Allison Riddle & 21st Century Witchcraft

Chapter 9: Realities Bold Return

A/N: Hey peeps and hopefully a couple ARMY! The year is now 2015 for Allison and the gang. I tried to be accurate with what music she'd find. Hopefully you enjoy Allison's first real glimpse into muggle culture- and the rest of the chapter! 

My return to Hogwarts was off to an uneventful start and we were barely an hour into the train ride. Draco was nowhere to be found, but I didn't go looking. He'd find me when he was ready to talk. 

That is, if he were allowed to. My stomach fluttered as I considered what orders the During's could've given him. Missing 3 weeks of training- even if I did some on my own- was unheard of and unacceptable. To what lengths would they go to punish me? Would I become an outcast like Jacqueline? 

I could feel my heartbeat, the feeling hollow as it shook my chest. My plans were slipping through my hands like quicksand, all because of a weakness to someone I never should've considered family! But, a small voice said, Jacqueline proved better family in a month than the Malfoy's did in a decade. 

"But she can't help!" I hissed, pulling my hoodie over my head and bringing my knees to my chest. "She's worse off than I am!"

Which makes this easier to fix! Come on, don't overreact. Nothing's confirmed yet. You're safe. Just think of something else for a while.  

I tried to push my Pureblood troubles from my mind. I hummed the melody of a song I couldn't recall the name of. All I saw was J-Hope's smile and messy hair for a while. Somehow he morphed into Alec. I wondered....Have I ever seen Alec smile? 

Yes, I remembered. That day before we left for break. He encouraged me to explore the muggle world, but with caution. So far I'd found nothing dangerous, though that might be Jacqueline's doing. She'd know most aspects of the muggle world after so long. Surely she'd protect me from the muggle world's horrors.

With my eyes closed, I leaned against the window. An odd thought occurred to me again. Alec's smile made him look human.  So many things did, and yet they could all vanish with the blink of an eye. 

I chuckled to myself. "Supernatural duality. They certainly didn't teach us about that." 

Knock. Knock.

I opened my eyes and sat in the seat properly. "Yes?"

The compartment door opened to reveal a very ruffled Jane being towed along by Jill, who was being pulled by Amelia. My heart swelled.

Amelia attacked me in a hug as the others took seats.

"Oomph! Ames!"

"Sorry not sorry," Amelia giggled, sitting beside me.

"How was the rest of break?" Jill asked.

I shrugged. "It was alright- Oh, Amelia. I have a funny surprise for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah... you remember that speech you went on about BTS-"

She squealed and grabbed my arm, bouncing in her seat. "Ohmygod! Did you look them up?!"

I nodded. "Listened to all their albums. I can see why you like them so much!"

"Whose your bias? Mine's Jin. Have you seen his shoulders? How are they so big?!"

"I never really noticed Jin. He's the oldest right? And what's a bias?"

She froze like a deer caught in headlights. "Um...It's like....Uhm..."

Jane was chuckling. "Can...Can I?"

Amelia nodded, still staring at me. I fought the urge to glare at her.