, sorry for not asking to sit here. I was escaping from Millie. My girlfriend. She's a little clingy. Well, maybe more than a little."

Oh, Mitch.

"Tall, brown hair, green eyes, freckles, high-pitched voice?" I ask, vague memories of her and Mitch entering my mind. "That's the one."

Oof.

"She was waiting for you."

"Well, I guess she's waiting for nobody more than a friend anymore," Mitch sighs. My eyes widen for a second in surprise before we both start laughing. "Honestly, though, I can't take her," he added in a low tone but still with a smile on his face.